Rick Temple still recalls the day he thought it was impossible to build a gondola connecting Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. He was in Saas-Fee in the Swiss Alps about six years ago, staring at a gondola linking two mountains. "I said, 'There is no way we'll ever do one of these in North America,'" Temple told the Georgia Straight in a recent phone interview.

Temple is now manager of a $51.3-million engineering and construction project to do just that: build a gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. And what an engineering job it is. By the time of its scheduled completion in December 2008, four towers will be erected–two on Whistler and two on Blackcomb–holding up tonnes of specialized wire rope extending between the two mountains. Gondolas carrying 4,100 people per hour in both directions will travel 4.4 kilometres across the span in 11 minutes.

"It's going to be a real boost for the [Whistler-Squamish] corridor and for the resort here," Temple said.

He said that discussions about the project began about four years ago when Joe Houssian was president and CEO of Intrawest, developer and operator of the two mountains. A new owner, Fortress Investment Group, has continued with the Peak to Peak Gondola project, which is the first of its kind linking two major mountains in North America. Temple, who has been director of maintenance for Whistler Blackcomb for 15 years, said that the two tallest towers supporting the gondola are 65 metres and the shortest is about 30 metres.

He said that passengers who ride in the gondola will enjoy spectacular views up the Fitz Valley, possibly seeing bears during certain times of the year. "This will be a shot in the arm for summer tourism as well," Temple said. "It's a great link between the two mountains for alpine hiking."

One of the project's biggest challenges, he added, will be transporting five 100-tonne spools of wire cable to the site. This heavy wire cable will then be connected between the towers, providing enough strength to hold vehicles carrying the passengers. After these spools are delivered to one of the local ports, Temple said that they will be put onto specially ordered rail cars to bring them up to Whistler. From there, he said, a "special transporter" will take these huge spools up the mountain one at a time. He expects this to occur next year.

"They'll all be put on the Blackcomb side and pulled across the valley," he said.

The next step is equally complicated. To begin, a helicopter will pull a lightweight line from Blackcomb to Whistler, he said. Then, wires of three different sizes will be strewn across the span between the towers. The next step will be to use a 50-tonne winch on the Whistler Mountain side to pull the heavier cables across, using the lighter cables as support during this process.

Temple said that Whistler Blackcomb has obtained permission to do this from the B.C. Safety Authority. He noted that the Peak to Peak Gondola is not required for the Olympics. However, it will undoubtedly capture the attention of visitors and media who arrive in Whistler in 2010. One can only imagine the televised images that will be seen around the world if Olympic broadcasters are allowed to film the terrain from this height.

Temple said that there are only three other gondolas like this in Europe, adding that the one at Whistler will be the highest in the world, reaching a peak of 415 metres above the valley below. "I think it's going to be pretty tough for anyone to challenge us on this one," he said.

Link: Peak to Peak Gondola official site