Eibsee Cable Car

File:Telefèric d'Eibsee.JPG

View of the lake Eibsee from the Aerial Tramway cabin

The Eibsee Cable Car, which opened in 1963, is a cable car which connects the lower station (973 metres or 3,192 feet above sea level) near lake Eibsee with the top station at 2,950 metres (9,678 ft) above sea level next to the summit of Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain on the border to Austria. The cable car was built to provide a faster access to the Zugspitze from its German side, as the cog railway from Garmisch-Partenkirchen does not go directly to the summit and takes much longer. The Eibsee Cable Car belongs to Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG, the company operating the cog railway and most cable cars, gondola lifts and chairlifts in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area. It is thus possible to make round trips using both the cog railway and the cable car. On the Austrian side, there is the Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car which starts at Ehrwald and meets the Eibsee Cable Car on the top.

Eibsee Cable Car has a length of 4,450 metres (14,600 ft) and an elevation gain of 1,950 metres (6,398 ft). The Eibsee Cable Car runs over two pylons, which are 65 metres (213 ft) and 85 metres (279 ft) high, respectively. The latter is the highest cable support pylon in Germany. The two cabins taking 44 persons each are suspended from two track ropes and are moved by two haulage ropes. The track ropes have a diameter of 46 mm (1.81 in) each, and the hauling cables have a diameter of 29 mm (1.14 in) each. It runs on 750 kilowatts (1,010 hp) of power, generated in the valley station. The route is normally traveled in 10 minutes at a speed of 36 km/h (22 mph). The tramway can accommodate 300 persons per direction each hour. The elevation gain of 1,950 metres (6,398 ft) continues to be the highest of all aerial cableways achieved in a single section.

See also

• Bavarian Zugspitze Railway

External links

• Description and pictures on Seilbahngeschichte.de (German)
• Pylon I on skyscraperpage
• Pylon II on skyscraperpage