Every winter season brings new gondolas and lifts in the Alps. In the competition for guests the ski resorts promise shorter waiting times, more comfort or better entrances for children and people with disabilities. The number of new facilities is immense, according to the portal Skiresort.de this time more than 80. Here are eleven particularly noteworthy:
GERMANY
Berchtesgadener Land: Accessibility on the Jenner
From Koenigssee in the Berchtesgadener Land, a new gondola lift is going to the mountain station on the Jenner this winter. It replaces the 65-year-old cable car. In addition to the shorter waiting time and a 20 percent increase in capacity, the new system promises above all more accessibility: For mono-skiers, a separate access lane is kept free. New ramps and lifts are designed to make it easier for people in wheelchairs or walkers to make their way to the gondolas.
photo gallery
9 pictures
Winter 2019/2020: News from the ski areasBrauneck: Height-adjustable conveyor belt for children
Am Brauneck in Upper Bavaria, the Schrödelsteinbahn goes into operation. The six-seater chairlift replaces the previous two-seater lift from 1976 and has weather protection hoods and heated seats to offer plus a special something for little skiers: The conveyor belt is height adjustable and should allow children a safe entry into the elevator.
Planai Railways / TMN
Planai Railway: Off to the Argentine Andes
AUSTRIA
Salzburger Land: 347 km of slopes through new lifts
With the completion of the "zellamseeXpress", winter sports enthusiasts can drive directly from the Glemm Valley to the Schmittenhöhe ski area near Zell am See. But that is not the end: If everything goes according to the plans of the local cable car operators, another lift will soon be built opposite the new valley station in the Glemmtal. The should lead directly into the Skicircus Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
This connection would create Austria's largest interconnected ski area. 347 km of slopes could then be experienced via the lifts and gondolas. Until then, there is the possibility of taking the bus from the valley station of "zellamseeXpress" in Viehhofen to Saalbach and from there into the ski circus.
Glacier in Salzburger Land: Directly from Kaprun to Kitzsteinhorn
So far, there was only one way from Kaprun in the Salzburger Land to the glacier on the Kitzsteinhorn: drive by car or bus to the two cable cars outside the village and then up to the mountain. That changes on November 30th. With the new "3K K-onnection" you get - with a stopover on the Kapruner local mountain Maiskogel - directly from the village to the glacier ski area. The existing railways outside Kaprun in Salzburger Land remain in operation.
Arlberg: Gondolas instead of chairlift
The Schindlergrat chairlift in St. Anton am Arlberg was known for its views. But after 40 years, the plant has served its purpose and is being replaced by a ten-person gondola lift. The offers an exit at the previous mountain station, but then leads another 400 meters further and brings winter athletes to three other downhills.
Schladming: From Styria to Argentina
At the Planai in Schladming the main cable car will be replaced by a new one. This brings 3800 winter sports enthusiasts per hour - and thus 70 percent more than before - on the mountain of the ski stronghold in Styria, according to the local tourist agency. After 33 years of use, the old gondola lift has embarked on a grand journey: it will be shipped to South America, where it will be operational again in the summer of 2021 at the Las Leñas ski resort in the Argentine Andes.
Jungfrau Railways 2019 / TMN
Grindelwald: New train station and cable car terminal
SWITZERLAND
Grindelwald: railway station with cable car connection
At the Eiger glacier in Switzerland, a major project is about to be completed. In the middle of December, a train station and part of a new cable car terminal will open in Grindelwald: The Männlichen Railway will start operating and will take you to the ski resort of the same name in 19 minutes. From winter 2020, the Eiger Express will follow, driving from Grindelwald within a quarter of an hour to the Eigergletscher station. There, winter sports enthusiasts can directly transfer and thus come from Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland 47 minutes faster to Jungfraujoch than before.
Valais: Direct from the train to the gondola
From Fiesch in the Swiss Valais, winter sports fans should come to the Aletsch Arena more comfortably in the future. As in Grindelwald, a new station is being built here: Those arriving there on the Matterhorn-Gotthard cable car can board the gondolas of the new cable car that goes up to the Fiescheralp. A bus terminal is also available. The new transport hub is scheduled to open on 7th December.
FRANCE
Le Grand-Bornand: Station with curves
The new Charmieux chairlift starts in the Le Grand-Bornand ski resort in the mountains near Annecy in France: The six-seater seats 3600 people per hour. The special here: Both station buildings are bent by 60 degrees. On the mountain, skiers and snowboarders should be able to get off the piste at the same height. Positive side effect: According to the operators had to be excavated and moved by the construction of construction also less earth.
Les Arcs: All-glazed
For almost 30 years, a funicular from the station of the municipality of Bourg Saint-Maurice has been driving up the mountain to the French winter sports resort of Les Arcs in Savoie, bringing passengers to the Arc 1600 valley station. In December, new trains will be put into operation here. All-glazed, they should allow passengers a unique view of the alpine panorama. The journey takes seven minutes, 280 people have space. Les Arcs is part of the giant Paradiski ski resort with some 425 kilometers of ski runs southeast of Albertville.
ITALY
Dolomiti Superski: New nine times
Nine old lifts have been replaced by Dolomiti Superski in South Tyrol, which includes Cortina d'Ampezzo, Alta Badia, Plan de Corones and Val Gardena. At Plan de Corones, the ten-man gondola Rara will be operating in place of the four-seater chair of the same name. The new gondolas of the La Crusc 2 gondola lift in the Alta Badia ski area also have ten seats. In the future, she will drive instead of the two-person chairlift of the same name. Dolomiti Superski brings together twelve South Tyrolean ski areas with 452 lifts and 1200 kilometers of pistes.
