INTERNATIONAL ROPEWAY REVIEW 2/2009 English Special · Peak2Peak project, this world-famous...

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EnglishSpecial

Schladming’s most spectacular skirace today is doubtless the men’s World Cupnight slalom, which this year drew a newrecord crowd of some 50,000 visitors. Andthe jubilant mood in Schladming has been re-inforced by the decision to award the 2013Ski World Championships to the resort.Schladming hosted the Ski World Champi-onships once before, in 1982, and can nowlook forward to once again being center stagein international skiing for two whole weeks.But even for such a famous resort as Schlad-ming, ski racing is not everything, and theStyrian ski area currently has a focus on up-grading its offering for families. A big step inthat direction was taken at the beginning ofthe 2008/2009 winter season with the open-

ing of a new chondola, the first installation ofits type to be built in Styria. The system is de-signed to meet the needs of the various cate-gories of users with a combination of two dif-ferent kinds of carriers, namely chairs forcompetent skiers and boarders who do notwant to remove their gear for the ride, andgondolas for foot passengers, tobogganersand children. The carrier sequence on thenew Sunjet-Hochwurzen installation is threesix-seater canopy chairs with heated seats andluxury padding followed by an eight-passen-ger gondola. The Carvatech gondolas are ob-viously the ideal solution for optimum safetyfor children.As far as the ropeway engineering is con-cerned, the chondola is a standard Leitner de-

sign with a high enclosure for the drive ter-minal on the mountain and a low enclosurefor the various assemblies in the lower termi-nal with the tensioning equipment. The up-per terminal also has fully automatic parkingfor the 51 chairs, 17 gondolas and a mainte-nance carrier. Talking of the mountain terminal, what is lesswell known is the fact that the Leitner engi-neers have developed a safety system that pre-vents incorrect coupling on all detachable in-stallations. A big advantage of this enhancedcoupling system is that it permits the dis-tance between the upper terminal and thefirst tower on the line to be reduced. That inturn is the key to improving the rope geom-etry in this critical section, with reduced rope

I N T E R N AT I O N A L RO P E WAY R E V I E W 2 / 2 0 0 964

Unloading point at the upper terminal: Passengers on the chairs alight first and exit down theunloading ramp before the gondola doors open for foot passengers to alight and board.

The men’s World Cup night slalom is just one of the big attractions at Schlad-ming.With the new Sunjet-Hochwurzen, a Leitner chondola with a 3:1 mix of six-seater chairs and eight-passenger gondolas, the Styrian resort has becomeeven more attractive for families.

Telemix for conveniencecombined with safety

clearance above the ground. The new cou-pling system, which has been patented andcertified by TÜV Süd, plays an importantrole at the upper terminal of the Karlesbahnin the Kauner Valley. The line at the upperterminal of the Sunjet-Hochwurzen also ben-efits from Leitner’s modified coupling sys-tem.

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ROPEWAYS

Upper station:Thanks to the enhanced coupling sys-tem, the distance between the upper terminal andthe first tower on the line can be reduced and therope geometry improved.

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SUNJET-HOCHWURZEN TELEMIX CHAIRLIFT/GONDOLAAltitude lower terminal 1044 mAltitude upper terminal 1452 mLine length 1444 mVertical height 408 mHaul rope diameter 46 mmDrive terminal upper terminalDrive (continuous output) 455 kWTensioning lower terminalNo. of carriers (chairs/gondolas) 51/17Line speed 5.0 m/sTransit time 4.9 minSystem capacity 2315 P/h

TECHNICAL DATA

6-seater chair and 8-passenger gondola on the lineof the Sunjet-Hochwurzen Telemix

Planning Melzer & HopfnerRopeway engineering LeitnerElectrical engineering LeitnerGondolas CarvatechHaul rope Teufelberger

CONTRACTORS

The new gondola built by the AustrianDoppelmayr company as a link between thetwo peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb makesthe whole resort doubly attractive to visitorsin summer and in winter. For skiers andboarders it means they can change moun-tains at the drop of hat so as to enjoy the verybest snow conditions, and summer visitorscan take advantage of the new ride to enjoyspectacular views of the Rocky Mountainsfrom two peaks in a single day. In his opening address Dave Brownlie, Pres-ident and CEO of Whistler Blackcomb,spoke of a historic day, while TransportationMinister Kevin Falcon and Sports MinisterGary Lunn spoke of the new gondola as amasterpiece of engineering and a particular-

ly eco-friendly mode of transportation be-tween the two ski areas. They were also agreedthat the Peak-2-Peak Gondola will furtherenhance Whistler’s reputation and assure theresort a place among the world’s top ski des-tinations.With the completion of the historicPeak2Peak project, this world-famous Cana-dian ski area has moved up to join the lead-ers in the international winter sport league.The decision taken by Intrawest as the oper-ating company to further develop the resorthas paid off handsomely, and Whistler Black-comb is now classed as one of North Ameri-ca’s premium ski and snowboard destina-tions. ISR has already reported in detail onDoppelmayr’s 3S system and the specifica-tions of the Peak2Peak Gondola (ISR

4/2007), but it is worth listing once again thefour ropeway engineering records held by thenew ropeway:� at 3024 m, the longest span on such a sys-

tem worldwide, � at 415 m, the highest ground clearance on

such a system worldwide,� the longest connected tourist ropeway sys-

tem,� at a cost of USD 52 million, the most ex-

pensive ropeway ever built in North Amer-ica.

So we can start looking forward to the 2010Winter Olympics and Paralympics atWhistler Mountain – now the home of a ver-itable „must” for any serious tourist!


