Ahhh, there’s nothing quite like being crammed into a steel box with 90 of your closest friends (all of whom are competing for the same snowy bounty and many of whom have recently neglected their personal hygiene) all while hovering more than 200 feet above jagged rocks and certain death. The Aerial Tram. Usually used to access some of the gnarliest terrain at a given ski area, the Tram is a staple for many European ski areas. In the U.S. there are only a few aerial trams used for ski access.
So, inspired by the 10 BEST Ski Lifts in the WORLD here are some notable American Aerial Trams:
Cannon Mountain Aerial Tram – Cannon Mountain, NH
Photo – northernnh.com
- Travels to the 4,080′ summit of Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch
- Access to most vertical in the state of New Hampshire
- Uphill Capacity of 770 with a cabin capacity of 70 skiers/riders
- A 2022′ vertical rise in only 8 minutes
- Access to 264 acres of bitter cold, frigid wind, jagged ice and 160 inches (wow!) of annual snowfall
- Video of what makes Cannon special.
Jay Peak Tram – Jay Peak Resort, VT
Jay Peak Tram comes in through the fog. photo – Donny O’Neill
- Travels to the Jay Peak summit at 3,968 feet
- Access to some of the most extreme terrain the East Coast has to offer including the Face Chutes, Tuckerman’s Chute, Valhalla and the Big Jay backcountry
- Uphill capacity of 360 skiers per hour with a 60 person cabin capacity
- 2153 foot vertical rise in only 7 minutes
- Offers a great view into the mythical “Jay Cloud,” the explanation for the near 400 inches of snow Jay Peak receives each year.
- Like Mad River Glen’s Single Chair, it has its own beer named after it, the Jay Peak Tram Ale brewed by Long Trail Brewing Company
- WARNING:When the tram enters the fog and you lose any and all visibility, you may feel like this young lad.
Lone Peak Tram – Big Sky, MT
The Lone Peak Tram car comes in for a landing after venturing to the summit of Big Sky
- Opened for the 1995-1996 season and added over 1,200 acres of skiable terrain and increased the vertical to 4,350
- 15 passengers travel 1,450 vertical to the top of Lone Mountain sitting at 11, 166′ in only 4 minutes
- Access to the Big Couloir and other extreme terrain
- 2011-2012 Big Sky Season Review
Aerial Tram – Squaw Valley, CA
photo – Squaw.com
- Travels 1,886 vertical over breathtaking views to High Camp at elevation 8,200′
- Uphill capacity of 700 skiers per hour.
- Provides access to Silverado and other upper mountain lifts
- Get the tram operator to announce your name and get 1000 G.N.A.R points or claim your tram farts and gain 500 points
- Watch JT Holmes base jump off the top of the tram to celebrate the start of Squaw’s 60th season.
Snowbird Tram – Snowbird, UT
The blue car trucks up the mountain on a bluebird day – enjoyutah.org
- 2,900′ vertical rise that provides access to almost the entire mountain
- 120 person cabin capacity (although usually not filled to capacity in the winter)
- 10 minute ride to the 11,000′ summit of Hidden Peak
- A red box and a blue box car, in case one color is more appealing than the other
- Check out Daryn Edmund’s Snowbird Tram Review
Jackson Hole Tram – Jackson Hole, WY
The Big Red Box – photo – jacksonholenet.com
- The”New Tram” opened in 2008 travels 4,139′ in 9 minutes to an elevation of 10, 450′
- It has a cabin capacity of 100 (excluding the operator) and an uphill capacity of 650 riders per hour
- Plays music for the listening enjoyment of its passengers
- Provides access to 2,500 acres of in-bounds terrain as well as 3,000 acres of some of the best backcountry terrain in the world
- Probably the coolest and most modern looking tram in America
- Take a look at Dexter Rutecki’s Jackson Hole Tram Review
Aerial Tram – Alyeska, AK
Aerial Tram at Alyeska – JohnnyJet.com
- Due to popular demand, the Aerial Tram at Alyeska Resort
- A short 4 minute ride to the to 2,334′ elevation from the Hotel Alyeska at the base
- Access to the majority of the non-hike-to terrain at Alyeska Ski Resort, who had a modest 975″ snowfall total in 2011-2012
- Vertical rise of 2,025′ with a cabin capacity of 60 people and uphill capacity of 800 riders per hour
- Video from last season at Alyeska
Honorable Mention:
- Aerial Tramway at the Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park in Tennessee
- Mt. Allen Tram at Snowbasin, UT
- Heavenly Aerial Tram at Heavenly Resort
Its smells like shit in the Snowbird tram.
