Cabriolet Gondola plans garner mixed public opinion – Park Record
Plans to replace the Cabriolet lift at Canyons Village with a gondola are drawing mixed reactions from residents and visitors as Park City Mountain expands on its plans to increase uphill capacity and ease congestion during peak ski season.
The proposal, still pending approvals, includes a midstation near the Silverado Lodge and would fully replace the existing Cabriolet that runs from the lower parking area to the village base.
Community members at an open house on Monday had the chance to learn more about the project and speak directly with resort officials. While some saw the potential benefits of increased capacity and weather protection, others expressed skepticism over the project’s true impact or necessity.
According to resort representatives, the new gondola would significantly boost the number of passengers transported uphill, offering a smoother, more climate-controlled ride that could better serve day skiers and help ease crowding at the base.
The midstation, positioned just below the Silverado area, would also provide new access for guests staying in nearby neighborhoods. The gondola’s base and top terminals will remain in the current positions.
Given the preliminary stages of the proposal, resort officials said they were not available to comment beyond the information posted in the room.
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The public open house on Monday brought community members and resort officials together to discuss the plans, with information spread throughout the room to answer logistical questions. This is a rendering of the proposed top terminal of the Cabriolet gondola, to replace the current one in the same spot at Canyons Village base village. Credit: Klara Meyer/Park Record -
The public open house on Monday brought community members and resort officials together to discuss the plans, with information spread throughout the room to answer logistical questions. This is a rendering of the proposed top terminal of the Cabriolet gondola, to replace the current one in the same spot at Canyons Village base village. Credit: Klara Meyer/Park Record -
The public open house on Monday brought community members and resort officials together to discuss the plans, with information spread throughout the room to answer logistical questions. This is a rendering of the proposed top terminal of the Cabriolet gondola, to replace the current one in the same spot at Canyons Village base village. Credit: Klara Meyer/Park Record
One lower Canyons Village resident doesn’t use the Cabriolet, accessing the base area via the Frostwood Gondola, but she hopes the modernization will disperse crowds better.
“We’re not as impacted, but it looks nice. I hope it helps with the day skier crowd,” the woman said, declining to give her name.
Another resident was concerned about increased congestion in the neighborhood with more properties to open in the next few years. With the Cabriolet gondola to join the current Sunrise Gondola, which adds an access point to the upper mountain from the Canyons base village, the resident hoped people would start to use Sunrise as an alternative route, rather than walking over to the Frostwood Gondola.
“I want to see the whole Cabriolet go over and replace our gondola. It’d be nice to increase our capacity,” said Chris Martin, who lives near the Frostwood Villas.
Hideout residents Mike and Joann Strasik questioned whether the project was targeting the right problem. The issue, they think, is parking.
The Cabriolet would connect to the completed parking garage project, which will replace the current Canyons Village surface lots with a five-story parking garage, to open in phases between the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The garage will accommodate around 1,850 spaces — equivalent to the previous availability across all surface lots.
The Canyons Village parking garage is a five-story structure to consolidate all surface lots and streamline access to the Cabriolet.
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“With the parking spots staying about the same, it’s not really going to improve how crowded it is,” Mike said. “The gondola will be nice and all. But that’s not the problem.”
For others, like Park West resident Eydie Pines, the Cabriolet doesn’t take priority over others in need of improvement.
“We’re here to figure out why. It seems like the Cabriolet is fine. It seems like an expensive endeavor. There are other lifts on the mountain, we feel, that could be better prioritized. I see that people living in the midstation area will benefit, and that’s the only big benefit it seems; otherwise, it seems unnecessary,” said Pines.
For Pines and her partner, John Leigh, part of what they love about the Cabriolet is its open-air aspect.
“I like the difference of the bucket lift. I like being able to stand and look at everything across the horizon in all directions. It’s a fun way to travel up to the village. A closed gondola? I’ve been there. It’s not exciting,” said Leigh.
The Cabriolet was installed in 2000 by the American Ski Company when the area was still The Canyons. For Hidden Creek resident Amy Blue, the project is toeing the line between development and heritage.
“I regret changing too many aspects from vintage. I feel concerned that we’re getting too big for our britches, for us, for people, for what we are. We are not Vail,” said Blue.
The proposal remains in phase one with public engagement, and will move into phase two pending approvals. The gondola is expected to be a one-year build, with the new Cabriolet to open for the 2026-27 season.
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The open house offered the chance for the public to see the preliminary plans and leave anonymous comments about their opinions for the resort leaders to read and account for in future plans.
“I’m thrilled that they’re including us. I’m going to leave my honest opinion after reading everything here. But what I will say is, the Cabriolet, it’s vintage, it’s an attribute. You’re up there in a flash. There’s no fuss. It’s just exhilarating, whereas sitting and doing the whole thing in a gondola, it feels like an airport,” said Blue.
While some love the old aspects of the Cabriolet’s 360 views and open air, others would love the break from the cold. Andy Kitti, a second-home owner from Atlanta, Georgia, likes the promise of crowd-culling and warmer travel.
“We don’t ride the Cabriolet much, but just from the experience we’ve had, this gondola would be great. It certainly will be a benefit, especially when it’s cold weather, that will help tremendously,” said Kitti.
Kitti is also excited about the ability to move more people and equipment safely and quickly on the gondola. With a large gondola car, moving mountain bikes, skis and people is much more feasible and comfortable, he said.
The Cabriolet replacement project is still in its early stages, with a timeline laid out in six steps moving from drafting the concept and public engagement to infrastructure improvements and construction. The gondola is planned to open for the 2026-27 season, in time with the final three stories of the parking garage. The lower two stories are scheduled to debut this winter.
“This collaboration between Park City Mountain and CVMA demonstrates our shared goal of offering a world-class guest experience. Replacing the Cabriolet lift with a gondola, pending approvals, would elevate the arrival experience for day guests, streamline access to the slopes for lower- and mid-village guests and residents, improve connectivity and flow and enhance reliability and comfort with enclosed cabins while maintaining an open feel,” said an information board at the open house.
Source – Indonesia News