ROPEWAYS

On 12 December 2008 a new chapter in ropeway history was written inWhistler (British Columbia, Canada) with the official opening of the Peak-2-Peak Gondola.

World-record-breakinggondola opened

Doug Forseth, Vice-President Operations,WhistlerBlackcomb, reports they had more than 561,000visits on the Peak-2-Peak Gondola betweenDecember 13 and March 11. He says that whenhe rides the Peak-2-Peak there is someone inevery cabin taking pictures and many are onthe phone calling someone to tell them wherethey are and what they are experiencing.Also,the most frequent question he hears is, "Howdid they get the ropes in place?" Surprisingly, heseldom hears any questions about evacuation.The most frequent comment Doug hears ishow smooth the ride is.Whistler Blackcomb's busiest weekend to datewas Valentine's Day weekend on February 14and 15, with more than 22,000 visits.Thattranslates into approximately 50% of the totalfor that weekend. For the Valentine weekend,the P2P lifties gave the white glove service anddressed in tuxedos and top hats for guests toact as "chauffeurs" for the red limo. Speaking ofromance, there has also been a number of mar-riage proposals on the Peak-2-Peak Gondola, aswell as a wedding.And there are more wed-dings booked for the future!

OPERATING REPORT

Dave Brownlie, President and CEO of Whistler Black-comb: „The P2P will dramatically enhance the guestexperience on our mountains both winter and sum-mer.”

Dough Forseth,Vice-President Operations,WhistlerBlackcomb: „We did a field trip to Kitzbühel,Austria,to see a similar 3S Gondola in operation at first hand.”

Stuart Rempel,Vice-President Marketing and Sales,Whistler Blackcomb: „Whistler Blackcomb's newPeak2Peak Gondola will become a year-round attrac-tion. It will clearly differentiate Whistler from any oth-er resort in North America.The Gondola will becomea real tourism icon.“


ROPEWAYS

Warren Sparks,Doppelmayr CTEC Ltd., (l) and his team have created a new tourism icon in Whistler Mountain.

Arthur DeJong,Whistler Blackcomb,Paul E.Mathews, Ecosign,Gerlinde Wober, ISR, and Stefan Huter,Doppelmayr,were in a celebratory mood at the official opening (from the left).

Felix Rhyner,CWA,Stuart Rempel,Whistler Blackcomb, and Rico Wehrli,CWA,have every right to pose soproudly in front of one of the CWA cabins on the Peak-2-Peak Gondola just before the official opening (from the left).

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With CEO Michael Seeber and hismanagement team from South Tyrol in atten-dance and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter as avery special guest of honor, Leitner Technolo-gies officially opened their new plant in GrandJunction, Colorado, on 26 January.The new facility is located in the immediatevicinity of the former headquarters of Leitner-Poma of America, which was bursting at theseams. Costing 15 million dollars and takingjust twelve months to build, a 9000 sq.m. plantwith offices for Leitner-Poma of America anda service center and spare parts store for PrinothGroomers is now to be admired in Grand Junc-tion.The two affiliates of the Leitner Group are al-ready using the new 7.3 hectare site, whichgives the hundred-strong labor force twice asmuch space as they had before. The LeitnerGroup uses the Grand Junction facility to han-dle production planning and engineering, as-sembly and customer service for its NorthAmerican, Australian and New Zealand mar-kets. Additional space is also required for thelatest successful products from Leitner Tech-nologies, namely wind turbines (Leitwind) andurban light railways (MiniMetro). „In Telfs,Austria we opened a new facility a few months

ago that brings our product groups closer to-gether,” says Michael Seeber, CEO at LeitnerTechnologies. „And here in the USA we havealso combined our various activities in one lo-cation so as to take better advantage of poten-tial synergies.”Governor Bill Ritter expressed his thanks forthe decision to invest in Colorado and contin-ued, „At a time when the business community

is being confronted with one piece of bad newsafter another, it is motivating and highly re-freshing to see a real success story!”The music for the event was provided by a five-strong wind ensemble from the Leitner WorksBand in Sterzing. They took the opportunity topay a visit to their American colleagues, whichwent down very well with all concerned.

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ROPEWAYS

An impressive success story

The opening ceremony with Michael Seeber, president of Leitner Technologies (middle),Governor Bill Ritter (right) and Jean Gauthier, president of Poma (left)

Leitner Group opens its new plant in North America.

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A big handshake between Michael Seeber (left) and Governor Ritter (right)

The new Leitner Technologies headquarters in the USA

In the past, transportation to the top ofthe jumphill in Poland’s famous ski jumpingcenter in Zakopane took the form of what theexperts would call a pulsed-movement single-seater jigback. At all events, this somewhatunusual system was no longer equal to re-quirements, and the Polish Ministry of Sportsinvited tenders for a replacement in keepingwith Zakopane’s ambitions as a venue for ma-jor international events.The contract was won by LST Loipolder Seil-bahn-Technik, and the German companytook advantage of the situation to position itslatest system on the chairlift market, namelya fixed-grip chairlift with a compact driveand tensioning terminal that is suitable foruse with either double or quad chairs and aline length of up to 1000 m. The compact de-sign reduces on-site installation work to aminimum. The complete drive terminal ispre-assembled and tested in the productionplant. With the tensioning system integratedin the drive terminal, the return station has avery small footprint, which is a big advantagein steep terrain and on jumphills.

The construction work for the new doublechairlift in Zakopane was handled by M&KS. C. and managed by the former Polish na-tional ski jumper Jan Kowal. The control sys-tem was supplied by Siemens Elin of Inns-bruck. The new chairlift was handed over tothe client on 27 August 2008 and proved it-self in its baptism of fire at the 5th Interna-tional Summer Grand Prix on 30 August.

