Down East 2013 ©
[1]Ever heard of a chondola? It’s a high-speed combination of a six-person chairlift and an eight-person gondola, and if you head up to Sunday River (207-824-3000, sundayriver.com) this season, you’ll experience this high-altitude hybrid first-hand. The ride from South Ridge base area to the Peak Lodge on North Peak used to be twenty minutes and required two separate lifts. The chondola experience — the first of its kind in New England — will be a seven-minute ride and will serve the new twelve-hour skiing trails. Look for the lift (digitally added to the photo below) this month. Sugarloafers should also take heart. Rumors are flying about a new gondola at the Loaf. Alex Kauffman, the former communications director for both mountains, confirmed that a gondola from Big Sky Resort in Montana was shipped to Sugarloaf (207-237-2000, sugarloaf.com) and is currently in storage. “It’s not there for trash storage,” clarifies Kauffman.
Links:
[1] http://www.downeast.com/files/images/MiscChondola.doc