The
Most Beautiful Commute in America The gondola provides transportation between towns for
people commuting to work, going to the grocery store or meeting
friends, easing the burden of traffic between the towns. Beginner
skiers and snowboarders can reach beginner terrain without the
hassle of a car or bus. Parents can transport their kids to
Children's Ski School in the morning. Local kids can ride it to and
from school. All of this eliminates the need for vehicles between
the two towns during the gondola's operating hours, thereby reducing
air pollution and noise, and providing a much safer mode of winter
transport.
High
in the Sky
The
First of its Kind... For several years, the Telluride
Ski & Golf Company (Telski) worked diligently to
build the
first-of-its-kind $16 million public transit system intended to
eliminate the transportation and air
quality impact of growth in the
region. The first part of the system, the Chondola (a high-speed quad
with a
4-person gondola cabin every 10th chair), opened in the 1995/96
season. The gondola, joining the historic
town of Telluride with the
town of Mountain Village and serving several ski runs, opened in
November of 1996.
Telski is a ski industry leader
and role model to other resorts in building trendsetting technology. The
chondola and gondola systems are innovative, imaginative and something
no other mountain community has.
They signify the giant leap Telski has
taken in initiating advanced transit systems.
Telluride's gondola is the equivalent of three high-speed express lifts.
While it transports skiers and
snowboarders to a mountain ridge, it is
primarily a public transportation system and it's free to foot
passengers. It virtually eliminates the need for a car and drastically
reduces the amount of air and noise
pollution. It eliminates growing
traffic congestion and subsequently increases safety. It provides
residents
with an easy commute to work or school and allows guests to
avoid renting a car. Most remarkably, it is
more convenient and timely
than a bus, a car or even light-rail.
All Aboard!
When to ride...
Open 275 days/year, 7:00 am- Midnight
Riding Time Stats
Leg 1 = 6.2 minutes
Station Telluride to Station St. Sophia Leg 2 = 4.7 minutes
Station St. Sophia to Station Mountain Village Leg 3 = 1.2 minutes
Station Mountain Village to Station Village Parking
Passengers may ride in the same gondola cabin between Station Telluride
and Station Mountain Village,
however, passengers must disembark to ride
between Station Mountain Village and Station Village Parking.
A lift
ticket or season pass is required to disembark at Station St. Sophia and
access the mountain during
the ski season.
Moving People Around (Telluride & Mountain
Village) With a total of 32 eight-passenger gondola cabins on the
three lines (26 on legs 1 & 2 and six on leg 3),
guests can step
into a gondola cabin almost every minute. Commuting this way takes far
less time than
riding the old intratown bus system. The hourly capacity
of the gondola is 600% greater than the bus system.
(The total hourly
capacity of the gondola is 480 people per hour between towns in both
directions while the
total hourly capacity of the bus is 80 pph in both
directions.) The gondola can handle up to 1200 pph if
consistent demand
in the future warrants more cabins being added.
Facts Terminal Names: Station Telluride, Station St.
Sophia, Station Mountain Village, Station Village Parking
Passengers: Eight; mountain bikes can be carried on some
cabins The Chondola: Telluride's Chondola is a cross between an
express lift and a gondola in which every tenth
chair is a
four-passenger gondola cabin. The base is located adjacent to Big Billies Restaurant and
Apartments in the Mountain Village and the chondola's top station is a 100-yard ski or walk from Station
Mountain
Village. System builders: CTEC of Salt Lake City and Garaventa of
Switzerland Length: 2 1/2 Miles (4 kilometers)
Air, Water,
Parking & Noise The gondola virtually eliminates noise and air pollution,
congested parking lots, and the need for people to
drive their vehicles
between the two towns. It simultaneously provides clean, smooth, quiet,
free and visually
spectacular transportation. The gondola towers are low
profile, usually not exceeding tree line, lessening the
visual impact
typical of gondolas while also dramatically reducing the likelihood of
shut down due to high
winds. Telluride's box canyon setting
captures dust quicker than furniture. Telluride sometimes has
unhealthy
air because of an accumulation of several circumstances, many of which
are unrelated to ski area
development. Telski has done the most in
exhaustively analyzing air quality in the region.
Telluride's gondola offers tremendous environmental benefits by
mitigating transportation impacts and growth
caused by the region's
residents. The system significantly reduces noise and air pollution,
parking demands
and the need for people to drive their vehicles between
the two towns. It simultaneously provides clean,
smooth, quiet and
visually spectacular transportation. The gondola towers are low profile,
usually not
exceeding any tree line, decreasing the visual impact
associated with typical gondolas while dramatically
reducing the
likelihood of closure due to high winds.