"A tram is high maintenance, low efficiency"

[Benny Profane]

NYT
November 13, 2005
Practical Traveler
Are Trams Going the Way of Wooden Skis?

By GRACE LICHTENSTEIN
LIKE rope tows, wooden skis and cable bindings, the aerial tram may soon be obsolete in American ski resorts - if the news coming out of Jackson Hole is any indication.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming stunned its passholders and visitors by announcing last June that it would shut down its iconic 39-year-old aerial tram after this ski season. Taking that tram in order to challenge some of the most famous double-diamond expert slopes in the West has long been a rite of passage for skiers.

Which is leading some skiers to wonder: If the Jackson Hole tram is not fit to run past its 40th birthday, how safe are others that skiers and boarders climb aboard?

The answer is: very safe. Since 1973, when the National Ski Areas Association began keeping statistics, there has been a single tram incident, in which four people died at Squaw Valley, in California, in 1978, when a supporting cable came off the tower and crushed the car. But still, the association says, visitors are far more likely to die in an accident driving to a ski area than riding a lift. In 25 years, said Sid Roslund, director of technical services at the association, there have been 12 "ropeway-related" deaths.

While trams are a familiar sight in Chamonix, Zermatt and many other European ski areas, there are only 19 public tramways in the United States and several have no connection with skiing, like the Roosevelt Island tram in New York. Yet, no major tram has been built in a United States ski area in 13 years, according to Mr. Roslund.

The main problem with trams, he said, is that in many cases they are just not efficient enough in the new, high-tech world of gondolas, detachable quads and six-packs. "A tram might be a dramatic statement, but it's not as efficient as a gondola" in terms of "cost or capacity," said Michael Berry, president of the ski areas association. Originally, trams were the solution to specific topographical problems, since they could carry people to the peak of a rocky, concave or extremely steep mountain, "leaping chasms in a single bound," as Mr. Roslund put it.

At Jackson Hole, the tram provides access to the longest continuous vertical drop in the United States, including such storied runs as Corbet's Couloir and the Hobacks.

"It's a source of local pride," said David Gonzales, a resident of Jackson and the author of "Jackson Hole: On a Grand Scale." "The ski bums love it. There's a shared feeling of anticipation. To get on the first tram on a powder morning packed with 50 other maniacs is exciting."

Thanks to the tram, Jackson is one of the few places in the country where a single lift takes you to 4,000 vertical feet of slopes, so you can ski or ride "tram laps" for "as long as your legs hold out," he said.

The trams at Snowbird in Utah, Sandia Peak in New Mexico and Squaw Valley in California, like the one at Jackson Hole, were built before 1972. Back then, the maximum speed of conventional "fixed grip" chairlifts was about 500 feet a minute, compared with a tram's 2,000 feet a minute, explained Buddy Loux, lift operations manager at Jay Peak in Vermont, whose tram dates back to 1966 but has since been rebuilt. So a tram was the "only way to get to the top of a mountain in a hurry."

But in the 1980's, engineers introduced a new version of "detachable grip" technology, a method of carrying chairs or gondola cars via overhead cables at a much higher speed. This meant they could build multipassenger chairlifts or gondolas that sped skiers and snowboarders up most terrain much faster than old chairs or trams.

Thus at Jackson Hole, the 66 eight-passenger cabins of the Bridger gondola, opened in 1997, transport 2,000 passengers an hour to a terminal at 9,025 feet up Rendezvous Mountain, more than the 52-passenger tram carries to the summit all day. At Jay Peak, The Flyer detachable quad chairlift runs 2,400 people an hour up the slopes while its tram, built a year after Jackson Hole's, takes only 360.

"A tram is high maintenance, low efficiency," Mr. Loux said. "Being the person who has to maintain it, I'd just as soon have chairlifts to the top of the mountain."

COMFORT, too, is an issue. Waiting for and then riding a tram can sometimes feel like being stuffed into a subway car with 50 strangers, all with ski equipment. Gondola cabins, which carry 4 to 12 passengers, have seats, windows and outside slots for stowing skis or boards for the trip.

But no one underestimates the symbolic - and nostalgic - importance of the tram at Jackson Hole. And if trams are so safe, why, then, did Jackson Hole say that the resort's tram is being retired "to minimize safety concerns"? Because, according to the resort, it would cost a fortune to keep it up to code. Standards for lifts nationwide are set by a committee of more than 60 specialists supervised by Mr. Roslund.

Jerry Blann, president of Jackson Hole, says that it spends about $100,000 a year keeping the tram in shape. In the last few years, the entire gear box has been replaced, but the next parts to be upgraded would be the huge track cables, "and then we would have to change everything but the cabins," he said.

