The new Bachlift. Our investment for all ski enthusiasts of the future

If you’ve learned skiing in the skiing area Bad Kleinkirchheim, then you’ll certainly be familiar with the Bach area. Flat runs, wide slopes and a separate children’s area make it a popular hotspot not only for ski schools, but also for beginners and those who haven’t picked up their snow boots in a while. The Bad Kleinkirchheimer Bergbahnen already invested in the quality and size of this area back in 2019. This project is now being completed with the renovation of the Bachlift. Read all about how the construction of the new lift was going and what we needed to keep in mind.

The Bach area.

The Bach area is the largest of a total of four practice zones in the skiing area Bad Kleinkirchheim, characterised by pizza, French fries and magic carpets. It is where you have a first go on two skis at a gentle pace and practise your lift riding with wobbly knees. To help skiers feel safer and more confident on slippery surfaces, it’s particularly important that the quality of the slopes is as consistent as possible and that the lift infrastructure is up to date.

Investment 2 of 2.

That’s why, back in 2019, the corporate group decided to invest in new conveyor belts for the children’s area, in widening the slope surface and in updating the snowmaking system in the area. And it paid off because this effort has contributed significantly to upgrading the quality of the entire area.

Now we’ve reached the second part of the project: renovating the existing Bachlift. We’re investing around € 1.2 million in the new cable car system, including the station building, ticket machine, barriers and terrain adaptations.

The technical details.

Our new lift is a 1-SL platter lift from the brand Doppelmayr / Garaventa. More specifically, we decided to go for the S-Line model, which combines top quality, modern design and ease of maintenance. Incidentally, we are the first ski resort in Carinthia to put this model into operation.

The Ferrari of platter lifts carries almost 700 people per hour from the valley station (1,035 m) to the return station on the mountain (1,098 m). And so that you have even more time to get some practice in, it can manage the 333 metres in less than 3 minutes. Sounds good, don’t you think?

Things don’t always run smoothly.

The planning stage for the new infrastructure lasted around a year. But as is so often the case, not everything always went according to plan with the renovation of the Bachlift. The start of construction was pushed back by several months due to delays that were beyond the control of the Bad Kleinkirchheimer Bergbahnen. But by mid-October 2023, the time had finally arrived. Now it was time for everyone involved to go full throttle so that we could herald in the Christmas holidays with a new Bachlift as planned.

How to build a lift?

Back to the beginning. How do the lift supports get into the ground and how do the hangers get onto the cable? And what else is involved in building a lift system?

• Adapting the surroundings. First of all, the people in charge took a close look at the area earmarked for installation of the lift. They discovered that icy patches often form where the Bach area transitions to the Maibrunnbahn valley station when there is more sunlight in spring. Clearly, this would be a huge challenge for inexperienced skiers. However, by slightly adapting the terrain in this area, we can now consign this potential danger to history.
   
• Out with the old, in with the new. The old tow track will also be used for the new lift. But first the old supports, ropes and cabs have got to go. With the help of a helicopter, the new supports were then flown to their intended location and professionally installed by the team. By the way, these supports weigh up to 1,800 kilograms each. Then the associated suspension rope got installed and afterwards the rope splicing got started. If you’re not familiar with this, you can check out our blog post “Everything has an end but the rope... has none?”.

• We can’t have a lift without lift operator stands. At the beginning of December, we received a lorry-load of modern lift operator stands equipped with the latest technology for the mountain and valley stations. We’re also expanding the existing infrastructure in the valley area with a staffed ticket counter, a ticket machine and a large screen with up-to-date ski area information.

• Fitting the hangers. Finally, of course, the platters had to be fitted to the rope so that the various individual parts form a functioning lift system.
   
• Inspection and initial operation. But before we officially started, had to be carried out a trial run and a safety inspection of the lift system. Once the final official inspection got passed, the new Bachlift could be put into operation - just before Christmas.

In the name of the board of the Bad Kleinkirchheimer Bergbahnen we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for their personal commitment, tireless flexibility and solution-focused approach to the renovation of the Bachlift.

And if you’re not a pro at using a platter lift yet, we’ve put together a few tips for you here. We can’t wait to see the excitement in the children’s eyes and hope they have a fun and injury-free ski season 2023 / 2024.