With Whistler Blackcomb’s Peak 2 Peak Gondola being recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, Pique decided to head up the mountain to get some reaction from visitors and talk to Peak 2 Peak project manager Barb Houghton.
“I think it means so much to the whole design team and the construction team,” Houghton said.
“It means we’ve been recognized for what we all knew was a great feat.”
Check out the video above for more.
The Guinness Book of World Records has heaped another pair of accolades on one of Whistler’s biggest tourism draws, the Peak 2 Peak Gondola.
In the book’s 2015 edition, the Peak 2 Peak will be recognized as the world’s highest aboveground cable car as well as the holder of the longest unsupported span between two cable car towers. The gondola glides more than three kilometres between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains at an elevation of 436 metres above the valley floor.
“It’s breathtaking, really,” said Seattle native Jordan Samuelsen upon riding the Peak 2 Peak for the first time this weekend.
“It really adds to the experience in Whistler,” said Deborah Townsley of Vancouver.
The engineers behind the record-breaking gondola knew during the design phases that they were attempting something that had never been done before, and Whistler Blackcomb lift maintenance manager Wayne Wiltse described how it felt to see the Peak 2 Peak open way back in 2008.
“It was such a huge accomplishment for everyone involved,” he said. “It’s a very impressive engineering feat to see the lift run at that elevation and to run across that huge of a span.”
The gondola has also helped Whistler Blackcomb attract over 2 million sightseeing and hiking visits since it began operation. Wiltse said it’s obvious to see how valuable it is to Whistler’s overall tourism product.
“On any given day you can go up the Peak 2 Peak and watch the mix of people riding the lifts, whether it’s skiers in the wintertime, or sightseeing grandparents riding with their families (in the summer), it’s a huge asset to our sightseeing and destination visits,” he said.
Guinness isn’t the only organization to honour the Peak 2 Peak; it has also been named a Canadian Signature Experience by the Canadian Tourism Commission and was ranked the No. 1 landmark in Canada by Trip Advisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards.
