10 seater gondolas seem to be the next big thing for the Alps next winter.

Although not completely new (there are already new 10 seat gondolas at Plan de Corones in Italy and Kitzbuhel in Austria), the first such lift in Switzerland is scheduled to open on December 15 and the first in the world’s largest ski area, the 3 Valleys in France will also open in December.

The Leitner built Swiss lift is being built at Savognin and connect Tigignas and Somtgant, replacing a nearly-30 year old chairlift on the route. At Meribel the lift will replace the first two stages of the Plattières gondola, which are of a similar age.

The French lift will more than halve the previous 22 minute journey time from 22 to nine minutes and will be able to carry 40% more people per hour than the old lift. The initial capacity of the Swiss lift will be more than double the old at 2,000 people per hour, with a potential to increase to 2600 people per hour.

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