SnowbirdTramwinter

Name(s): Snowbird Tram, The Boat, The Tram

Elevation Gain: 2900 Vertical Feet

Amount of Passengers: Max is 120, but during ski season loads are usually in the area of 105.

When was it Constructed: In 1971 as one of Snowbird’s original lifts.

Accidents: None that I know of. The windows have been known to fall out from time to time due to smashing into towers. I have also heard that once a window popped out over the Cirque because of some kind of pressure vacuum thing caused by the wind. People sometimes pass out and fall over, but that is not the Trams fault….

Positives: Fast, Warm, Bottom to Top in one lift ride, Accesses 90+% of the resort in one lift ride, Great place to meet your fiends, Great place to meet new friends

Negatives: Can have long lines, Affected by heavy winds, bad if you are claustrophobic or suffer from seasickness,  see Smell

Smell: Can vary from pleasant to awful depending on who you are standing next to. Freeskiers/Snowboarders with bad breath or gas are the worst to be near.

Terrain Accessed: Nearly the entire resort

-Baldy (Short Hike to the best inbounds terrain in the Western US)

-Upper Cirque

-Silver Fox

-Cirque Traverse

-Little Cloud

-Mineral Basin

-Chips

Snowfall at the Resort: Snowbird averages over 500″ per year of the good stuff. This past season was especially awesome with Snowbird setting a resort record of 776 inches (1,970 cm) of cumulative snow (mid-mountain measurement) by May 2011

UT_sbtram

Who Built it: Garaventa

Speed it can Travel: Not sure on the meters/second, but it takes about 8 minutes to get you up 2900 vert and deposit you on Hidden Peak at a nice even 11,000 ft above sea level.

How Many Cabins: Two (One Red, One Blue….like the fish)

What Winds can in Operate in: Up to about 50mph winds if they are up and down the line. If the wind is blowing up canyon or down canyon and hitting the tram broadside it will shut down at lower wind speeds. (More like 30 mph or so)

How Many Horsepower: 1975hp

Other Facts:

– Was the site of an epic Freeskiing World Tour party in 2004. Both cabins were filled with freeskiers and beer and were taken to the point where they pass each other. A DJ pumped tunes in both cabins and people danced their asses off. This party was never to be repeated…

– The Tram was recently outfitted with new windows because the old ones were all scratched up from skies and boards. The new windows allegedly have a replaceable protective layer on them so that they can be more easily fixed up in the future.

The “Tram Rap” is still in effect although Alex can only do it a limited number of times per day. He told me it is best if you get a tourist to request it, then he can do it with less fear of getting in trouble.

All information was gathered in an Unofficial manner by talking with Tram operators and other Snowbird employees.

If you have any other great info, or if you want to correct any mistakes I have made hit us up in the comment section below.

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