BANFF, AB – A new chairlift built to shuttle Olympic and Paralympic spectators was moved to the world-famous Sunshine Village resort after the 2010 Games. In addition to preserving the Olympic legacy, it will improve the Rocky Mountain experience for beginner skiers and boarders.
The Doppelmayr quad lift – part of more than $60 million in upgrades undertaken at Sunshine Village since the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary – replaced the aging Strawberry triple chair.
“Sunshine Village, through this innovative agreement, is supporting the short-term needs of Olympic organizers while significantly improving the long-term visitor experience at Sunshine Village,” said Sunshine Village president and CEO Ralph Scurfield. “We have decreased organizing committee capital costs and have built an Olympic legacy that will be truly enjoyed for years and years to come.
“Sunshine Village is noted for its progressive environmental practices,” said Scurfield. “The purchase, and reuse, of this lift represents yet another positive step. Instead of building a new lift from scratch, we will greatly reduce the environmental footprint by moving the lift and reinstalling it.”
Sunshine received Parks Canada approval on Jan. 7, 2010, based on a recommendation from the Advisory Development Board in December.
The lift – known as the “Timing Flats” lift at the Whistler Blackcomb resort – was installed for the 2010 Games, would have been redundant once the games concluded. It was being used to shuttle spectators, officials and athletes to the stadium and finish area for a number of events and to move spectators with special accessibility needs to view events in the Creekside area.
“The sale of the temporary Timing Flats lift at Whistler Creekside to Sunshine Village in Banff demonstrates how these are truly Canada’s Games,” said Dick Vollet, VP of Mountain Operations with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organizing Committee. “Through teamwork, a sustainable solution was found for a chairlift that isn’t required in Whistler after April 1, 2010. A creative solution was discovered and moving the Timing Flats chairlift to Sunshine Village after the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games created a win-win scenario for everyone.”
Scurfield added, “It is important to note that the people of the Bow Valley will have a lasting memory of the 2010 Games right here in their own community. This lift uses the latest technology to achieve the greatest possible efficiency, and we are committed to using environmental best practices during installation. We thank Parks Canada and the development board for their support of an exceptional project in which everyone emerged as winners.”
Federal Ski Area Guidelines allow “like-for-like” replacements in snow resorts, subject to development review and approval processes. The new lift follows the path of the Strawberry lift, but is slightly longer. This allowed for construction of the upper station, which started in April – before the end of the ski season. This allowed construction over snow pack, minimizing impact on vegetation.
The new lift has a rated capacity of 1,800 guests per hour, using a total of 45 chairs.
The 35-year-old, three-passenger Strawberry lift has reached the end of its service life. The company that made it, Hall Ski Lift Co., is no longer in business, creating maintenance challenges. The old Strawberry triple chairlift has a design capacity of 2,100 riders per hour, but has been running at a rate of 1,520.
The 81-year-old Sunshine Village snow resort is situated in the heart of Banff National Park, Canada’s oldest national park.
With Canada’s Best Snow, more than nine metres of light natural “champagne powder” and 12 lifts, including the most quads in the Canadian Rockies, Sunshine has Canada’s longest season, stretching from November to the end of May. It was recently awarded Calgary Herald Readers’ Choice Gold Award as Calgary’s favourite resort.
For more on Sunshine Village, visit www.skibanff.com.
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