Major Gondola Upgrades by Winter

Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association (TMVOA) and the Town of Mountain Village (TMV) are working together on two major upgrades to the gondola system. Construction of a gondola backup power system began on May 9, 2017 after Telluride Ski and Golf (TSG) granted the TMV an easement. The project involves two duel-fuel generators and a protective enclosure located at the St. Sophia station. This will allow the gondola to continue to load riders and run at full speed in the event of a power outage. “The addition of a redundant power source, as well as increasing system capacity, has been on the wish list for quite some time. Being able to continue public operation during a power outage with virtually zero downtime is a huge step-up in our level of service. With these types of large scale capital investments, TMVOA continues to demonstrate its commitment to provide safe and reliable public transportation while enhancing our everyday user and guest experience” said TMV Transit Director Jim Loebe. Nine new cabins are being added to mainline, allowing for 150 more people per hour to be moved between TMV and the Town of Telluride (TOT). The added cabins will maximize the capacity of the mainline to 1,070 people per hour, resulting in a 16.3% increase. This will help reduce waiting times during peak periods, such as festivals, sunset concerts, and the fourth of July. The cabins and the backup power are scheduled to be in place and fully operational by the opening of the 2017/2018 winter ski season. TMVOA formed the Gondola Subcommittee on February 19, 2017, with representatives from TMV Council, TOT Council, San Miguel County (SMC) Commissioners and staff, TSG staff, and TMVOA staff. The Subcommittee meets quarterly to discuss long-term planning, major projects, issues, and successes of the gondola system, then makes recommendations to the TMVOA Board of Directors. “The Subcommittee’s feedback on backup power, additional gondola cabins, and late-night hours were vital to the decision-making process for both TMVOA and TMV” said Gondola Subcommittee Chairman Garrett Brafford. The TOT and TMVOA are equally contributing fifty percent of the cost for the added late-night hours, which ran on Fridays and Saturdays from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. from Bluegrass through Blues &Brews weekends. “The Subcommittee is bringing the gondola stakeholders together to have input on current operations and focus on long-term planning for this amazing, one-of-a-kind transportation system” said TMVOA Executive Director Anton Benitez. As a reminder, the TMV is required to own and operate the gondola system and TMVOA is required to fund the gondola operations, maintenance, and capital improvements through December 31, 2027. For questions, please contact Gondola Subcommittee Chairman Garrett Brafford at [phone]970.728.1904[/phone] ext. 2.