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DOUBLE CHAIRLIFT FOR THE WIELKA KROKIEW JUMPHILLLine length 346 mVertical height 133 mNo. of towers 6Gage 4.0 mHaul rope diameter 32 mmDrive-tensioning station lower terminalReturn station upper terminalDrive 55 kWNo. of chairs 50Interval 11.8 sLine speed 1.2 m/sTransit time 4.5 minCapacity 608 P/h

TECHNICAL DATA

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ROPEWAY

Double chairlift for a jumphillThe ropeway manufacturer LST Loipolder Seilbahn-Technik hasbuilt the new lift for the Wielka Krokiewjumphill in Zakopane.

The return station hasa minimum footprint.

Ski jumpers at the lower terminal 3-D visualization of the compact drive-tensioning station


SAFETY

“Last season’s major ropeway acci-dents have once again shown that the risk ofderopement is the weakness in monocablecirculating systems.” That is how I put it inthe first sentence of my article published inISR 5/1990. Regrettably the same can still besaid today, as last year’s deropement on theWixi-Fallboden fixed-grip double chairliftclearly shows. In an article published in ISR in 2004 underthe title „Why do haul ropes derope?” (ISR2/2004, p. 25), Professor Gabor Oplatka pre-sented a list of all deropement incidents re-ported and their respective causes. By far themost frequent cause, in a total of more thanthirty cases, was „wind pressing the haul ropeoff the sheave train”. In the section on „Pre-vention” Prof. Oplatka says: „In a significantnumber of incidents, the haul rope must havebeen restrained by the sheave flange (if onlybriefly) prior to actual deropement. Thismeans that sensors could be installed – asthey already have on some ropeways – to de-tect the position of the rope on the flange andshut down the system via a safety circuit.” Iwill come back to that point later.

The 1990 analysis

To return to the article I wrote in 1990: I ex-pressed the probability of becoming a victimof deropement as the product of the proba-bility of occurrence and the probability ofharm caused by such an event, and assignedthe measures needed to prevent deropementto those two partial probabilities.The measures to be taken to reduce the prob-ability of occurrence of deropement were de-fined as follows:� Strict observation of the limit values thatplay a role in deropement (e.g. minimumsheave load, fleet angle) in design and con-struction� Rope sheave design (e.g. groove geometry,flange shape)

� Spring-mounted counter sheaves� Operational measures (e.g. reduced linespeed)� Wind warning systems as the basis for suit-able operational measuresThe measures to be taken to reduce the prob-ability of harm caused by deropement weredefined as follows:� Rope catching devices� Deropement switches� Operating instructions to shut down thesystem in response to any irregularities thatmight indicate deropement (unusual rope os-cillations or counterweight movement)The fact that there are still so many cases ofderopement with subsequent loss of the haulrope from the tower shows that the abovemeasures are not sufficient to reduce theresidual risk of deropement to a really satis-factory level. So what are the alternatives?In 1990 I listed the following approaches tothe problem:1. Continued research into the interrelation-ships between the parameters that have abearing on haul rope deropement2. New mechanical measures to reduce theprobability of deropement3. New electrical measures to reduce theprobability of deropement by automaticallyreducing line speed or shutting down the sys-tem as soon as the haul rope runs out of thesheave groove and before it passes over therim.

Developments since 1990

In the three fields identified as having rele-vance for the problem, significant develop-ments have since been made. Ad 1: A good example of useful research is Dr.Gábor Piskóty’s paper on „Deropement pro-tection for sheave trains“, which was firstpublished in German in 1995 and then print-ed in English in ISR 3/1996 (pp. 37f ). In hisarticle the author reported on the “position-

al stability of wire rope as a traction memberresistant to bending on passage over groups ofrotating sheaves, with or without a visco-elas-tic lining, at an incorrect angle of approach”.Ad 2: Section 18 (Mechanical devices on theline) of the 2005-01-01 edition of ropewaystandard EN 13223 („Safety requirementsfor cableway installations designed to carrypersons. Drive systems and other mechanicalequipment”) makes provisions for the designengineering of the haul rope sheaves andsheave trains. The fact that deropement can-not be fully excluded in spite of these mea-sures is clear from the following subsectionsof Section 18:� 18.1.5 Deropement protection for carry-ing-hauling ropes (to prevent deropement ofthe haul rope on the inside of the line);� 18.1.7 Rope catchers for carrying-haulingropes (to catch the haul rope in the case ofderopement on the outside of the line);� 18.1.8 Devices for the detection of derope-ment (tower deropement switches to shut down the installation in the case of derope-ment).There have also been suggestions for im-proved rope catchers, none of which havebeen taken beyond the prototype stage, as inthe case of the central rope catcher proposedby Prof. G. Oplatka and Dr. M. Volmer (ISR5/2000, p. 14) and the hinged rope catcherdeveloped by Prof. E. Engel (ISR 7/2004, p. 6 and ISR 8/2004, p. 11). For understand-able reasons, which cannot be gone into here,neither proposal was taken any further by theindustry.Ad 3: The idea of using electronic equipmentto monitor the position of the haul rope in thegroove of the sheave was not new in 1990, butat that time there were no suitable componentson the market for the extremely challengingenvironment in which ropeways operate. A serious attempt to develop such a rope po-sition monitoring device was made at the De-partment of Railway Engineering of Vienna

Josef Nejez

How to prevent haul rope deropement

That was the title of an article written for ISR by Professor Josef Nejez in 1990,in which he evaluated the measures taken to reduce the risk of such incidents.

