A multi-million dollar chairlift development at Queenstown’s The Remarkables ski area is taking shape in a project described as “a major engineering feat” by the resort.
The high-speed six-seater chairlift is part of a substantial investment at the ski area which also includes road re-alignment, sealing of the lower access road, trail developments, expansion of the snow making system, and extended car parking.
A team of eight from Leitner-Poma, an internationally-renowned cable transport company, have been working with ski area staff to carry out the large-scale project and a heavy-duty crane at the top of the mountain has been installing the top terminal and erect lift towers.
“Before the towers were erected, we had a programme of digging foundations at each tower site, putting boxing in place, and building a reinforcing rod steel cage inside the boxing, before pouring and curing concrete,” said Ross Lawrence, Ski Area Manager.
Mr Lawrence said terminal foundations at each end of the 1.2km chair lift required 95 cubic metres of concrete and each tower foundation had 12 cubic metres.
“The weight-bearing load of each tower differs depending on the angle of the cable, which itself weighs 19 tonnes, so all-in-all it’s a massive project. The tallest tower is 16m above the ground,” he said.
Once finished, the Curvey Basin chairlift will carry a total of 63 six-seater chairs enabling up to 2,400 passengers per hour.
A new trail map has been created for The Remarkables showing the line of the new lift and runs to be accessed. Curvey Basin lift opens up a further 10.1 hectares of formed trails and together with increased off-piste opportunities, increases the ski area’s capacity by 40%.
Commissioning is scheduled for the beginning of June and The Remarkables ski area is scheduled to open on June 21.
Improved air connectivity is also set to make Queenstown ski areas more accessible than ever this year with the number of trans-Tasman flights is up 25% on last winter, from an average of 40 a week last year to 50 this year.