Big Sky's New Lone Peak Tram Nears Completion With Tower Installation
Big Sky Resort, MT is in the process of building one of the most highly-anticipated ski lift projects in the world. The new Lone Peak Tram is expected to open during the 2023-2024 winter season.
The resort announced on August 8th, 2023 that the lift's sole tower was finished, and that crews are expected to begin pulling the haul rope next week.
Check out the stunning video by SkyLab Media House below:
Unlike other lifts that use dozens of towers to ascend a mountain, the new Tram will require this sole tower to ferry skiers to Lone Peak's 11,166 ft. summit.
Big Sky breaks down just how much materials and manpower the tower took to build in the project update below:
"The Lone Peak Tram's sole tower has been completed. Over 250,000 pounds of steel and 200 cubic yards of concrete were used to create the 100-foot tower. Specialists from seven US-based construction companies and Garaventa in Switzerland worked with Big Sky Resort team members to achieve this high-alpine feat of engineering.
A crane was erected on the ridgeline to allow for components of the tower and sheave assembly to hang for extended periods of time and be bolted with extreme precision. All the materials of the tower and crane were carried to the location by helicopter. Tower installation started in summer 2022 with excavation, installing micropiles and tie-backs deep into the rock base, and pouring concrete for the foundations. This summer, the crane was erected, allowing for the tower to be constructed and topped with the sheave assembly."
Click here for more information about the Lone Peak Tram.
Safe to say that constructing the new Lone Peak Tram is no easy feat. Crews have been working since last summer on the project.
The lift has been the subject of controversy since Big Sky announced that accessing the tram will change from a daily rate to a per ride fee.
With that in mind, and the lift's obvious importance to the ski industry as a whole, we'll keep a close eye on all updates regarding construction, opening, and any other relevant news related to the lift.
Big Sky Resort
Big Sky has provided the following list of facts about the new Lone Peak Tram:
-Two tram cabins, each with up to 75-passenger capacity and configurable seating
-One, 100-foot-high tower, approximately 650 feet below the top terminal
-Unrivaled speed, traveling at 10 meters per second, or 22 miles per hour
-3.7 minute ride time, with 1.6 minute dwell time in the terminals
-Vertical Rise: 2,142 feet, an increase of more than 600 feet from the original tram
-Horizontal Length: 4,612 feet
-Bottom terminal elevation: 9,024 feet
-Top terminal elevation: 11,166 feet
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