What has happened in the meantime?

ENGINEERING

Technical University in 1989 (ISR 5/1990, p. 12). Dr. Christian Mann, Assistant Profes-sor in Prof. Engel’s department, first definedthe requirements to be met by an electronicrope position monitoring device. Then, inco-operation with an electrical engineeringcompany, he developed a monitoring deviceon the basis of an electronic proximityswitch, which passed the necessary CE-LENEC environmental tests. The devices un-derwent trials on a chairlift, where they wereinstalled completely separate from the rope-way control system. Unfortunately, the rope-way authorities were not well disposed to thesolution due to their basic skepticism regard-ing the reliability and hence the use of elec-tronic devices on the line, an attitude that hasalso caused problems for subsequent develop-ers of electronic rope position monitoring de-vices (although ropeway installations havebeen operating with such devices in NorthAmerica for many years already).In the meantime the big manufacturers areoffering rope position monitoring devicesthat are ready for series production and aresuitable for use on new installations as well asfor retrofitting.

What does rope position monitoring do?

As can be seen from the above classificationof measures required to prevent deropement,fitting the sheave trains with rope catchersand tower deropement switches does not re-produce the function of a rope position mon-itoring device. In the case of deropement ona tower fitted with a conventional system, aderopement signal is transmitted by the tow-er switch and the system shuts down auto-matically. If all goes well, the falling haul ropewill be arrested by the rope catchers. Oftenenough that is not the case, however, firstlybecause there are limits to the design of therope catchers and secondly because the later-al forces that led to deropement can combinewith oscillations triggered in the rope duringthe deropement process and cause the haulrope to jump out of the rope catcher andcontinue its fall.In terms of safety engineering, therefore, it ispreferable to ensure that deropement doesnot occur in the first place. As experienceshows (and the above article by Prof. Oplat-ka confirms), the measures taken hitherto toreduce the probability of deropement are notsufficient. Rope position monitoring, on theother hand, definitely reduces the probabili-ty of occurrence.

Today’s standard rope position monitoringdevices, namely the RPD (Rope Position De-tector) used by Doppelmayr (Fig. 1) and theCPS (Cable Position Supervision) developedby Leitner (Fig. 2), both work on the sameprinciple: On the leading and trailing evenerframes of the sheave train, a contactless elec-tronic proximity switch is located below thepath of the rope between the two sheaves.The proximity switch captures and processesthe distance of the moving haul rope from itssurface sensor and responds in two stages (seeFig. 3):� Stage 1: If the haul rope runs out of thecentral sheave groove and contacts the flange,line speed is reduced.� Stage 2: If the haul rope passes beyond therim of the sheave, the installation is shut down.

The systems are also designed to recognizeand indicate other fault conditions (rope tooclose to the proximity switch) and internalsystem errors.Whereas Stage 2 basically involves the samefunction as a conventional tower deropementswitch, i.e. it shuts down the installation inresponse to deropement, the functionalityprovided in Stage 1 is a significant advantage.First of all, automatic line speed reduction al-so reduces the danger that the haul rope willpass over the rim of the sheave. And second,the system makes operating personnel awareof the beginning and location (tower) of a po-tentially critical situation. From deropementtests it can be assumed that, where the provi-sions of the standards are observed, thederopement safety factor for the haul roperelative to the sheave flange will be aboutthree times higher than for the rope runningout of the groove in the sheave liner. In com-bination with automatic line speed reduc-

tion, the Stage 1 response of the rope positionmonitoring device significantly lowers theprobability of deropement.A prototype rope position monitoring devicebased on a completely different principle waspresented by the Hima company at the 2007Operations Manager Seminar in Obergur-gl/Tyrol – an interesting proposal (see box)!

Are rope position monitoringdevices state of the art?

In 2007, an amended version of the 2003Austrian Ropeways Act came into force (BG-Bl. I 83/2007), which among other things in-cludes a definition of the state of the art andthus provides a legal basis for an assessmentof the state of the art. The definition (in § 12aSeilbG 2003) translates as follows:

The term “state of the art” as employed in thisfederal law means the state of development ofadvanced technical processes, devices, andmethods of construction and operationwhich are based on relevant scientific find-ings and whose serviceability is tried and test-ed. In determining the state of the art, ac-count must be taken in particular of compa-rable processes, devices, and methods of con-struction and operation, and a reasonablebalance between the inputs needed for thetechnical measures required for the operationinvolved and the resulting benefits in terms ofthe interests to be protected.It can be seen that, in addition to the purelytechnical aspect, the definition also providesfor a comparison between the costs of thenecessary technical measures and the benefitsin terms of their intended purpose.The fact that rope position monitoring is notincluded in ropeway standard EN 13223(„Safety requirements for cableway installa-


SAFETY

Fig. 3:The monitored positions of the haul rope on the sheaves (Source:Doppelmayr,RPD system)

tions designed to carry persons. Drive sys-tems and other mechanical equipment”), bythe way, does not mean that rope positionmonitoring is not state of the art. What is de-cisive – for Austria at least – is the definitionin the Ropeways Act. If we apply this legal de-finition of the state of the art to the rope po-sition monitoring devices available today, thefollowing assessment can be made:� The state of development of rope positionmonitoring devices is based on scientific find-ings, and they are a tried and tested solu-tion in terms of serviceability (more aboutthat later).� For a comparable device, we have to takethe conventional solution of fitting the sheave trains with tower deropement switch-es (rope catchers are still needed on towerswith rope position monitoring to reduce theelement of residual risk).� The benefit to the interests to be protectedis a significant reduction of the risk that usersof the ropeway could become the victims ofderopement. � The resources required to install a rope po-sition monitoring device would seem to bereasonable in comparison with the benefitsand also with the overall costs of a ropewayinstallation.Personally, I am very much convinced of thebenefits of rope position monitoring in termsof safety engineering. If I were involved in mycapacity as an expert witness in a court caserelating to a ropeway accident resulting from


