ArchiveA Magical Ride Through the “Peruvian Tunnel” on the SunKid Wonder Carpet in Snowbird, USA
Located approximately 40 km from Salt Lake City (Utah), Snowbird is one of the absolute top ski regions in the whole of the United States. Both the north and south-facing slopes of the 3350 m high Hidden Peak are covered by a wide variety of pistes, giving guests to the region the chance to ski or snowboard all the way down to the valley floor.
Until last season the only link between the north-facing slope of mountain (Peruvian Gulch) and the south-facing slope (Mineral Basin) was provided by an aerial tramway leading up from Snowbird to Hidden Peak. However, due to its extremely exposed location, this aerial tramway was often forced to close by strong winds.
It was this problem that led the resort management to investigate, in the autumn of 2005, the possibility of installing an additional, more wind-resistant connection between the north and south side of Hidden Peak.
- On the SunKid wonder carpet through the Peruvian Tunnel (Picture: Snowbird Resort)
New “Peruvian Express” and “Peruvian Tunnel”
Timed perfectly to coincide with the winter opening of the resort, the brand new two-stage solution to the resort’s transport problem was officially opened to the public on 12 December 2006.
The detachable four-man chairlift, christened “Peruvian Express”, brings guests from Snowbird to the top lift station located just below the ridge on Hidden Peak at an altitude of 3200 m. From this departure point guests can either explore the pistes on the north-facing slope of the mountain or cross to the south-facing side using the “Peruvian Tunnel”.
A SunKid Wonder Carpet measuring 180 m installed in the tunnel ensures that guests are transported swiftly and comfortably the 200 metres to the south side of the mountain. The safety of the resort’s guests was the absolute top priority when it came to selecting the best transport solution for the tunnel. SunKid therefore cooperated closely with the local authorities and resort management to develop a special fire-resistant version of the conveyor lift which complies with both ISO 340 as well as the American safety norm ANSI B77.1.
Alle Steuerleitungen innerhalb des Tunnels wurden über einen 24 V Sicherheitsstromkreis ausgeführt. Der Schaltschrank wurde 20 m außerhalb des Tunnels in einem betonierten Gebäude untergebracht. Alle entzündbaren Materialien wurden durch Metalle ausgetauscht. Alle Kabel wurden in Rohren verlegt.
- (Picture: Joe Gmuender)
The conveyor is driven by a 22 KW motor and equipped with a Blue Eye running surface boasting a tensile strength of 500 N per millimetre conveyor width.
The chair redirection station was equipped with an active hydraulic tensing system to guarantee a constant tension of the conveyor belt.
The facility has a theoretical maximum transport capacity of 1800 guests per hour.
First Experiences with the SunKid Wonder Carpet
The director of the lift facilities in Snowbird, Rich Taxwood, is thrilled with the new conveyor:
“Right from the very first day the SunKid Wonder Carpet has been fantastic. Even during the inauguration ceremony the facility was pushed right its limits when 150 persons had to be transported on the conveyor all at the same time! The facility performed extremely well and all of the guests were transported from one end of the tunnel to the other without any problems.”
Bob Bonar, president of Snowbird Resorts commented:
“The Peruvian Tunnel and the accompanying SunKid Wonder Carpet represent a great improvement for our resort. Perfect planning and a great team have allowed us to realise our vision of an all-weather solution to our transport challenge. We chose our partners very carefully and SunKid, Star Lifts USA and Gmuender Engineering have done an excellent job. We are very happy with our Wonder Carpet.”
- The Peruvian Tunnel with SunKid Wonder Carpet - an optical highlight. (Picture: Snowbird Resort)
The tunnel and conveyor took 14 months to plan and construct, with the project costs totalling $1.4 million.