Even More Comfort in Serfaus
The installation of three brand new fully-covered connecting conveyors in the children’s area of the Serfaus ski resort in the Tyrol means even more comfort for guests in the region and peace of mind for the resort’s management.
Before the installation of the new conveyors, the resort’s younger guests had to rely on a converted piste-grooming machine to transport them to the top lift station and the nearby children’s restaurant while parents, grandparents and ski instructors were forced to walk up the slope to meet them at the top. This situation was, on the one hand, extremely inefficient in terms of the time, personnel and maintenance required to transport a relatively small number of guests per hour and, on the other hand, not especially comfortable for all those involved. Since, however, the comfort of the resort’s guests is the number one priority of the management team in Serfaus, those responsible for the lift infrastructure in the resort used the summer break to consider possible solutions to this problem.
The challenge was to transport 2000 guests per hour safely and swiftly the 500 m from the top station of the “Komperdellbahn” lift, the nearby restaurants, the ski school office and the ski rental shop to different areas of the children’s ski area and back, thereby overcoming a total of difference in altitude of 80 vertical metres. The logistical solution chosen should ensure that everyone and everything, be it skiers, snowboarders, pedestrians, parents with buggies, disabled guests or toboggans, can be transported over this distance. Due to the fact that the slope is used for grazing cattle in the summer, the lift facility must be able to be taken apart at the end of each winter and reassembled again ready for the start of the new season. Furthermore, it was not possible to use permanent concrete foundations for this facility.
2007-01-08
New
Having considered several different solutions to the problem, the management team of the ski area chose to use conveyor technology. A total of three new Sunkid Wonder Carpet conveyors were installed to provide an optimal solution to the challenging conditions described above. The three conveyors measure 42m, 60m and 30m respectively and are each powered by a 7.5 KW drive motor.
Both two of the new conveyors potentially exposed to wind and precipitation as well as a third existing conveyor in the children’s ski area were fitted with a full-length protective cover known as the Sunkid “Gallery”.
Indeed the installation in Serfaus represents a world première, as it was the very first conveyor to be fitted with the new "Egg" model of the Sunkid cover. The new design combines the existing advantages of the traditional "Gallery" with an egg-shaped form which give guests even more space on the inside and looks great!
Richard Althaler, who is responsible for children’s snowsport tuition at the Serfaus Ski School, commented:
I have been a ski instructor with the Serfaus Ski School for 27 years now and was able to experience at first hand the development of the very first Sunkid Wonder Carpets over 10 years ago. Since then things have moved on rapidly and we now have 11 Sunkid conveyors, 2 Sunkid “Rotondo” carousels and countless Sunkid figures and ski-teaching aids in our children’s ski area. The three new Wonder Carpets represent an expansion of the ski park’s global concept and the guests’ reaction has been incredible. Everyone I have spoken to has been thrilled by the level of comfort we are now able to offer.
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