| Orange bubbles: A big hit in Stuhleck Since the winter season 2008/09, Styria’s ski resort of Stuhleck has been spoiling its guests with a 6-CLD equipped with orange bubbles. Stuhleck, near Spital am Semmering, boasts a pioneering role in the history of Austrian winter sports. The region’s highest mountain (1,782 m) was climbed using skis for the very first time in 1891, then seen as a highly unusual event. Nowadays, the resort operates four chairlifts as well as six surface lifts, 24 kilometers of trails with snowmaking equipment, a fun park for snowboarders and a five-kilometer-long natural toboggan run. Increased feeder capacity The new 6-seater chairlift is part of an expansion project which was launched in 2005. The reason behind this decision was the high level of capacity utilization in the higher reaches of the ski area, as Fabrice Girardoni, Board Member of the operating company, Berglift Stuhleck Österreichische Seilbahnen Bau- und Betriebsgesellschaft.m.b.H. & Cie. KG, explains. It had been high time to extend the available transport capacity. This will be increased two and a half fold in the initial phase and threefold in the final expansion phase. “We also expect the shift in skier flows to alleviate the pressure on the mid station of the Stuhleckbahn, a quad chairlift built in 1992.” Improved offering leads to boom in demand Construction of the new lift was a logical consequence of the ski area expansion and the resulting increase in skier volumes. After the 6-CLD Steinbachalm went into service in 2005 and word got around about the subsequent enlargement of the upper reaches of the ski area, the transport capacity of the Weißenelfschlag surface lift, which serves the adjacent slopes, soon proved to be inadequate. Two rescue winches This Doppelmayr T-bar lift dating from 19671 has now been replaced by the 6-CLD-B. While the location of the top station remained virtually unchanged, the bottom station was moved so that it can be accessed from the entire ski area without having to cross other ski trails. The lift line nonetheless now crosses the snowmaking storage pond, which on the one hand is an attraction but on the other made it necessary to provide two rescue winches for this area. To the west of the unloading zone a building has been erected to house the technical infrastructure for the ropeway and the self-service mountain restaurant with a magnificent terrace offering seating for 450 guests. Clear opinion among guests According to Fabrice Girardoni, “the great benefits of the new lift installation are the high transport capacity, the short trip time and the comfort”. – Surveys conducted in the past have clearly shown that guests don’t like using long surface lifts. Another argument in favor of an additional chairlift was the fact that the new panorama restaurant in the top station has also proved to be popular among walkers and hikers. Important for the entire region Raising the profile of the ski resort is of great economic importance for the region as a whole, as Bergbahnen Stuhleck ranks amongst the biggest employers in the area. That in itself is reason enough to make sure that the area remains as attractive as possible for tourists. Construction of the new lift met with wide support among the population and local politicians. In any event, the investment zeal of the Upper Styrian lift operators continues unabated. Fabrice Girardoni has plans for the future: “Where lifts are concerned, the next investment is going to be in increasing the transport capacity of the Steinbachalm and Weißenelf lifts. An additional ski trail in Steinbachalm is also envisaged.” He gives the time line for these projects as three to five years. 6-CLD-B Weißenelf 1 A twisted curve station was added in 1985 and the track extended uphill by one third. | 
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2009-04-08
