New Moving Carpet on the World Cup slope from the Rettenbachferner in Sölden

The Moving Carpet has a very wide range of applications and can be found in many areas of a ski resort. Whether in the beginner's area, as a connecting belt from the parking lot to the valley station, as a feeder to the gastronomy, as a connection to the local center or the public transport. Wherever differences in altitude, obstacles or inclines need to be bridged, the Moving Carpet has established itself as the ideal means of transport. When it comes to connecting routes, however, these are often used not only by winter sports enthusiasts, but also by pedestrians. And at this point at the latest, the Sunkid Moving Carpet finally plays its trump card against other means of transport.

The new glacier lift on the Rettenbachferner in Sölden was also designed and implemented as a connecting lift. Due to the recession of the glacier, the old connecting path between the two ski slopes "Seiterjöchl" and "Rettenbachjoch/Schwarze Scheid 1 (World Cup slope)" can no longer be used. The slope was therefore lengthened on the downhill side, thus bypassing the affected area. However, this means that skiers can no longer return directly to the "Gletscherexpress" and "Schwarze Schneide" lifts. A height difference of 17m separates them.

To bridge this height difference, the Ötztal Gletscherbahnen tested various logistics solutions and ultimately decided on a 174m-long Moving Carpet as a connecting conveyor.

The new conveyor belt is adorned with numerous technical innovations.

In order to meet the customer's specification of a practical (not theoretical) conveying capacity of 1,800 people per hour despite a considerable sag in the middle of the installation, a drive power of 37 kW was chosen. A Counterweight Tensioning system with a tensioning travel of 2.8m and a tensioning weight of 2 tons ensures optimum belt tension with minimal maintenance. The proven Blue Eye conveyor belt with a belt width of 900mm gives the passengers perfect hold even on inclines of up to 18%. The conveyor belt was designed with a strength of 500 N/mm with 4 tensile layers and vulcanized on site. The system runs at a maximum speed of 1.2 m/sec which is infinitely variable and is equipped with the proven Sunkid safety switch flap at the belt infeed. The Evolus gallery roof ensures low-maintenance daily operation even at an altitude of 2,680m and protects passengers from wind and weather. Entrances and exits are easily closed with electric rolling gates at the push of a button. Every 18m there are emergency stop aisles which can be locked with high quality sliding doors. To the overall project

Photo credits:Sunkid