Zermatt has announced plans to build the world’s highest 3S Gondola, and Europe’s highest gondola lift of any type. The new lift will provide a second route of access to the Klein Matterhorn besides the existing cable car – accessing ski slopes that are open 365 days a year.
The new lift is to be built over 300 days, but that will be broken up in to three 100 day periods, over a narrow construction window each spring/summer for the next three years, so the lift is due to open for winter 2018/19.
Unlike conventional gondolas, 3S gondolas, similar to a ‘funitels’ run below parallel cables rather than on a single wire, giving greater stability in windy conditions and also enabling larger cabins to be carried. For the new Zermatt lift there will be 25 modern cabins, each with 28 seats and designed by Pininfarina, renowned for its work on marques such as Ferrari and Maserati. They will also be fitted with seats inspired by car manufacture and huge panoramic windows. The lift will convey visitors to what Zermatt calls its ‘Matterhorn Glacier Paradise’ in nine minutes.