All PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola cables are on line and tensioned with the completion of the haul rope splice taking place August 29 and 30th.

The splice was 68m/220 feet long, and took a crew of 14 people over 15 hours to complete. Norm Duke, a Fatzer AG certified splicer from Wyoming, lead the team of seven Whistler Blackcomb employees and six Doppelmayr/Garaventa employees to complete the job.

It is a “long splice” where strands from each end of the cable are untwined and then re-braided together without the plastic core of the rope to ensure a perfect bind that maintains the haul rope’s diametre of 46mm.

Duke has spliced many of Whistler Blackcomb’s Fatzer ropes and worked most recently on the Symphony Express.

The majority of the weight of each cabin will be carried on the track ropes while the haul ropes pull each Sky Cabin along. Each track rope exerts the force of a Boeing 747-400 midflight on each terminal building!