Peak Performance: Behind the Scenes of Ski Resort Engineering

Last month, the AE Design crew headed up to Winter Park to spend our annual company snow day celebrating the outdoors and experience first-hand the work we’ve done on The Gondola. As a team with a “work hard, play hard” mentality, creating power, lighting, and technology systems to serve Colorado’s many ski resorts is a dream come true for our designers and engineers.

Ski lift design requires specialized knowledge to ensure a great guest experience alongside the safety needs of resort personnel. A high-capacity lift like The Gondola at Winter Park and Wild Blue Gondola at Steamboat – another AE Design project -- can move thousands of people per hour. With the immense popularity of these resorts, reliable power and communications systems are essential to keep the mountain running smoothly, and many resorts are investing in lighting systems to extend open hours into the evening. Our team works closely with other specialized consultants to integrate behind-the-scenes utilities, mechanical and snowmelt systems, telecommunications, fire alarm, and emergency lighting along the lift line. Plus, we design power for the snowmaking and concessions that make for a great day of riding or skiing!

The Gondola at Winter Park carries up to 3,000 visitors per hour.

The high altitudes found across Colorado’s ski mountains – many towering above 12,000 feet – impact decision-making across electrical systems design, especially in equipment selection. Many types of batteries and generators lose performance and functionality in extreme cold, and others require auxiliary heating to maintain safe and efficient operation. Even the specific soil composition on each mountain can impact our designs, as hard, rocky soil can present challenges with installing underground conduit and grounding systems due to its high electrical resistivity.

Beyond the obvious altitude and temperature considerations, designing for resorts means taking the time to really understand the needs of maintenance, operations, and safety staff who work every day on the mountain. Some decisions might seem simple at first: locating an access panel for example. But a designer well-versed in this kind of design knows to ask more questions: Where is the extra snow stored around this building when it is plowed? If this area regularly accumulates twelve feet of snow, how do we define “ground level”? How do we account for both summer and winter access? A simple panel suddenly becomes more complex in the context of a mountain climate.

Steamboat Springs’ Wild Blue Gondola is one of many AE Design projects developing visitor amenities at the base

Our team has considerable experience designing in extreme climates, from Denali to Death Valley. The through line in every project is our passion for preserving access to the outdoors. By continually increasing our understanding of the impact the landscape has on our work, we can minimize our impact on the ecosystem and environment surrounding our projects.

Interested in learning more about our dedication to the environment? Check out our CSR commitment. Want to join us on the mountain next year? We’re hiring!