May 22, 2007

Whistler Blackcomb breaks ground for Peak to Peak Gondola

Whistler Blackcomb has commenced construction on their $51 million, world record-breaking Peak to Peak Gondola.  This incredible feat of engineering will connect Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains and is set to be completed by December 2008.

Groundbreaking took place on May 15 and excavation for each lift terminal will take place until mid-June. "There's lot of action on the ground and behind the scenes and we are looking forward to a successful production season this summer," says Rick Temple, Peak to Peak Project Manager for Whistler Blackcomb. "While we work to ready the mountain, crews are busy in Austria and Quebec in full production for the steel tower components to be erected this summer." 

Whistler Blackcomb will install Towers 2 and 3 this summer. Tower 2 will be located on Whistler and Tower 3 will be located on Blackcomb, with a span of 3.024km/1.88 miles between them.   

"The Peak to Peak Gondola construction project is the largest of its kind in North America," said Doug Forseth, Senior VP of Operations at Whistler Blackcomb, "yet it occupies the smallest ecological foot print of any project we've done yet on the mountain. The estimated 2.5 hectare foot print requires a significant logistical command of our existing resources for transportation and construction."

"We are committed to working with Whistler Blackcomb in minimizing the ecological impact," said Stefan Huter, Doppelmayr Project Manager, "We have engineered the project to limit construction activity to the terminals and tower locations only."

ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION MILESTONES

May 15, 2007                                        Groundbreaking
June 15, 2007                                       Excavation compete
September 14, 2007                             Terminal foundations & construction complete
Mid September 2007                             Lift tower 3 installation complete
October 15, 2007                                  Lift tower 2 installation complete

Mid June 2008                                      Lift towers 1 & 4 installation complete
Early November 2008                           Comprehensive lift & load testing
October 2008                                        Evacuation training
December 2008                                    Grand opening

CONSTRUCTION FACTS

WEIGHT OF STEEL TOWERS              approx 400 tons, 20 truck loads
BULLWHEEL SIZE                               Drive: 4.8 metres; Return: 4.0 metres
CONCRETE POURED                           approx 3160 cubic metres
INSTALLED POWER                            667Kw continuous
WEIGHT OF TRACK ROPE                  4 x 88 tonnes
WEIGHT OF HAUL ROPES                  78 tonnes
MOBILE CRANES                                2 x 100 tonne cranes for terminals (one on each side), 1 x 120 tonne crane for towers, 1 additional crane to move buildings and grading

TOTAL WORK CREW                            80- 100 employees for summer 2007 (crew of 10 for towers; 7 from Garaventa and 3 from Doppelmayr, crew of 60 from Timberline, 8- 10 for tower foundations)
EXCAVATION WORK                           6-10 employees
CIVIL WORKS                                      25 employees (foundations, terminal buildings)
CONSTRUCTION                                  20-25 employees (steel work, electrical, painting and roofing)
PROJECT LEADS                                 6 employees from Whistler Blackcomb, 6 employees from Doppelmayr
ACCOMMODATION                               approx 4,300 staff room nights
MEALS SERVED                                  12,900 meals for project duration

DOPPELMAYR 3S GONDOLA FACTS

LIFT MANUFACTURER                         Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, Wolfurt, Austria (www.doppelmayr.com)
RIDE TIME                                             11 minutes
SPEED                                                   7.5 meters / 24.6 feet per second
NUMBER OF SKY CABINS                    28
CABIN CAPACITY                                 28 people; 24 seated, 4 standing
TOTAL CAPACITY                                4,100 people per hour (2050 pph per direction) 
TOTAL DISTANCE                                4.4 kilometres / 2.73 miles (straight line)
LENGTH OF FREE SPAN                      3.024 kilometres / 1.88 miles (straight line between two towers furthest apart)
HIGHEST POINT                                   415 - 436 metres / 1,300 – 1,400 feet over Fitzsimmons Creek (depends on load)
TOTAL HAUL ROPE LENGTH              9,087 metres
NUMBER OF TOWERS                         4
HEIGHT OF TOWERS                           30.5-65 metres / 100-213 feet

ABOUT INTRAWEST
Intrawest is a world leader in experiential destination resorts.  The company has interests in eleven resorts at North America's most popular mountain destinations including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Intrawest network also includes Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest—a private resort club with nine locations throughout North America.  In addition, Intrawest develops real estate at its resorts and at other locations across North America and in Europe.  Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.intrawest.com

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Proud to be a host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
 

MEDIA NOTE:  Whistler Blackcomb is pleased to provide high resolution photographs available for editorial use, and downloadable at the following link /photo/index.htm.

Please credit – Mike Douglas, Location: Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia. 

High resolution photographs video and full details available for editorial use, and are downloadable at the following link; www.whistlerblackcomb.com/peaktopeak.