Big Sky: Explorer Gondola

Installed in 2025 to replace an aging Heron-Poma double and the final stage of the Big Sky 2025 project, this Doppelmayr 10-Passenger Gondola serves beginner to intermediate terrain and is the world’s fastest monocable detachable gondola at 1,400fpm/7.1ms, outdoing Steamboat’s Wild Blue by 19fpm/0.1ms. It is a two stage gondola but unlike most that are built this way such as the aforementioned Wild Blue or Whistler Blackcomb’s out of base gondolas that are two lifts that are splitable, this is just one lift and the two sections are dependent on one another with a double grooved drive bullwheel at the midstation. Section 1 is in old Explorer’s footprint and is slightly longer, with the old lift ending at the 3:21 mark in this video. The top section travels to the base of the Lone Peak Tram and will eventually be connected by a mid mountain lodge. At a whopping 1,400fpm, it covers the old Explorer line in just under three minutes vs the 10-12 minutes of the outgoing double, it is also one of the nicest gondolas around as it features heated seats inside the cabins, it also features standing ski mounts inside the cabins. The lift is a very welcome relief to the very crowded Swift Current 6 and provides direct access to the Lone Peak Tram and Powder Seeker 6, it has already proven its usefulness with taking pressure of of SC6 and providing a slightly faster route to those wishing to access Challenger, or Iron Horse while traversing to the North Side. In the summer it will feature the first bike cabs in North America and will be used mainly by beginners and intermediates in that regard. It’s a vital artery to Big Sky’s lift system and after a 17 year absence, gondola service has returned to mountain village, I suspect it will be around for several decades.

Manufacturer: Doppelmayr
Length: 8,237ft (Combined)
Vertical: 1,499ft
Drive: Mid
Tension: Top & Bottom (Hydraulic)
Design Speed: 1,400fpm
Recorded Speed: 1,400fpm
Capacity: 3,270pph