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Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram

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The tram in summer

The Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram (originally called the Squaw Valley Aerial Tramway) is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) long aerial tramway at the Palisades Tahoe ski resort in Olympic Valley, California. It was inaugurated in 1968, and was called the Cable Car. At its opening, it was the largest tramway in the world, built by an Austrian company Garaventa.[1] It carries passengers from the Base Camp at 6,200 feet (1,889m) elevation to High Camp at 8,200 feet (2,499m) elevation. The tram operates operates year-round.[2]

1978 disaster

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During a blizzard in 1978 a tram car carrying 44 passengers became dislodged from one of the two cables. It fell 75 feet (23 m) before the second cable halted its fall, causing the car to bounce back up.

The cable that had become disconnected sprung upwards and broke its connection to the tower. The 17-ton cable fell downwards slicing into the rebounding car, instantly killing three passengers. The final casualties were 4 killed and 22 injured.[3][4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Humpert, Anneliese (October 18, 2022). "Tram, Funitel, and Gondola: What's the difference?". Palisades Tahoe at Lake Tahoe.
  2. ^ "Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram". www.palisadestahoe.com.
  3. ^ KCRA-TV (Television station : Sacramento, Calif ) (April 16, 1978). "Squaw Valley Tram Accident - 1978". KCRA-TV – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ "Tram Car Trauma at Squaw Valley". Tahoe Quarterly. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
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