A brand new tram, Mr. Blann said, would cost about $20 million (the Bridger gondola cost $8 million). That may be the long-term solution, but the resort expects to seek help - in the form of bonds or loans - from the state. Indeed, the Jackson tram was initially financed through a federal government program that lent money to depressed communities relying on seasonal economies.

At Snowbird, Bob Bonar, the president, says the average annual maintenance bill for its tram is $250,000. "We have basically rebuilt the tram," he said, enumerating upgrades from cables to cabins to control systems.

Sandia Peak, which operates the longest single-section cable tram in the world, carrying people from Albuquerque to the ridgeline of the Sandia Mountains, spent more than $3 million in 1997 replacing its cables, according to Jay Blackwood, assistant tram manager. Jay Peak refurbished its tram in 2000 and 2003. No other resort has publicly declared its intention to retire a tram.

"It's a year-round attraction," said Rob Arey, the sales manager at Cannon Mountain where the tram rides are a key summer attraction in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. "Not to be trite, but it's a big part of our brand," said Steve Wright, the marketing and sales director at Jay Peak. "Not every decision, at least we feel here, should be made with an eye on how it directly impacts the bottom line."

As Jackson holds talks with state officials about a replacement tram, it is floating the notion of Sno-Cat access, high-speed surface lifts or both for an interim period. Meanwhile, the resort has turned its announcement into a promotional opportunity, offering a "Last Tram" vacation package.

Mr. Gonzales says people in Jackson Hole are worried about losing the tram since it is a symbol of their mountain's famous steeps. "I can't get too worked up about it, though," he said. "The tram is only important because it's the fastest way up this magnificent mountain."

[aspenskibum]

but they completly ignore one of the biggest advantages of a tram: the fact that since it doesn't need continuous towers, you can pretty much put one up a fucking cliff face. could anyone really imagine big sky's tram being a gondola? how much would the construction costs be for THAT?

[Dexter Rutecki]

And aspenskibum proves that he can't fucking read, yet again:

Originally, trams were the solution to specific topographical problems, since they could carry people to the peak of a rocky, concave or extremely steep mountain, "leaping chasms in a single bound," as Mr. Roslund put it.

[Son1cdeth]

I think that last quote sums it up for me. Don't get me wrong, I love the trams at JH, Snowbird, and Big Sky. But at the end of the day all I want is to get up the mountain as fast as I can.

If they could put another gondola in place of the tram at JH I wouldn't be unhappy.

[backpack]

but they completly ignore one of the biggest advantages of a tram: the fact that since it doesn't need continuous towers, you can pretty much put one up a fucking cliff face. could anyone really imagine big sky's tram being a gondola? how much would the construction costs be for THAT?

And with the latest 3 cable gondolas, you're basically operating a series of detachable circulating tram cars... so all the same distance-spanning benefits hold true but with waaay more capacity.

[gramps]

No, they mention that in the article, they just didn't give it too much attention. Resorts are going downhill, pardon the bad pun. Jackson is getting rid if their tram to pay for a bunch of bullshit they know will make them more money. Got to cart more people up the hill, who cares about snow quality. And what vacationing family wants to stand in a box with a bunch of maniacs? Best give them their own private carriage up the hill. It's really too bad the mountains are associated with this resort mentality. They don't deserve these people taking magic carpets through man made tunnels, looking forward to dining at the new mid mountain eatery. Before loading into the 2,000 person/hr capacity gondola.

[backpack]

2,000 person/hr capacity gondola

Pffft. 2,000 pph is sooo 1995.

Alternately, if wind stability is a concern you could always go with one of these:

[INDY GS]

On this same note, I spoke with a friend that works for JHMR and she said that the temporary fix will most likely be a surface lift that goes from the top of I think the sublette chair to corbets cabin. The the following summer will see the installation of either a new tram or most likely a gondola.

[freshie247]

I recognise the sentimental value of the tram,but I'm not a tram fan.I hate the fact that on a powder day at Jackson,there's no access to the top other than the tram,& it takes at least 45 mins to get to the top.

When I'm at the Bird,I ride Gadzoom to Little Cloud rather than wait in the tram line.Not to mention it's dank & warm in the line,so you always melt & then are freezing when you get off at the top.

[Core Shot]

You anti-tram people can suck my balls.
There is something so exciting and invigorating as riding up together with all the gnarly smelly masses while you rock out to the tunes in eager anticipation of the run to follow.
A lift is just a way up the mountain but a tram is an experience in and of itself.

If you re-read the article it becomes clear that Jackson is run by complete tools, since every other resort has sacked up and actually invested in rebuilding their tram, while JH could care less even though their tram is more famous and more essential to the culture and essence of their experience.

