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A funitel is a type of aerial lift used to transport skiers. The name funitel is a conjunction between the French words funiculaire and telepherique. Funitels have not only been used as a means to transport skiers, there is one used to transport finished cars between different areas of a factory. Recently, more and more funitels have been added to ski areas.
Engineering
A funitel consists of one or two loops of cable strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. In order to maximize the stability of the passenger cabins, the cables are arranged in two pairs moving in separate directions. Although it might appear that there are four cables, most of the time there is actually only one.
The passenger cabins are connected to a pair of cables with four spring-loaded grips (two to each cable). Because the cable runs at a speed faster than that at which most people would care to board or disembark, the cabins must be slowed down while in the terminals to allow skiers to get on and off. This is accomplished by detaching the cabin from the cable and slowing it down with progressively slower rotating tires mounted on the ceiling of the terminal. Once the cabin has reached a speed at which it is safe to load or unload passengers, the cabin is moved about the end turnaround by tires mounted on the floor. The cabin is then accelerated to line speed with a second set of rotating tires.
History
The first Funitel was constructed in Val-Thorens by Denis Creissel and enterprises Reel and Städeli-Lift. Two other Funitels are running in Switzerland (Verbier and Crans-Montana), several others in France (Val-Thorens, La Plagne, L'Alpe d'Huez), in Austria (Hintertux, Ischgl, and since December 2006 in St. Anton) and one in the United States (Squaw Valley).
Squaw Valley Funitel
The ski resort at Squaw Valley, California, in the Lake Tahoe basin, has a funitel. It holds 28 people and is capable of operating in extreme wind conditions. This funitel is the only one in the world outside of Europe.
La Plagne Funitel
Built by Doppelmayr it runs from Plagne Centre (1970m) up to La Grande Rochette (2505m)
See also
- Aerial tramway
- Gondola lift
- Chairlift
- List of aerial lift manufacturers
- Detachable chairlift
- Lift Engineering (built the QMC funitel - a funitel that actually had four cables)
- Skiing and Skiing Topics