SAFETY

Fig. 2: Sensor for Leitner’s CPSSource: Leitner

Fig. 1: Sensor for Doppelmayr’s RPD

THE HIMA COMPANY’S ROPE POSITIONMONITORING DEVICE

The rope position monitoring device developedby the Hima company is based on the followingprinciple. Regardless of haul rope speed andsheave radius, the sheaves of a sheave train al-ways rotate at the same relative speed as long asthe haul rope is running in the liner grooves. Butif an increase in fleet angle causes the haul ropeto run out of the groove of the leading sheave,effective rolling radius for the position of the haulrope also increases, and the speed of the sheaveis reduced relative to a sheave in the middle ofthe train, for example.The trailing sheave is alsoincluded in the comparison of sheave speed (Fig.1).

Accurate measurement of the speeds of the lead-ing and trailing sheaves plus a sheave in the mid-dle of the train is performed to detect any suchchange in relative speed (Fig. 2).The data isprocessed electronically and used for the auto-matic warning or shut-down routine. Sheavespeed is measured by pulse counting using timingdiscs mounted on the three sheaves (Fig. 3).

According to the Hima company, the system of-fers several advantages over rope position moni-toring based on a contactless proximity switch: Itis independent of the type and size of the haulrope; it offers good resistance to lightning strikes

and electrical discharges, and it can easilybe incorporated in compression sheavetrains (unlike rope position monitoringwith proximity switches, where the sensorcannot be located above the haul rope be-cause of the geometry of the grips, and anadditional two-wheeler frame with countersheaves therefore has to be fitted to per-mit the sensor to be located below thehaul rope).

INFORMATION

Fig. 1: Effective rolling radius of leading sheave RE in-creases with increasing lateral misalignment of thehaul rope, and sheave speed relative to referencesheave RRef changes.Trailing sheave RA is also includ-ed in the comparison of sheave speed.

Fig. 2: Speed measuring on the leading sheave of thesheave train

Fig. 3:Timingdisc for mea-suring sheavespeedPhotos: Hima

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deropement of the haul rope and were to beasked by the judge whether the accidentcould have been avoided, I would have to sayand I would say – taking account of the re-sults of the investigations, of course – thatthere was a high probability that the accidentwould not have occurred if a rope positionmonitoring system had been installed. Fromnumerous talks with my peers, I can also saythat my assessment of rope position monitor-ing meets with general agreement.That fact that ropeway operators are also be-coming increasingly convinced of the needfor such safety systems is reflected in the ref-erence list of installations fitted with RPDs:� 1997: 1 installation (Söllereckbahn,

Oberstdorf, D)� 2000: 4 installations� 2001: 8 installations

� 2002: 8 installations� 2003: 10 installations� 2004: 12 installations (including 2

retrofits)� 2005: 21 installations (including 6

retrofits)� 2006: 18 installations� 2007: 24 installations (including 1

retrofit)� 2008: 20 installationsAt the end of 2008, a total of 126 gondolasand chairlifts were operating with rope posi-tion monitoring on the towers. It is for the ropeway authorities to take alegally binding decision on the questionwhether ropeway position monitoring formonocable circulating ropeway systems mustbe classified as state of the art.

Josef Nejez


GROOMING

Birthday for a cult brandA lot has happened in forty years, but a PistenBully will alwaysbe a PistenBully – and will keep on runnin’!

PistenBully 400 W – always a fine sight,whether alone or

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At this year’s Interalpin, PistenBully is celebrat-ing its birthday with lots of interesting thingsto see. In addition to several new items, visitorswill also be able to get all the information theywant on the pre-used groomer offering.More than 15,000 visitors from over fortycountries are again expected at the big event inInnsbruck from 22 - 24 April. KässbohrerGeländefahrzeug AG will naturally be there,too, and will have the latest PistenBully onshow in Hall 4.A 490 hp engine brings enormous thrust to themountain – and makes the PistenBully 600 Po-lar the most powerful machine on the market,with a wide blade that enables it to move a lotof snow fast. The PistenBully 600 Polar will bepresented at Interalpin in the winch versionwith the optional additional 80 liter tank.

The baby in the PistenBully family, the Paana,is a cross-country trail specialist. The machineis available in a choice of widths, which alsomakes it the ideal solution for narrow trails. Italso comes with a choice of low-profile tracksto avoid damage to the ground where the snowcover is thin.

The revamped PistenBully 100

This all-rounder has been completely re-vamped and will be making its debut in thenew look at Interalpin with the new Vario-TrackDesigner Competition track-setter.And at booth no. 420 there will also be a Pis-tenBully 400 W and a Formatic 350 as thecost-effective alternative to a real PistenBully.And so on and so on and so on.

How it all began.The first PistenBully PB 120 B

built in 1969.

