The Peak To Peak Gondola At Whistler Blackcomb
The Whistler/Blackcomb Peak to Peak gondola is not only setting world
records, it's connecting two of the greatest ski mountains in the world
in spectacular fashion.
Personally,
I love to ski both Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. What type
of skiing I am in the mood for, who I am skiing
with,
and/or where we are staying in Whistler, will often be the determining
points in deciding which mountain I ski. And for the most part, I tend
to pick one mountain and ski the entire day there.
 |
Our Son Callum
"Hamming It Up" On
The Display Gondola, Roundhouse Day Lodge, Whistler BC |
Before
the Peak to Peak gondola came along, it was a bit of a journey to get
from Whistler Mt. to Blackcomb Mt. Not "undoable" by any means, but a
bit of a hassle. If you were on top of Whistler Mountain and decided
that you wanted to go over and ski Seventh Heaven on Blackcomb for
instance, you
would have to ski all the way down to the Village and then upload on
the Blackcomb Gondola. This would be at least an hour trip.
Now,
starting in December 2008, you can just jump on the peak to peak
gondola and in 11 minutes time your on a whole new mountain. OK, that
might be a bit of stretch. It's 11 minutes of "riding" time on the
gondola, but I am sure the line-ups will stretch that time out
considerably. We'll see...
Nonetheless, the construction of this
gondola is nothing short of incredible. When it's finished it will
stretch from The Roundhouse Day Lodge on Whistler Mountain to the
Rendezvous Lodge on Blackcomb Mountain.
From Blackcomb (right) to
Whistler (left)
 |
The creek that runs in the valley between Whistler and Blackcomb is
called Fitzsimmons Creek. At the gondola's highest
point above the creek you could fit 4 Ω Statues of Liberty underneath.
(That's a distance of 1430 feet or 436 meters.) And you can bet that
distance will look even greater if you happen to ride the
one of the
two gondolas
that have a glass bottom!
And it's not only high, it's long too!
The crossing distance (in a straight line) is 3 Ω times that of the
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. (2.73 miles or 4.4 km)
Google
Earth 3D Model Of The Peak
To Peak Gondola Looking Towards Whistler Village (Roundhouse Lodge,
Whistler Mountain On Right, Rendezvous Lodge, Blackcomb Mountain On
Left) - image taken from Google Earth
Google
Earth 3D Model Looking
From Roundhouse Lodge, Whistler Mountain, Across The Valley To
Blackcomb Mountain - image taken from Google Earth
What's
In A
Name?
Actually, the name "Peak to Peak Gondola" (The official name is
actually
Peak
2 Peak) is a bit misleading, as it
will not actually travel from the peak of Whistler Mountain to the peak
of Blackcomb Mountain.
On the Whistler Mt. side, the gondola will start/finish at the
Roundhouse Lodge, which is located at the top of the main Whistle
gondola. Here is a look at the construction taking place on Whistler.

This photo was taken during the 2007/2008 ski season. The
concrete
platforms will eventually be enclosed by a new structure where all of
the passenger loading and unloading will take place.
As you may of noticed in the images above, there are only 4 support
towers for the entire lift. Two on each mountain. The towers will rise
up to 213 feet (65 meters) into the air.
One
Of The Towers Under
Construction On Whistler Mountain Looking Towards Blackcomb Mountain
A
Support Tower Under
Construction On Blackcomb Rises From The Mist
The loading/unloading station on Blackcomb will take place at the
Rendezvous Lodge, the main day lodge on Blackcomb.
Here
is the concrete platform as it looked during the 2007/2008 ski season.
Straight behind the platform is the Couloir Extreme, one of the
toughest and most exciting runs on Blackcomb Mountain.
Working
On The Concrete Platform,
Rendezvous
Lodge, Blackcomb, Winter 2008
Just The Specs Ma'am (Technical
Details of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola):
Speed
- the gondola will travel at 7.5 m or 24.6 feet per second
 |
Callum "Falling" From The Display
Cabin |
Ride
Time
- once you're on the lift it is an 11 minute ride
Number
Of
Cabins
- there will be 28 cabins (leaving ever 49 seconds), one of which will
have a glass bottom. Each cabin will hold 28 people, 24 seated and 4
standing.
Capacity
- 4,100 passengers per hour
World
Records:
- longest unsupported (free) span for a lift of its kind in the world
- world's highest lift of its kind
- world's longest continuous lift system
- only gondola installation of its kind in North America
The Peak to Peak gondola is scheduled to open in December 2008 and
represents just one more reason to visit Whistler Blackcomb.
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