Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Curious_Buffalo_1206 t1_ja46s48 wrote

Reply to comment by T-to-B in the cannon mountain tram needs repairs and Sununu proposes replacing the tram with a gondola to cut costs by comefromawayfan2022

There are variations on gondolas that are highly resistant to winds, that are still much more affordable than a tram. See Palisades Tahoe’s Gold Coast Funitel for example. As windy as Cannon is, that place is far windier. Their funitel can operate in winds up to 100 km/hr (62 mph). I can’t find specs on the Cannon tram’s max wind speed, but the Sandia tram states that it cannot run above 50mph. I’d expect Cannon’s to be in the same ballpark.

I think the opposition would not be half as strong if the only local gondola (Loon’s) wasn’t such a massive piece of shit. The views are terrible, the uphill capacity is terrible, it’s always down, it’s just a terrible lift. Now that I think of it, every east coast gondola I can think of is an oddity in some way. I guess if I’d never seen a proper, modern gondola, I might oppose it too. But a tram sized budget gets you a really, really nice gondola. Not anything like Loon’s, or that ridiculous chondola at Sunday River (just… why).

2

T-to-B t1_ja5dt7t wrote

There's a lot of flash assumptions here.

The funitil isn't a gondola. It actually functions more like a tram. And I don't think they make funitil anymore. They are being replaced by 3s lifts which are pretty similar. I do think that'd be a good option for replacing the tram. But I don't think a traditional gondola is a good idea personally.

Also Cannon is actually just as windy as Palisades if not more. You know how Mount Washington had the highest wind speed record, cannon actually had the 2nd spot. Also keep in mind the cannons tram goes to the summit and the Gold Coast only goes halfway up.

There are east coast gondolas that make sense. Stratton, K1, starship, stowe just to name a few.

4

Fire-the-laser t1_ja8sceg wrote

Having worked at both Cannon and Palisades I can say without question Palisades is windier. The funitel was built specifically to handle higher winds than the previous gondola it replaced but it still routinely goes on wind hold during winters like this year where the resort will likely pass 500” of snow this week.

Anyway, most of the development of new lifts takes place in Europe and the 3s gondolas seem to be the latest and greatest for achieving uphill capacity and efficiency. Most people would still call it a team because they couldn’t tell the difference.

1