500 EXHIBITORS AND INTERNATIONAL BRANDS500 UNTERNEHMEN UNDINTERNATIONALE MARKEN

43 000 M2 OF EXHIBITIONSPACE43 000 M2 AUSSTELLUNGSFLÄCHE

14100 TRADE VISITORS14100 FACHBESUCHER

58 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED58 VERTRETENE LÄNDER

2010A L P E X P O G R E N O B L E F R A N C EF R O M 2 1 T O 2 3 A P R I L 2 0 1 0

T H E M O S T I M P O R TA N T M E E T I N G O F T H E M O U N TA I N E C O N O M YDIE BEDEUTENDSTE FACHMESSE FÜR RAUMPLANUNG UND ENTWICKLUNG IN GEBIRGSREGIONEN

QUICK QUOTE / EXPRESS-KOSTENVORANSCHLAGGet an instant online quote for taking part in the exhibition !Rechnen Sie online sofort aus, wie viel Ihre Teilnahme an derMesse kosten würde !

www.sam-grenoble.com

Come and exhibit at The SAMPräsentieren Sie Ihre Firma auf der SAM


GROOMING

Beast Night in InnsbruckThe Beast guarantees

perfect conditions.For photos of the

show go to pages 81ff.

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Six hundred visitors from all over theworld came to enjoy the première of theBeast, which is Prinoth’s new benchmark inthe field of snow groomers. The Seegrubeprovided a spectacular setting for the perfor-mance of a science fiction thriller based onthe „Beauty and the Beast” fairytale. WithHubert Lepka as the director, Lawine Torrèn

had the undivided attention of the ski areaand ropeway industry representatives for afull 30 minutes. The protagonist was ofcourse the Beast. Together with a helicopter,the cabin of the Nordkettenbahn jigback andspectacular „son et lumière” effects, a modernversion of the fairytale was staged against ahigh-alpine backcloth.Michael Seeber, president of the Leitnergroup, explains: „The symbiosis of art andengineering once more underscores our cor-porate philosophy.”

New dimensions in snow grooming

„With its Beast, Prinoth has opened up awholly new dimension in snow grooming.Thanks to its impressive thrust and hill-climbing capabilities and optimum groom-

ing capacity, the Beast offers a new standardof efficiency,” says Werner Amort, presidentat Prinoth.The main argument in favor of the Beast isthe available acreage per hour, which is thekey factor in the total cost of grooming. ThePrinoth Beast is targeted at a new market seg-ment, with a machine that offers customersnew potential in the field of grooming.

Drivers Club and Demonstration Tour

On the following day, 400 members of thePrinoth Drivers Club took the opportunityto discover the attractions of the Beast forthemselves. The Beast is now going on aDemonstration Tour of the Alps and Scandi-navia and will also be the main attraction atthe Prinoth booth at Interalpin.

On 27 March Prinoth presented the Beast, the world’s biggestand most powerful snow groomer, in the framework of a liveperformance on the Seegrube overlooking Innsbruck.

- Sensational working width - Unsurpassed grooming speed - Optimal power transmission - Extraordinary pushing power - Never before seen climbing ability - Innovative cabin comfort and user-friendliness

- Significant grooming cost savings

THE STEP INTO A NEW DIMENSION


SNOWTUBING

Synthetic ski run numbers continue to riseAfter a record-breaking 2008, even better results are expectedin 2009 for new artificial downhill skiing and snowboard runs.

Visualization of theproject in the United

Arab Emirates

After a very successful 2008, with the installation of manyNeveplast artificial ski-pistes in Asia and Europe, plus fifty odd snow-tubing runs all around the world, new and exciting projects are plannedfor 2009. We would like to draw our readers’ attention to two newNeveplast contracts in particular: in Hungary and the United ArabEmirates.Neveplast has won an international tender for a 350m downhill ski runin Hungary. The customer’s specifications are demanding: excellentsmoothness and lateral grip. This new piste is served by an existing ski-lift, and so the Italian company has been asked to cover the lift tracktoo, to allow for all-year-round use. Neveplast won the contract thanksto its unique features. These include excellent lateral grip, the same ski-ing feeling as on compact artificial snow without the lateral slip that istypical of conventional artificial snow runs. In addition, Neveplast us-es a special plastic formula that permits the run to be used when tem-peratures plummet or rise without the need to irrigate the material. A

gradient of just 10% permitssnowploughing. At gradientsbetween 18 and 35%, pistescan be built for higher abilitylevels. Neveplast has a fine rep-utation throughout Europe andthe world for its high safetystandards. In fact, thanks to theevenness of the surface, there isno risk of your skis gettingtrapped. Its excellent slip means

you will not hurt yourself or suffer burns if you fall. And there is noneed for any special gear. You simply use ordinary skis and snowboards,just as on natural snow. The authorities at Sátoraljaújhely have alsocommissioned Neveplast to build a conveyor lift to serve two tubingslopes, which are also being installed.Another installation is going to be built in Al Ain (United Arab Emi-rates). The client, Nael & Bin Harmal Investment Co. llc, will drawon Neveplast’s know-how to build a slope on a metal structure withtwo downhill ski pistes - one for use as a nursery slope and the otherfor more experienced skiers. Once again Neveplast was chosen for theabove reasons. Three Tubby snowtubing runs will also be installed nextto the ski slopes. This is a special project, as the client has decided touse Neveplast runs with their extremely low-cost installation and man-agement as opposed to a more conventional programmed snow solu-tion. Three conveyor lifts will be used to take skiers to the top (sup-plied by Sunkid).The great success of Tubby snowtubing runs (winter and summer) inpast years seems to be repeating itself in 2009. March has already seenthe first deliveries and installation work in America and Europe.

