Chairlifts, Cable Cars, Trams and Gondolas are not just for Ski Resorts. Here is a look at some out of place “ski infrastructure” far from the slopes.

Roosevelt Island Tram 

Location: New York City

The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway in New York City that spans the East River and connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. Prior to the completion of the Mississippi Aerial River Transit in May 1984 and the Portland Aerial Tram in December 2006, it was the only commuter aerial tramway in North America. Over 26 million passengers have used the tram since it began operation in 1976. Each cabin has a capacity of up to 110 people and makes approximately 115 trips per day.

 

 

Disney’s Blizzard Beach Chairlift

Location: Orlando, Florida

The Chairlift is a “one-way” ride which carries up to 3 guests over the craggy face of Mount Gushmore, from its base at the beach, to its summit. The chairs carrying guests feature wooden-bench seats, colorful overhead umbrellas and snow skis on their underside.

 

Gondola For Favelas 

Location: Rio de Janeiro

A Gondola lift built by the Leitner-Poma group now spans the Complexo do Alemão allowing residents a faster commute. It is popularly called “Bondinho do Alemão”, in reference to the more famous Sugarloaf Mountain’s cable cars and Santa Teresa Tramway, both also called bondinho. It has become a popular destination for foreign tourists on the weekend.

 

The Gangtok Ropeway

Location: Gangtok, India

The Gangtok Ropeway is the only one of its kind in the Sikkim region of Inda. The ropeway takes the passenger to the highest point of the city of Gangtok covering the distance of about one kilometer in only seven minutes. Each cabin accommodates 24 passengers.

 

The Portland Aerial Tram in Oregon

Location: Portland, Oregon

The Portland Aerial Tram is an aerial tramway carrying commuters between the city’s South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) campus, located in the Marquam Hill neighborhood. The tram travels a horizontal distance of 3,300 feet (1,000 m) and a vertical distance of 500 feet (150 m) in a ride that lasts three minutes.

The tram cost $57 million to build—a nearly fourfold increase over initial cost estimates, which was one of several sources of controversy concerning the project. A round-trip tram ticket costs $4; the tram is free for OHSU employees, patients, students, and visitors.

 

Ghost City Chairlift 

Location: Yangtze River, China

Ghost City is home to a combination of Buddist, Taosim and Confustion temples. Some of the temples were built 1600 years ago and the others were built in the Ming Dynasty.

 

The Masada Cableway 

Location: Masada, Israel

The Masada cableway is an aerial tramway at the ancient fortress of Masada, Israel. Its bottom station is 257 m below and its summit station is 33 metres above sea level, thereby making it the lowest aerial tramway in the world.

The cableway was built in 1971 by the Karl Brändle company of Switzerland to carry people to the ruins at the top of the plateau. It had one aerial tramway support pillar and two cabins with a length of 900 metres and an elevation change of 290 metres. It was replaced in 1998 by an aerial tramway built by Von Roll without any support pillar, thus allowing the cabin’s hanger to completely enclose the two track ropes and the haul rope.

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