Steamboat, CO: Steamboat Gondola 

The third lift in the major Thunderhead Peak base-to-summit alignment is this 2019 Doppelmayr 8-person gondola. It replaced the world's first 8-person gondola from 1986, which itself replaced the original Stagecoach gondola from 1970. The rebuild was completed in two phases: 2017, when the grips, hangers, and some terminal equipment were replaced, and in 2019, when the rest of the older components, including towers, cabins, and drive equipment, were replaced. Additionally, the hangers were switched out with newer ones. It has a whopping 1200 fpm top speed, which it was running at in this recording, making it one of the fastest 8-passenger gondolas out there, and a high capacity of 3600 pph.
In 2021, a third upgrade involved moving the bottom terminal outside to where the magic carpets were, as part of the base area transformation. There are 26 towers and 137 cabins.
Recorded Mar. 9, 2021.
NOTE ON BOTTOM TERMINAL RELOCATION: The number of towers did not change, and the number of cabins shrunk down to 133. This means that they have four spare cabins stored at the upper terminal. Also, the bottom terminal has the name “Steamboat Gondola” painted on it, so I updated the title. Check out liftblog.com/g... with the updated pictures.