Park Avenue gondola to open December

Imagine lounging around Park Avenue with your skis or snowboard, groggy from an early rise but enthusiastic to get your day of Alpine adventure under way. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just get a quick ride from town up to the fresh snow while observing the staggeringly breathtaking mountain vistas of scenic Lake Tahoe? Well pinch yourself, because this will be a reality sooner than you think.

While construction of Heavenly Ski Resort's Grand Summit Hotel may be delayed, the $35 million gondola project is moving forward and should be finished by December.

"This project is not only under way, it is under way aggressively," said Lewis Feldman, attorney for Heavenly, which is owned by American Skiing Company.

More than 30 workers have been hired to install the gondola on the steep mountain side just south of South Shore's casinos.

Preliminary work started months ago, and construction on the site began in the last two weeks.

Already two towers have been erected at the top station, which unloads just steps away from the resort's Tamarack Express chairlift. A giant helicopter, called a Sky Crane, has been transporting tower fittings along the gondola line, which runs from Heavenly's Von Schmidt flats to the Park Avenue Redevelopment Project in South Lake Tahoe.

Work on the base station facility, which is located along U.S. Highway 50 near Bandanas Pizza, is being delayed until the title of the property is transferred from the city of South Lake Tahoe's possession to the resort. Close of escrow is expected next week.

The gondola will have a positive impact on the value of the Park Avenue Redevelopment site and nearby properties, according to David Kurtzman, owner of Aspen Realty. But in order to capitalize on the project, merchants will need to provide first-class facilities, he said.

"I think property owners are upgrading their properties, but owners need to pay attention," Kurtzman said. "People are looking for an overall quality experience."

"The gondola, itself, will surely become an attraction," he added.

The gondola will transport people from the future site of the Grand Summit Hotel, located at Park Avenue and U.S. Highway 50. It will cover a distance of 12,633 feet before unloading passengers at the base of the Tamarack Express at 9,154 vertical feet. The ride will take less than 12 minutes.

The idea behind the gondola is that it will allow people who are staying at the hotels in Stateline and later at the Grand Summit to have walking access to skiing and snowboarding, according to Monica Bandows, communications manager for Heavenly.

The gondola cars are made predominantly of non-reflective glass that minimizes glare and gives passengers a 360-degree view of the area.

The gondola cars are painted a greenish-gray color to blend in with the environment, as required by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the area's bistate planning authority. The gondola's height has also been limited to the just above the tree tops to minimize visual impacts from town.

"The whole project is hidden," said Dennis Harmon, president of Heavenly Ski Resort.

The cars seat eight and are aerodynamically designed to minimize rocking from strong winter winds.

"The cars were designed using wind tunnels," he added.

In addition, the cars are handicap accessible and loading of the gondola will be made easy because of floor level loading.

Construction of a 56,000-square-foot lodge that includes restaurants, retail space, storage and a ski lesson center at the top of the gondola has yet to be started, but could be finished as soon as next spring, according to Harmon. It will be designed with large overhangs and in the style of "rustic Alpine elegance," Harmon said.

Use of the gondola will help alleviate the use of Heavenly's shuttle service and will eventually provide a new activity section to the resort.

Other possible activities for the future may include tubing and summer horseback riding, Harmon said.