Sunkid: The Fastest Snowsports Conveyor Belt In Switzerland Replaces Two Lifts

The 162-metre conveyor belt transports guests uphill at up to 1.2 m/s, under the protection of a rustic wood gallery with a ridged roof.

Several measures were implemented in parallel to make the area of the Gryon-Frience (CH) municipality more attractive year-round. The 162-metres Sunkid conveyor belt with wood gallery and ridged roof played a main role as the central hub in this. Detailed discussions between the tourism officer and Sunkid-Borer GF Axel Halder led to development of a small but sophisticated adventure world that will provide impulses for summer and winter alike. The material from the newly excavated pond was used to raise the mountain station of the conveyor belt facility by two metres and to adjust the slope around it accordingly. The terrain was entirely restructured, making it possible to do without the two previous lifts at all. The new pond will be used as a water storage in winter and for bathing in summer. 

The conveyor belt will access a tubing slope on one side in winter, while the other side is used as a beginner's exercise hill. Several further attractions are already planned for the summer to ensure year-round use of the conveyor belt.

The project required extended talks, since those responsible wanted a person conveyor belt without the usual Plexiglas gallery. That nearly put an end to the entire project, when tourism officer Eric Chabloz spotted a wood gallery in the Sunkid-Borer brochure that he loved immediately. "The build with its ridged roof strongly reminded me of the Kapellbrücke in Luzern," he remembers. After a visit to Serfaus (AUT), which already uses a Sunkid gallery of the same built, the decision was finally made. The project was unanimously confirmed and implemented.

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