EngineeringComponentsStation DesignforModernisation &Turnkey Projects

Ropeway TechnologyMade in Germany

SEILBAHN TECHNIK.com

Halle 2 OG · Stand 225

[email protected] · phone +49 8042 50392-12

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SNOWMAKING

The dawn of a new era

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Following successful tests with thefirst Snowmaker in Israel in July 2008, theAustrian Pitztaler Gletscherbahnen companyand Zermatt Bergbahnen in Switzerland havenow ushered in a new and exciting age ofsnowmaking in Europe: The IDE Snowmak-er permits snow to be produced in largequantities without chemicals at any temper-ature. The machines went by sea from Israelto Slovenia and from there were transportedin a truck convoy to the lower terminals ofthe two cablecars. The crews had a hard jobgetting the heavy components up the moun-tains. When the Zermatt machine had beencommissioned, the IDE engineers went tothe Pitz Valley to repeat the procedure there.In both ski areas there is currently so muchnatural snow on the ground that it was decid-ed to wait until the need arose later in thespring to switch the machines on again. At allevents, the Pitztaler Gletscherbahnen andZermatt Bergbahnen ropeway companies arethe first to recognize the advantages of theIDE Snowmaker for their operations.

The Zermatt project

Matterhorn Ski Paradise is the biggest andonly ski area in the Alps that remains open allsummer. There is only one problem: „In lateautumn, from – say – the beginning of Oc-tober, the glacier trail finishes some 500 mshort of the cablecar station, and skiers haveto walk the rest,” says Christen Baumann,CEO at Zermatt Bergbahnen AG. „That isobviously not ideal.” And Chief Tourist Of-ficer Daniel Luggen adds, „In the last fewyears we have seen a decline in demand forthe popular ski testing sessions we hold be-tween October and December, so we had todo something to ensure that our visitors canbe sure of enjoying their skiing to the full.”

The Pitz Valley project

„With the help of this new snowmaking tech-nology, our season opener in autumn is nowas good as guaranteed,” says Dr. Hans Ru-

batscher, Managing Director of PitztalerGletscherbahnen. „The company decided toinvest 1.5 million euros in an upgrade on theexisting snowmaking system to make surethat in future we can deliver snow to thosetrail sections that get a raw deal from Moth-er Nature,” he adds. This means that the skiarea can now open very early in the seasonand offer top-quality slalom trails to thesquads that come to the glaciers from all overEurope for their pre-season training, while

recreational skiers will be able to make fulluse of all the lifts right from the start of theseason.

IDE Technologies was founded in 1965 andhas been highly successful in the develop-ment and construction of water purificationand desalination plants and ice/snow ma-chines. The company is a global operator,with more than 385 plants installed in overforty countries to date.

The IDE snowmaking plant in the Pitz Valley guarantees a punctual start to the season.

A Snowmaker is now in place and ready to snow in the Pitz Valley.

Inside the machine room of the IDE snowmaking plant in Zermatt

But today, even the brave have highexpectations when it comes to safety. InGarmisch-Partenkirchen, the Meingast com-pany of Salzburg has delivered the equipmentto meet those expectations. That means theGerman resort is now well equipped for the2011 World Ski Championships, all the moreso as they held their 2009 World Cup races andthe FIS Junior World Ski Championships onthe men’s and the ladies’ downhill trails that willbe in the limelight in 2011. According to the FIS regulations, the speed dis-ciplines for men and women must be held onseparate trails, and that is why the legendaryKandahar trail now exists in two versions. Themen’s downhill trail, which is 3330 m long, fol-lows a completely new route, while the 2936 mlong ladies’ trail includes some of the familiarsections of the old men’s downhill in additionto some new features. Neither of the trails is to

be underestimated, and such names as Panora-ma Jump, Ice Slope, Hell and Free Fall indicatethat adrenalin levels are likely to be high!For the world’s skiing elite, safety neverthelessremains a top priority. That is why the local au-thorities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen haveplaced their trust in the tried and tested solu-tions available from the Meingast company,who over the years have built up a fine trackrecord with their safety systems for the mostprestigious events on the international skiingcalendar. Meingast planned, supplied and in-stalled all the A-type safety nets for the twodownhill trails, which made it the biggest safe-ty net contract in the company’s history. Theconsulting engineer for the project was Chris-tian Weiler of Klenkhart & PartnerConsulting,who based his work on the specifications issuedby the FIS, and the work was supervised by Ste-fan Steiner as Meingast’s senior safety engineer.

To guarantee the safety of the competitors inthe case of a fall at high speed, Meingast in-stalled no fewer than 223 tubular steel polesvarying in length between 4 and 20 meters tosupport the 4-meter-high A nets over a traillength of 5000 meters. 1000 meters of trail areprotected by a double row of A nets, so that to-tal length of the nets installed is 6000 meters.Installation of the nets also involved 30,000meters of steel rope for suspending, guying andanchoring the nets, plus 5000 meters of slipsheets. All the posts, poles, nets and other ma-terials were air-lifted up the mountain by heli-copter.

The two new Kandahar racing trails on the Kreuzeck inGarmisch-Partenkirchen are only for the brave.


SAFETY

Intelligent safety solutions

The approach to Hell!

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CABINS

Streamline III cabins for the Engelberg-Ristis jigback

The most striking feature of the two new cab-ins from Gangloff is their exclusive design,with all-round glazing reaching right down tothe floor for breathtaking views of the excit-ing mountain scenery in Engelberg. The cab-ins also harmonize with the new upper andlower terminals to create an extremely attrac-tive ensemble in terms of the formal languageof design.

