|
|
 |
 |
| Vol. 5 No. 17, ISSN 1535-5993 |
August 19,
2005 |
 |
SkiWelt – Kitzbühel Link to Create World’s Third Largest Ski Area
By Patrick Thorne
A new gondola currently under construction between the Austrian ski resorts of Westendorf and Kirchberg will join together two of the country’s largest ski areas to create one of the world’s giant ski regions.
Construction of the new eight-passenger gondola began on July 23rd and the lift is expected to be operational by December. The lift had been envisaged for many years but there have been so many political, environmental, bureaucratic and logistical issues to overcome it seems no one really believed it would happen until the diggers arrived and began work.
The three-kilometer (two-mile) long lift has been named Ki-West after the two resorts it joins. It ascends from Spertental near Kirchberg to the Gampenkogel peak giving access to the Westendorf ski area. A new four-kilometer (2.5-mile) long ski run will be created as a result of the new lift which will have full snowmaking cover.
Kirchberg is one of the resorts in Kitzbühel’s Grossraum area which covers about 150 kilometers (94 miles) of trails. Westendorf is part of Austria’s largest (mostly) lift-linked ski area, the SkiWelt, with 250 kilometers (156 miles) of runs. So, together the combined ski area will extend to some 400 kilometers (250 miles) of runs served by 148 lifts.
The promoters of the new area believe it will be the world’s third largest (presumably behind the 600 kilometer (375 mile) plus Trois Valleys in France and the Franco - Swiss Portes du Soleil). However, with the Swiss Four Valleys, the French - Italian Milky Way and the French Paradiski area including Les Arcs and La Plagne each also claiming a little over 400 kilometers (250 miles) of trails, that third place may be open to dispute.
There is also some debate as to how fully integrated the new linked area will be. The valley station will be near the Kienzingbach between Aschau and Kirchberg. This is some 1.5 kilometer (one mile) distant from the Pengelstein base station which links in to the main ski area. The two will be connected by shuttle bus. Placing the gondola base any closer was not possible because of both engineering and environmental issues.
Top ^
On the Westendorf side there remains no direct link between the resort and the other ski areas of the Ski Welt so again a bus connection is required.
These minor quibbles not withstanding, the new lift with its connection consequences looks set to be the biggest news of the 2005-06 season, creating “border free skiing between the Pingau as far as Brixen tal.”
In terms of lift tickets for the combined area, one and two day tickets purchased at either area will be valid reciprocally. Tickets of three days or longer will be the same as the existing Kitzbüheler Alpen Ski Pass which already covered both areas and some nearby resorts such as St. Johann in Tyrol, giving access to 660 kilometers (413 miles) of runs and over 240 lifts. The ticket was previously only valid for six days.
It is the second year in a row that Kitzbühel has made the ski world headlines. Last season, the resort made the link between the Hahnenkamm/Pengelstein and Jochberg/Resterhohe sectors with the “world’s most spectacular cable car.” This linked the two areas across the Saukasergraben valley in a single span, using triple cables to support giant gondola cabins. New technology made it possible for lift company Doppelmayr to make the link decades after it was first envisaged.
Top ^
 |
| More
Articles Like This: |
|
|
| Other
Issues: |
|
|
|
|
