Friday, April 10, 2009

Sun Valley Co. set to begin work on gondola

Preparations could begin as early as Monday


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley Co. is just waiting on the weather before beginning work on its new gondola.

Jack Sibbach, spokesman for the resort, said that if all goes according to plan Bald Mountain's first gondola should be whisking skiers from the base of River Run to the top of Roundhouse slope by the start of the 2009-2010 winter season.

The eight-passenger gondola, manufactured by Austria-based Doppelmayr, will travel up the left side of the Lower River Run slope and then over Exhibition. The existing Exhibition chairlift will be removed.

Bald Mountain closes for the ski season on Sunday. Sibbach said the gondola work could start as early as Monday with plows clearing snow around the backside of the River Run Lodge to help dry out the ground where the footings of the towers will go.

"There are some things we can do now to get going," Sibbach said. "We want to pour the foundations as soon as possible."

The gondola, part of the resort's master plan for the mountain, was originally slated to be in operation for this ski season. However, the plans were delayed due to the resort's other large-scale projects, including the new Sun Valley Pavilion, Sun Valley Club and White Clouds Golf Course, all of which were completed last fall.

The gondola will also be used to provide round-trip transportation for restaurant guests during the day and night in both winter and summer. It will carry passengers nearly 2,000 feet up Bald Mountain in less than eight minutes.

The lift line for the gondola was cut last summer, with help from several Sun Valley Ski Patrol members, and was opened during the winter to skiers as the Sleeping Bear run, running between the Roundhouse Slope and lower Olympic cat track.

Sibbach said the summertime operation of the River Run and Lookout Express chairlifts would occasionally be interrupted due to work requiring helicopter flights in close proximity to the lifts.

Sibbach said the resort doesn't use the Challenger chairlift in Warm Springs during the summer, as it doesn't garner nearly as much use because of its location.

The River Run hiking and mountain biking trail will also likely be closed for portions of the summer season, Sibbach noted.

Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com




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