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The Sandia Peak Tramway is an
aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...
located adjacent to
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...
, New Mexico. It stretches from the northeast edge of the city to Sandia Peak on the ridge line of the Sandia MountainsThe upper station of the tramway is at a point on the main crest of the Sandia Mountains at elevation , about south of Sandia Crest, the high point of the range. The operators of the Tramway term this point "Sandia Peak", but this is a misnomer, as this is not an official name, and it is not a "peak" in the sense of having any
topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
.
and has the world's third longest single span. It is the longest aerial tram in the Americas, and was the longest in the world from 1966 until being surpassed in 2010 by the Wings of Tatev in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
.


History

The Sandia Peak Ski Company was cofounded by balloonist
Ben Abruzzo Benjamin L. "Ben" Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American balloonist and businessman who helped make Albuquerque, New Mexico, into an international ballooning center. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first A ...
and Robert Nordhaus (father of Nobel Prize-winning economist
William Nordhaus William Dawbney Nordhaus (born May 31, 1941) is an American economist, a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change, and one of the 2 recipients of the 2018 Nobel Memoria ...
), and Nordhaus was inspired to build a tram to the ski slope after seeing other trams during a trip to Europe. Bell Engineering of
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...
, Switzerland, constructed the tramway. Entering service on May 7, 1966, the tram makes 10,500 trips per year. New tram cars were installed in 1986, and new track cables in 2009. New tram cars were again installed in May 2016.


New Year 2022 incident

On New Year's Eve, 2021, a winter storm caused the emergency cable to ice over and droop onto the track cables, causing the tramway to stop mid-course. 19 employees from the restaurant TEN 3 at the top terminal and 1 Sandia Peak Tram Cabin Operator , were aboard the downhill tram car evacuating the restaurant due to the approaching storm, and were trapped for over 17 hours, likewise 1 cabin operator was stranded in the uphill tram car too. All were rescued on the afternoon of January 1st, 2022. Members of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council helped the passengers rappel down the upper tower and hike to a point where they could be rescued by a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office helicopter. Ongoing wind and snow hampered the rescue operations. All passengers and crew were rescued without injury.


Description

The tram is a type known as a "double reversible jigback aerial tramway," where "jigback" implies that when one tram car is ascending, the other is descending. Its two cars are capable of carrying 50 passengers each and have numerous safety and backup systems, such as multiple emergency braking systems and a grounding system that ensures the safety of passengers in the event of a lightning strike. The tramway ascends the steep western side of the highest portion of the Sandia Mountains, from a base elevation of to a top elevation of . A trip up the mountain takes 15 minutes to ascend , and the normal operating speed of the tram is . Approximately four "flights" leave every hour from the base and top termini. The viewshed from the tram includes all of Albuquerque and roughly of the New Mexico countryside. The tramway has only two support towers. The first tower, which is tall, is situated at an elevation of above sea level and built as an
inclined tower Incline, inclined, inclining, or inclination may refer to: *Grade (slope), the tilt, steepness, or angle from horizontal of a topographic feature (hillside, meadow, etc.) or constructed element (road, railway, field, etc.) *Slope, the tilt, steepn ...
with an inclination angle of 18 degrees. The second, just tall, is situated at the end of a major spur of the mountains at an elevation of and was built by the aid of over 2,000 helicopter trips, with support rods driven up to into the granite. The longest span is between the second tower and the top terminal. This span is the third-longest clear tramway span in the world, at a length of . Mid-span, the cables are above the mountainside. This span passes over Domingo Baca Canyon, part of which is referred to as TWA Canyon. This is the site of the crash of
TWA Flight 260 TWA Flight 260 was the Trans World Airlines (TWA) designation for a flight from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico. On February 19, 1955, the 40-passenger Martin 4-0-4 prop plane used by TWA for that route crashed into the Sand ...
on February 19, 1955, in which the lives of all 16 passengers and crew were lost. While much of the wreckage was removed during construction of the tramway, some still remains on the canyon floor and may be visible to riders of the tram.


Activities on top

At the top of Sandia Peak there are many year-round recreational options. The restaurant, TEN 3 (stylized as 10, 3), is directly adjacent to the top tram terminal and offers scenic views to the west. Many Forest Service trails offer recreational hiking, backpacking and nature hikes to visitors. Additionally, the tram terminal is located at the top of
Sandia Peak Ski Area Sandia Peak Ski Area, originally La Madera Ski Area, is a ski resort located in the Sandia Mountains in northeast Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, immediately northeast of the city of Albuquerque. It is part of a Special Use Permit Z ...
, which is on the opposite side of the mountain from the tramway and the city. Skiing is available in the wintertime, and during the summer more than of mountain biking trails are available. Bikes cannot be taken onto tram cars. There is no public transportation in this area of Albuquerque; the tram is accessible only by car, bicycle, or foot.


Notes


External links

{{commons category, Sandia Peak Tramway
Sandia Peak Tramway official site
Tourist attractions in Albuquerque, New Mexico Transportation in Albuquerque, New Mexico Aerial tramways in the United States Buildings and structures in Albuquerque, New Mexico 1966 establishments in New Mexico