The original lower terminal enclosure had sported a landmark clock tower. The result �was a tall, solid concrete structure that we had to make look attractive,� Carney says. Plans called for the tram mechanical workings to be installed in a large concrete box that would be the foundation of the lower terminal enclosure. The tram pieces were built in Switzerland and shipped via boat and then rail to Jackson Hole. �There were quite a few similarities with logistics issues, remote locations and altitude,� he says. Zaist applied his experience with mining projects at 15,000 ft in South America�as well as other ski-area projects�to the JHMR tram replacement. Demolition and construction began the day after the mountain closed for the winter season in April 2007. The East Ridge Chairlift would service the summit in the interim. The construction contract for what is known as the �tramformation� was awarded to Doppelmayr CTEC of Switzerland. The new tram brought them together again�Carney as architect of the lower tram terminal enclosure and Zaist as construction manager. Stan Zaist, principal of Zaist Construction Management, Teton Village, had worked with Carney as construction manager on the Bridger Restaurants project. These guidelines steered early development of the resort as well as more recent construction, including the Bridger Restaurants Building, Hotel Terra and a 71,000-sq-ft, mixed-use development in the design phase called Village Center. The new �cable to the sky� would be 20% faster and carry twice the amount of passengers, with each cabin whisking 100 people up 4,139 vertical ft from the Teton Village base to the 10,450-ft summit of Rendezvous Mountain in nine minutes.Īt about the same time the tram design got the green light, Carney completed design of the 20,000-sq-ft, three-story Bridger Restaurants Building, which opened in 2007 at the top of the Bridger Gondola.Ĭarney wrote the architectural guidelines for the Teton Village Master Plan with the Aspen Design Workshop office in the mid-�90s. The design for a two-cabin, jig-back (cabins moving simultaneously in opposite directions) tram lower and upper terminals for passenger loading and five towers was approved in early 2007. The final cost at completion two years later was $31 million. Carney serves on the JHMR board of directors and calls the resort �the driver in this economy.�Īfter considering various options, the resort�s owners, including Jay and Connie Kemmerer, chose to replace the tram in 2006. �The tram was approaching the end of its useful life,� says John Carney, principal of Carney Architects in Jackson, Wyo. The Kemmerers had to decide whether to invest about $15 million to upgrade the tram or an estimated $25 million to replace it. A study had revealed that the tram required extensive maintenance and improvements. The resort�s iconic aerial tram, dubbed �Big Red,� was a year shy of turning 40. The JHMR tram has the longest vertical rise of any North American ski resort and provides visitors with 360-degree vistas that include Grand Teton National Park, the Snake River and the Jackson Hole Valley.
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