New 65-passenger cabins

With the new Streamline III cabins, the En-gelberg-Ristis jigback now has a capacity of65 persons for both the uphill and the down-hill ride – a significant increase over the orig-inal 40-passenger cabins. The new cabins arespacious and as a special feature have a ceil-ing that displays the starry skies. That createsa super atmosphere for evening rides, whilefor daytime services the configuration of theseating ensures that all passengers can enjoythe panoramic views of the mountains.The line between the lower terminal atKlostermatte (1.016 m) and the upper termi-

nal has 589 meters of vertical,and rated line speed is now 10 m/s. Apart from the excitingdesign, the new jigback featuressome very practical solutions,too. For example, the ropewaycan be operated from one termi-nal without cabin attendants; allthe monitoring systems are elec-tronically controlled, and thereis CCTV in both terminals.Another unusual feature is to befound on the one tower on theline in the form of a hydraulical-ly operated hinged platform at35 meters above ground level.Access to the platform is via atower elevator, also with full-length glazing. The Engelberg project gaveMarc Pfister and his team another opportu-nity to demonstrate their flexible and profes-sional style of working. Gangloff Cabins havea fine track record of exciting ropeway solu-tions, and a further addition is shortly to bemade with the opening of a funicular for

Hong Kong’s Ocean Park with the 400-pas-senger trainsets supplied by Gangloff (see re-port in this issue of ISR). The double-deckerelevator for the Eiffel Tower in Paris is also ahighly prestigious contract for the Swiss com-pany, which last year celebrated its eightiethanniversary.

65-passenger cabin for theEngelberg-Ristis jigback

Gangloff supplied their new Streamline III cabins tothe jigback from Engelberg to Ristis, which opened inDecember 2008.

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rIMPRESSUM/IMPRINTMedieninhaber (Verleger) � Owner: Bohmann Druck und Verlag, Gesellschaft m.b.H. & Co. KG, A-1110 Wien, Leberstraße 122, Telefon: +43(1)740 95-0, Telefax: +43(1)740 95-537, DVR 0408689Herausgeber � Publisher: Komm.-Rat Dr. Rudolf BohmannGeschäftsleitung � Managing directors: Dr. Gabriele Ambros, Gerhard MilletichRedaktion � Editorial staff: Chefredakteur Mag. (FH) Josef Schramm; Leitender Redakteur Mag. Christian Amtmann; Fachtechn. Redakteur Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Josef Nejez; Redaktionsassistenz & Anzeigenverwaltung Birgit Holzer; E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: www.isr.atAnzeigenverkauf � Advertisement sales: Mag. (FH) Josef Schramm, Dietrich KopsLayout & electronic Publishing: Markus Frühwirth, Michael Stanek, Thomas WeberUmwelt � Environment: Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Maria Nejez, LandschaftsarchitektinAutoren und Mitarbeiter � Authors and Contributors: Burgi Triendl-Schwetz, Innsbruck; Dr. Ing. Heinrich Brugger, Bozen; Dr. Gabor Kovacs, Zürich; Prof. Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Gabor Oplatka, Zürich; Ing. Reijo Riila, Helsinki; Resham Raj Dhakal, NepalFrankreich � France: Alain Soury-Lavergne, 40 chemin de Malanot, F-38700 Corenc, Tel. +33/(0)476 88 03 10, E-Mail: [email protected] � Italy: Dr. Ing. Heinrich Brugger, Claudia de Medicistr. 19, I-39100 Bozen, Tel. +39/0471/300 347, Mob.+39 347 5907305, E-Mail: [email protected] – Canada: Beat von Allmen, 2871 South 2870 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109, Tel. +1/801/468 26 62, E-Mail: [email protected], Slowakei und Polen � Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland: Dipl.-Ing. Roman Gric, Has kova 14, CZ-638 00 Brno-Lesná, Tel. +420/5/41 637 297, E-Mail: [email protected] � CIS: Dr. David Pataraia, Shertavastr. 18/16, Tbilissi-1060, Georgien, Tel. & Fax +995/32/373785, E-Mail: [email protected]; Maya SemivolosovaRumänien und Bulgarien � Romania and Bulgaria: Dipl.-Ing.Petre Popa jr., str. Lunga 53 c/7, RO-500035 Brasov, Tel. & Fax +40/268/5436 98, E-Mail: [email protected] � China: Dr. Ou Li, Dr. Schober Str. 84 199, A-1130 Wien, Tel. +43/1/889 74 10, Fax+43/1/889 87 19, E-Mail: [email protected]; Erwin Stricker, I-39012 MERAN-Bz, Postbox 144, Tel. +39/0473/210220, Fax +39/0473/256220; E-Mail: [email protected] Übersetzer � Translation: Dr. Chris Marsh, Andrée Pazmandy Lic. ès. L., Mag. Susanne Pauer, Mag. Hubert Rinner Vertriebsleitung � Dispatch manager: Romana Rieder, Tel.: +43/1/740 95-462, Erscheint 6 mal jährlich/published 6 times a yearInland � Austria: Einzelpreis: € 19,60; Jahresbezugspreis: € 105,40 (inkl. 10 % MwSt)Ausland � Other countries: Einzelpreis/single issue: € 22,80; Jahresbezugspreis/6 issues/year: € 124,60 (exkl. MwSt, inkl. Porto u. Versandspesen), Die Abonnementgebühr ist im Voraus zu entrichten. Das Abonnement ist spätestens 30 Tage vor Bezugsjahresende schriftlich kündbar.Bankverbindungen � Bank accounts: Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG 653-092-700; Österr. Postsparkasse 1732.755Druck � Print: AV + Astoria Druckzentrum, A-1030 Wien, Faradaygasse 6Druckauflage 2. Halbjahr 2008 � Circulation 2nd half-year 2008: 5.225

INTERNATIONAL ROPEWAY REVIEW 2/2009 English Special · Peak2Peak project, this world-famous...

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