The old two-seat chairlift on Velika Planina had reached the end of its service life. This year, it is being replaced by a new, more modern, and safer six-seat chairlift manufactured by Leitner, designed to transport skiers, passengers, and bicycles in both directions. The first visitors are expected to reach the plateau in the first half of November 2023.

These days, we are completing the installation of the new detachable six-seat chairlift “Šimnovec” on Velika Planina. It follows the same route as the previous two-seat lift and also features three stations: a lower return-tension station, an intermediate station, and an upper drive station. The line is just over one kilometer long, overcomes 258 meters of elevation difference, and includes 11 steel support towers. The chairlift is built using environmentally friendly materials and renewable energy sources.

Material transport proved even more demanding than the installation itself

The installation has been underway since spring, using a mobile crane and a truck-mounted crane. While the assembly works are demanding, an even greater challenge was transporting the material from Črnivec to the construction site along forest roads and temporary transport routes.

Due to the large quantity of material, transport operations lasted more than a month. To illustrate: one chairlift station alone required the equivalent of 23 truckloads of material, while the heaviest individual component was an 18-ton steel cable.

The six-seat chairlift will soon welcome its first passengers

In the coming week, the Kaskader team will complete the final assembly works, followed by the installation of the chairs. The chairlift is expected to transport its first visitors to the upper station in the first half of November.

The investment is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund as part of the EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.