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The Dec. 21
announcement that Vail Resorts' biggest on-mountain project in 2008 will be
the installation of a state-of-the-art eight-passenger gondola at its Summit
County area came as an early - and welcome - Christmas present for many
loyal Keystone guests.
"It's about time," said Texan Jesse Durbin, who said
he's been skiing at Keystone for 15 years. "This one is too slow," Durbin
said, wiping his goggles during a Christmas Eve ride up the mountain. "I
hope what they put in is like Vail," he said.
Durbin's wish will be answered, as the new gondola will
transport twice as many people up the hill per hour as the existing lift.
The bottom-to-top ride (climbing 2,307 vertical feet) will be cut to 12
minutes, carrying up to 2,400 passengers per hour, winter and summer.
The new gondola is designed with passenger comfort in
mind, including floor-to-ceiling windows and room to accommodate skis and
snowboards inside the passenger cabins. Level, heated loading and unloading
stations will be redesigned and offer convenient access for wheelchairs,
mountain bikes, strollers, sight seers, mountaintop tubing hill guests and
night-time dining guests, reflecting the fact that Keystone Mountain has
evolved to offer much more than just skiing and riding.
The new River Gondola represents the first step in some
significant new developments planned at Keystone. The resort recently
announced plans to redevelop the Mountain House Base, and there are also
plans to reconfigure services at the summit, with the potential for a new
restaurant and lodge at the top of Dercum Mountain to replace some of the
services currently offered at the Outpost.
"Our mission at Keystone is to provide our guests an
exceptional experience," said chief operating officer Pat Campbell. "The new
River Run Gondola will represent the most significant on-mountain project at
Keystone since the opening of the Outback Mountain in 1990," Campbell said.
The new gondola will be 30 to 40 percent more energy
efficient than the existing one, Campbell said.
New lift, new development
Although many locals have great stories to tell about
gondola rides up Keystone Mountain, few will be sorry to see the vintage
conveyance replaced by a more modern and functional ride.
"It's been fun," said a local ski tuner who only
identified himself as "Gravy" Davy. "We've done some crazy things in here
over the years. There's a lot of memories in these cars," he said, wiping
the frost off the window to get a glimpse of some friends on the trail
below. "But it'll be nice to get up here faster on powder days and for sure,
the lines won't be as long," he said.
The bottom terminal of the gondola will be relocated
across the Snake River and into the River Run base area complex, easing
gondola access both for resort guests and day skiers flocking in from the
remote parking areas.
In the second phase of this project, a new skier bridge
will be constructed to replace the current pedestrian bridge, enabling
guests to ski directly from the mountain into a newly enhanced skier plaza
and skier services area in the River Run Village.
The upgraded River Run Gondola will follow the same
alignment as the existing gondola with the top terminal located in the same
location at the summit of Dercum Mountain. A new mid-station will be
constructed halfway up Dercum Mountain with loading and unloading in both
directions, giving skiers and snowboarders an option to access the upper
trails from mid-mountain and to download at the end of their ski day.
Construction is expected to begin April 2008 with a
planned opening for the 2008-2009 ski and snowboard season.
Summit Daily News - Bob Berwyn
can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at
bberwyn@comcast.net. |
