JACKSON, Wyo.-
A $25 million, 100-passenger tram will replace the famous bright red tram that has ferried skiers and sightseers to the top of Rendezvous Mountain for 40 years, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort officials announced Wednesday.
The existing tram is being decommissioned Oct. 1 due to expected increases in maintenance costs to keep it operating safely.
The resort has contracted with Salt Lake City-based Doppelmayr/CTEC to build the new tram–including new towers and machinery–with an expected opening date in December 2008. Meanwhile, Jackson-based Carney Architects has begun working on design concepts for the top and bottom terminal enclosures.
"The enormity of this project was obvious from the beginning. When we identified the need to decommission the existing tram we immediately began researching what could replace such a lift," resort President Jerry Blann said in a release.
Resort officials had also considered replacing the tram with a bi-cable gondola, but decided against it. "We all agreed the iconic nature of our `red box' was something to be treasured but we kept options open until the final and most recent decision," Blann said.
He said the resort's owners, the Kemmerer family, have so far been planning to fund the entire project privately.
The new tram will have nearly double the capacity of the existing one, enabling the resort to carry up to 600 people per hour to the mountaintop, according to resort officials.
The existing tram has shuttled millions of skiers and summer tourists 4,139 vertical feet to the most challenging slopes and best views at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
The tram carried its last skiers of the winter season on April 2. Since Memorial Day weekend, the tram has been carrying hikers, mountain bikers and sightseers to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, but Oct. 1 will be its last day in operation.
Painted bright red in honor of former resort owner Paul McCollister's alma mater, Stanford University, the tram has carried some 9 million people since 1966. Plans call for the new tram to be red as well.
Until the new tram is built, a temporary lift with two-person chairs is expected to be used to get skiers to the mountaintop. The lift will begin near the top of an existing lift from the resort base.
