It’s International Cable Car Day!

Our old friend the cable car: a fundamental part of any ski holiday – without them our glorious mountains would be a hell of a lot harder to reach, and there’d be no chance of a cheeky mid-ski Toblerone – which is probably why someone’s decided to dedicate an entire day to them.

Including some of the steepest, snazziest and strangest ski lifts you’ll ever spend time in, there are some truly weird and wonderful cable cars out there. Here’s a simple summary of our favourite 12…

The Klein Matterhorn, Zermatt

Zermatt Matterhorn Paradise by Michael Portmann

The lengthy trip taken in stages due to thinness of the air on the way up
Claim to fame: is Europe’s highest cable car & used by the world’s national ski teams in summer on their way to the ever-skiable Theodul Glacier
Top station height: 3883m
Journey time: 40 minutes
Capacity: 100
Favourite feature: The Matterhorn glacier paradise 15 m below the surface of glacier

Schmittenhöhebahn, Zell Am See

The smooth ascent to Austria’s most eye-widening mountain vistas
Claim to fame: The latest “cars” were engineered by Porsche
Top station: 2000m
Journey time: 8 minutes
Capacity: 40
Favourite feature: One’s often fitted with a bar and multi-media system for giddying private parties

The Rotair, Engelberg

Copyright by Engelberg-Titlis Tourismus/ Christian Perret

The revolving hockey-puck-shaped cars up the final stretch of Mt. Titlis
Claim to fame: Was the first cable car in the world with a rotating floor
Height: 3,020 m
Capacity: 80
Journey time: 5 minutes –and one 360 degree spin
Favourite Feature: Special dog admission fares… and the terrifying Titlis Cliff walk at the top – Europe’s highest suspension bridge, teetering over an abyss

Alpen Connecting, Kronplatz

A modern resort’s plush new people carrier
Claim to fame: heated leather seats and wifi
Height: 2275m, length 2206m
Capacity: 10
Favourite feature: 18 ton Concordia bell at the top– a monument to world peace which rings every time a country abolishes the death penalty or a war is ended

Peak 2 Peak, Whistler

The 3 time world record holder joining Whistler and the Blackcomb Mountains
Claim to fame: is the longest and highest cable car, and longest freespan (stretch without pylons) in the world
Top station height: Almost entirely horizontal (but with a length of 4.4 km)
Journey time: 11 minutes
Capacity: 28
Favourite feature: the 2 special silver glass-bottomed gondolas giving bird’s-eye views of the forest

Jardin Alpin cable car, Courchevel

The multi-stationed cable car passing through the prestigious, tree-lined Jardin Alpin
Claim to fame: in 2013 36 (out of 72) were decorated with Karl Lagerfeld sketches, advertisements for the resort’s annual Chanel boutique
Capacity: 6
Favourite feature: One of the cars is said to have been graced with a Karl Lagerfeld selfie…

Vanoise Express, Les Arcs

The revolutionary double-decker, pylon-free lift laying open the 425km of the Paradiski area
Claim to fame: Cars were festooned with eye-catching designs by skiwear’s own Picasso, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Height: Mainly horizontal, links La Plagne to Les Arcs
Journey time: 4 mins
Capacity: 200
Favourite feature: Specials dinner held on board on certain dates, recent menus have been created by Michelin starred chef, Stéphane Froidevaux

Grindelwald-Männlichen Cableway, Grindelwald

Linking the village of Grindelwald-Grund with Mt Männlichen against the background of the Jungfrau and the Eiger
Claim to fame: One of the longest cable-car rides in the world
Journey time: 30 mins
Capacity: 4
Favourite feature: The ice Bar in front of the Männlichen Guest House, where you can sip on a cider while drinking in those famous mountains

Märchen Gondelbahn, Grächen

The Märchen gondola in Grächen

The magical ride to the Hannigalp
Claim to fame: 10 of 55 cars have been decorated with children’s tales. As soon as doors close, the voice of actress Silvia Jost launches into Hansel and Gretel or Sleeping Beauty
Journey time: 7 mins
Capacity: 8 (+ 1 costumed character, like Red Riding Hood)
Favourite feature: The huge Sisu Family park at the summit complete with igloo cinema, ski carousel, and magic-carpeted ski area

Ahornbahn, Mayrhofen

The roomy ride up to the Igloo village White lounge and the Freieraum viewing platform on the Ahorn plateau
Claim to fame: is Austria’s largest cable car
Top station: 1978 m
Capacity: 160
Journey time: 6 mins 40 secs
Favourite feature: cars are often transformed into bars for private parties and into suspended cafés on rainy days in the summer

Telecabina Sassolungo, Val Gardena

The trusty, 40-year-old cruise that’s not for the claustrophobic
Claim to fame: narrow, casket-like cars which have earned it the affectionate nickname, “coffin lift”…
Top station: 2685 m
Capacity: 2 people, standing
Journey time: c. 20 mins
Favourite feature: having those views all to yourself, no one else’s ski poles in your face

Ylläs 1 gondola, Ylläs

Taking the Finnish sauna fetish to new heights…
Claim to fame: is the world’s only sauna gondola (and possibly the only gondola you can ride in your birthday suit without causing trouble…)
Top station: 718m
Journey time: 20 mins
Capacity: 4
Fave feature: The car’s one way windows 😉

It’s our mission to ride every cable car on earth, but in the meantime we’d love to hear your stories – if you’ve had any memorably fond, frightening or frankly life-changing moments in a cable car, please share!