6 replies to this topic

[thairston96]

I've always wondered why Wildcat put gondola cabins on the Wildcat Express in the summer, and chairs in the winter. This seems pretty stupid to me. Who would rather ride in a gondola in the summer, and ride a chairlift in the winter. Especially at Wildcat, because that ride is extremely cold and windy.

[zeedotcom]

Part of that has to do with safety.

Gondola cabins close and secure. Chairlift bars go up and down easily. You have to physically put the bar down for guests. Gondola cabins close and you are done. Also, skiing up do the lift, sitting on the chair, going up, and standing up to get off the chair is much easier than having to take your stuff off and get into a cabin, go to the top, and then take your stuff out and put it on again.

[iceberg210]

Also the fact that Wildcat is windy might be another reason why the Gondolas aren't run in the winter. Gondolas have a bad habit of doing poorly in the wind, they act like sails more than chairs, and thus it might be that while the ride would be warmer, and less windy in the gondolas, Wildcat may have a situation where they would have to put the lift on wind hold much more often if they had gondolas instead of chairs on in the winter.

[SuperRat]

Its definitely chairs in the winter for better wind performance and cabins in the summer for a tourist friendly ride. Also The Express can run at an extra-fast 1100 fpm which makes the need for wind-friendly carriers more important.

This post has been edited by SuperRat: 26 March 2010 - 02:24 PM

[jclark]

Also, if I'm not mistaken, the gondola cars were purchased after the install - it was originally just an HSQ.

[FSJ]

jclark, on 28 September 2010 - 04:28 AM, said:

Also, if I'm not mistaken, the gondola cars were purchased after the install - it was originally just an HSQ.

That is correct.

[mikest2]

On windy days, we refer to our cabins as "Patio Lanterns" You want the passengers paying attention as they bounce into the station guides !