All trams smell like shit…
ohhhhh suuuuuahhhhhhh guy, cannon on top
Why the fuck would I go to new hampshire or vermont? mt. rose smokes those places.
Hey asshole,
You must love the way your mouth tastes cause all that is coming out is shit! Take your pompous San Fransisco attitude and stay in your tanning bed, cause you clearly couldn’t handle what Jay would throw your way. Negative fifteen degree temps, not including wind chill, wind swept ice fields for trails and frost bite on all your fingers and toes; that’s what you will be experiencing cause you weren’t RAISED JAY! Where will you find all the locals? In the deep powder stashes and the best glades in the US! Ever hear of Meat Head Films? Probably not cause your listening to your dub step. But you know, if you ever did come to Jay Peak one of the locals would still show you some secret spots cause Vermonters like for outsiders to experience what our slice of heaven has to offer!
Only liars need to sell their lie.
I may be biased but the Alyeska Aerial Tram should be on the list. Sub 4 minute ride to legit black and double black terrain and if you are fast enough you can lap it every ten minutes. Oh and did I mention the 975″ we got this season?
Thank You! Dave makes an excellent point, but its just Alaska, the skiing here sucks
Dave D is right, when you’re catching North Face laps every 10 mins on a deep day life doesn’t get any better..especially in bounds
Dave D is right, when you’re catching North Face laps every 10 mins on a deep day life doesn’t get any better..especially in bounds. Throw Aly up there
The Dude Abides…
Nice one Donny
Hey asshole, don’t worry about ever coming to NH or VT. We don’t allow snobs like you to Ski the East.
Evan Williams, meet you on the face chutes this winter?
East coasters: defensive much?
No, we just like to put stuck up west coasters in their place
Btw, Cannon has the first tram in North America. and even if the conditions aren’t always perfect there it’s still one of the best values in New England.
Also, you’re not a true skier until you have been through (literally) 0 visability fog.
No Heavenly Tram? (humor)…It serves World Cup GS, SL, mogul runs
(sic) its supposed to be replaced anyway in a few years.
All trams suck. Who wants to take off their skis and lug them through a maze, get jammed in a box, smell dirtbags farts and b.o., have your goggles fog, and wait for the idiots who have to be the last ones in. Chairs for the win.
There are only 18 listed tramways in the US, (8 not listed above are for non-winter sports sightseeing, see below link of three pages globally). I think the Palm Springs Tram could provide a few lift service days a year off of Mt. San Jacinto, with a summit lift and a shuttle system off the north face chutes melt-out near Banning.
http://www.seilbahntechnik.net/en/lifts/Ort/pendelbahn/page1.htm
Trams are old technology, that allowed routes over tough terrain with minimal lift towers. Most intrest today continues in 4-6 passenger detachable quads. Anyone who has waited for the Squaw Cable car can attest to the inefficiency, (how many people have been duped to thinking they are in the proper-car when the get into the loading elevator)?
The best current solution for long spans, difficult terrain, and high passages would be tri-cable or 3S Gondola Technology, which can be configured with cars that can hold 30 passengers (3000 p/h), travel at 7M/S in winds up to 100 kph. Again a review of the world lift database (search the site from the link), indicates the only such current or planned project in the US is the Vista Bahn replacement at Vail. To all US area operators, the rest of the world again outpaces the US in resort development, and growth. Kind of a trend with everything in the US.
Forgot the Blackcomb Gondola/Tram.
A cute chick & I were riding up at Blackcomb tram but they stopped the lift
and ordered us out at mid-station.
They then heaved a large bucket of water into the cab ! Turns out someone
threw up in out car at the end of the last day.
If a Gondola caries more than 6 is it a Tram ?