Sella Nevea is in the northeast corner of Italy in direct vicinity of Tarviso. The pass is located amidst one-of-a-kind surroundings underneath the Prevala basin, where the lowest laying glacier in Europe can be found. Below the slopes of the ski area is probably the best-known italian piste “Pista del Canin”. In fact, it is the venue for many Italian ski championships. Yet the known saying “no one is born a master“ also applies to skiing. On that score, since the last winter season, the Sunkid Wonder Carpet makes learning to ski much easier.

Encouraged by positive experiences during a project the year before at Ravascletto Zoncolan, as well as six additional projects completed together with Sunkid, Promotur management decided to also replace the current ski lift in the beginners’ area in Sella Nevea with a new Sunkid conveyor with canopy. The key challenges for the conveyor climb assistance setup above all were, aside from the required safety regulations and a canopy, a wider conveyor width of 2.46 ft, as well as increased drive speed of approx. 4 ft/sec (1.2m/sec) to reach appropriate capacity. In a public tender, Sunkid was able to once more prevail against tough competition and carry out the project.

Conveyor as a ski lift replacement

A Wonder Carpet with a length of 580 ft (177m) and a 30 KW drive motor was designed. This 580 ft (177m) long Wonder Carpet powered by a 30KW motor was built that already meets the requirements of the future European EN15700 standard. As the only conveyor manufacturer, Sunkid developed, in cooperation with safety authorities, an innovative new front exit solution that allows a drive speed of approx. 4 ft/sec (1.2m/sec) and with it, fulfills the highest possible safety standards. This newly developed exit system additionally reduces shutdowns – especially when transporting pedestrians. The higher speed reduces transit time and thus longer distances can be quickly and comfortably conquered. As a further advantage, the Sunkid Wonder Carpet proved to achieve significantly larger capacity compared to the previous ski lift.

The new conveyor exit assistance is used by ski and snowboard novices much more often than the ski lift that was in operation before. This lets the operators offer a higher level of user-friendliness and greater comfort. Guests feel especially at ease with the Sunkid Gallery. It gives a wonderful view of the unique landscape in fair weather, yet at the same time protects guests during bad weather from wind, snow, rain and cold. The operator does not need to worry about snow removal on the course, which makes maintenance and service easier.

2011-05