[Stanley]

Agreed, i love the feeling of being smushed into the little red box. staring out the window, eyes scanning, occasional smiles, but not too big lest someone notice what you're looking at, talkin with patrollers and people you dont see often enough. The hunkerin down in the face of a 60 mile an hour breeze, keeping your skis at an angle so the wind doesnt catch em. that was a good tram, however, a funispace would forever change the skiing up high, but would be damn sweet.

[crashnburn'd]

I'm hoping they put a magic carpet off the top of Sublette in.

[MeatPuppet]

I'm hoping they put a magic carpet off the top of Sublette in.

I don't. Sublett is my favorite lift at Jackson because you can do laps all day on it and never have to wait more than 30 sec, and normally not even that.
If they have access to the summit going through sublette, the lines are going to change everything.

While watching people getting blown off a magic carpet by 50mph winds would provide some entertainment while waiting for your friends to get off the lift behind you, I would much rather see a gondy going from the top of ampetheatre to the summit.

Their already talking about putting a high speed chair lift from there to the top of the headwall.

[bagtagley]

I don't. Sublett is my favorite lift at Jackson because you can do laps all day on it and never have to wait more than 30 sec, and normally not even that.
If they have access to the summit going through sublette, the lines are going to change everything.

Your sarcasm detector is obviously broken or out of batteries.

........

[bad_roo]

"A tram is high maintenance, low efficiency."

So is my wife but I wouldn't dream of decommissioning her.

[MeatPuppet]

........

I'm probably going to have to eat it on this one because I can't find the article. But in the Jackson Hole News and Guide there was a list of possible temporary solutions to allow people to get to the top of the mountain(some way other than under their own power) while a replacment to the tram was being built. A magic carpet was on that list. I don't think it was ever seriously considered, for obvious reasons, but it did make the list. But as I say I can't find the article.

[CantDog]

I recognise the sentimental value of the tram,but I'm not a tram fan.I hate the fact that on a powder day at Jackson,there's no access to the top other than the tram,& it takes at least 45 mins to get to the top.

When I'm at the Bird,I ride Gadzoom to Little Cloud rather than wait in the tram line.Not to mention it's dank & warm in the line,so you always melt & then are freezing when you get off at the top.

Do you hate and despise the tram?


Definately one of the funniest discussions I heard this winter, great company as well!

[Altaholic]

I recognise the sentimental value of the tram,but I'm not a tram fan.I hate the fact that on a powder day at Jackson,there's no access to the top other than the tram,& it takes at least 45 mins to get to the top.

When I'm at the Bird,I ride Gadzoom to Little Cloud rather than wait in the tram line.Not to mention it's dank & warm in the line,so you always melt & then are freezing when you get off at the top.

Good, stay on the chairs with all the other pounders & beaters. I like the tram because I'm not in the cold on nasty days, I can scope lines out, I'l get up faster than chairs. I had some of my best days when I was at snowbird when there is a no tram or one tram wait. Also, the tram limits people on the cirque and baldy, so even on the longer wait days, the snow still is pimp because half the people in line just want to do Reg. Johnson & Chips.

[Buster Highmen]

Agreed, i love the feeling of being smushed into the little red box.

I'm w/Stan on this one. Heh.

[Lone Star]

Give me the chair, give me the fresh air!

[SherpaStyle]

I'm hoping they put a magic carpet off the top of Sublette in.

Last I heard it's gonna be a surface lift up the skiers left of Rendezvous Bowl. They were supposed to get it in this fall. I guess they were running behind getting the permits, so it was up in the air whether they would pull their shit together before there was too much snow in the ground.

If nothing else, I'm looking forward to bringing the lawn chair and brews up the first day it opens for some quality entertainment.

[ptavv]

Trams are a dying institution in America that should be saved.

Nothing quite compares to the experience of getting to the tramline at Jackson at 7 AM to try and secure first tram rights on a powder day.

[Cirquerider]

Just to totally date myself, I first rode the Snowbird tram in 1973 when the one with the ballast tank hit the cliff. Pretty exciting ride (and the last one of the day). More recently I have noticed plenty of clearance. Things didn't seem so crowded then....

[Mountain Junkie]

As Jackson holds talks with state officials about a replacement tram, it is floating the notion of Sno-Cat access, high-speed surface lifts or both for an interim period.

What the hell is a high speed surface lift? A detachable platter?

[iceman]

Back in the day at fabulous Nashoba Valley they had a rope tow so fast you'd smell burning leather when you grabbed it and get air on the whoop-de's on the way up. That was a high-speed surface lift for sure.