Snowbird’s eventful tram facelift

Snowbird ski resort may have jinxed itself when it decided to cut its snow season short, to the damn of its hardcore pass-holders in order to install its brand new tram cabins made in Switzerland by CWA, a subsidiary of Austria’s Doppelmayr, the largest ski lift maker in the world. 

The company produces ropeways, cable-cars and ski lifts, and as of 2019, boasted to have produced over 15,000 installations in 96 countries 

The old cabins were put into service in 1971, and the new ones were supposed to feature an open air rooftop balconies to receive 15 people, plus some glass panels in the floors, these two features for summer operations only.

The last Saturday of May as one of the two new cabins where being installed, it fell to the ground, damaging it beyond repair. The cabin was being lifted by a crane onto the hanger when it fell, according to Dave Field, Snowbird’s general manager. 

Accidents do happen all the time! Fortunately, no one was injured. The new cabins—along with a new drive, braking system, bullwheels, and other upgrades—were scheduled to be installed by Doppelmayr and the tram was scheduled to reopen sometime in June for scenic rides. 

After the accident, the resort is hoping it can operate the tram in a modified fashion by combining the other new cabin with an old one, while CWA builds a replacement one and it hopes to be operating with the pair of new cabins this winter. 

What’s ironical is that if Snowbird had kept a closing date of late May, this dumb and costly incident would probably have not happened. 

This also leads me why Snowbird got stuck into beefing up its iconic tram, when in fact a new 3-S gondola could have replaced it, tripling its capacity? Money and short time thinking might have be the answer to that question. At any rate, I can’t only speculate. I’m not owning or managing Snowbird!