Peak to Peak is a high stakes one hour documentary that will take you deep inside the struggles to build the world’s highest, longest, and most technically challenging ski lift.
This is the exact type of stuff my old boss did whenever someone would upset him or whatever... hes made millions apon millions but didn't treat all of us all that great but name of the game I guess... lol
As a fellow quality engineer I am very happy to see the amount of precautionary work and testing that went into this mega project. The engineers handle the issues that came up exactly as you'd hope. Even with the pressing deadline it seemed quality and public well-being wasnt put second even when it's very easy to take shortcuts in those moments because of the financial circumstances. Great job!
Transferring from healthcare and going through the degree at the moment; and I really love the aspects of the design process they teach, things like when you need redundancy, designing things to fail in a way that a non-critical part (e.g. the cable doesn’t snap and everyone dies) fails first A lot of the kind of things that feel obvious in hindsight, but aren’t always readily apparent until they’re pointed out; especially coming from healthcare where the risk assessment stuff is a lot more of professional judgement (e.g. patient comorbidities and risk of other complications) - Especially that it’s actually feasible to quantify risk in the assessments a lot more accurately in engineering things instead of trying to gauge really subjective things like cardiac event risk for an individual based on BP readings, pathology and kidney function tests, etc Though I do miss when the math still had numbers ahahhahahhaha
I rode this thing in the autumn of 2019 just before Covid. Unfortunately I have a bit of an engineering brain so was fascinated by it & was busy reading all the info boards while we waited in line to get on. Then I began to over think it all. By the time we were moving all I could think was that we were a mile above the valley floor hanging on a cable 2 inches thick. I was savaged witless 😆 I’d spent 20yrs working on roofs so heights (within reason) didn’t scare me. This was a different league though. I know the narrator in the film says the carriages don’t move. Trust me they do. The ropes swing & dip too. There has to be tolerance in a cable that long. Anyhow there was a bar at the other end & let’s just say I spent an hour there before the return trip 😂 Meanwhile my wife & daughter who’d spent the time on the first run admiring the view, when not teasing me, enjoyed several repeat runs on the Peak to Peak. Truthfully though, it is an amazing feat of construction. It’s only when you’ve been up that mountain & see how steep those access roads are, that you begin to appreciate the logistics of getting all the materials up there to build this thing. Those 90 ton cable drums must have made a few people sweat. Kudos to everyone involved 👍👍
@@m.5051 It wouldn't be weird to the many hundreds of BC's employees (including drivers) whose paychecks are issued by OCEAN - Heidelberg CEMENT Group or LAFARGE CEMENT. It's weird that you don't know that 'concrete' is one of a number of products produced by CEMENT companies. Or maybe you thought that some podunk local regional Ready-Mix Concrete batch plant supplier could possibly supply the consistant volume required for a project of such magnitude? Sheeesh... some guys.
An engineering marvel. A logistics marvel. A testament to what humans can build. Luger’ Run...what an honor! Gotta ride it. CONGRATS to all that were involved in this project. Simply put...Awesome!
@@roguexxrenegade women busy doing nails and looking pretty on tiktok instead of... uuuh.... studying science and engineering? and later feminazis complain about sexism, when most women don't choose the sciences on their own volition, to be 'influencers'. wow great influence
Funniest thing is record low snowfall made the Vancouver Olympics an embarrassment to us locals.. They had to fly in snow from other mountains, thats how far bellow the seasonal average we had. Lol!
This was such a great documentary! Now, imagine 5 engineers from BP North America as we stepped into the gondola 1 week after it opened. We were picking our jaw's up off the floor of that gondola in utter amazement and crunching calcs and ides while we rode over to Blackcolm. LOL, the people in the gondola with us must have been crapping their pants with us second guessing everything we saw. I've ridden it countless times since that day and it never gets old dropping off either side of the mountain. Well done to ALL participated in this project, it truly is a thing of beauty!
As That snowboard guy I appreciate this so much! From the people who put the Doc together for future projects to learn and to the Lift builders and cement drivers, You have given me many great winters!
Fascinating how its done, must be very interesting to be involved in a project like that. You can tell its made for US TV as every 5 mins there is a recap of what was just said. You could cut this down from 45 mins to 30 mins without the constant repeating of things.
Whenever I hear a narrator put on an American TV dramatic voice, I know that we're going to get more drama than information. Ah well, this one was still interesting. We didn't need to see people putting mobile phones to their ears to harangue other people in offices. We just needed to be told that there were delays because of xyz and this is how we solved the problem. Mind you, the engineer me says that the engineers and the builders did a terrific job.
it's why I don't watch any "big network" channels anymore. They do this constantly. They act like through the commercials you totally forgot what the hell you were watching. It's annoying as hell.
The frustrating thing is that it's a very interesting subject. I just want to see how its built without the constant recaps and trying to dramatise the whole thing.
ive been to enough job sites to know that the organization here is pretty amazing. the amount of setbacks normal builds get its amazing they even finished
CN Rail holding up a major project due to something completely frivolous? Who could have imagined? Having worked with them many times before here in Canada on critical deliveries, our motto for them is "we don't care 'cuz we don't have to"
great "doco" if you are interested in the drama of muddy roads and concrete trucks and weather, but falls well short on the real engineering of a major gondola. what happened between starting to string the light lead ropes across and suddenly having all the major cables in place with gondolas on them? how did 5 spools of cable become 3 endless loops? how were the gondolas designed and mounted?
Only one endless loop (the hauling cable). The other four cables are anchored at both ends; their purpose is to stop the bogie from pivoting about the haul cable axis. And to catch the bogie if the haul cable snaps (this happened somewhere near - from memory - l'Alpe d'Huez some time back - 1970s? ) and it that case, the brakes failed. The broken haul cable trailed behind like Snoopy's scarf as the car plummeted down the longest unbroken span on the mountain, and as luck would have, wrapped around the tower at the next ridge crossing, pulling it down to horizontal and gently slowing the car (well, fairly gently) to a stop. The car was full of punters at the time. No injuries.
so how much can they fit into 45 minutes? I thought it all very interesting and informative - we're not all full on engineers but can appreciate the problems involved
@Ivan Blakely you also have to take into account that there are only very few players in this specialized market so you won't go too much into details as the competitors are watching also. I think it's pretty obvious that there's a lot of raw (and therefore expensive) materials involved as well as clever engineering, so the team with the best design at the lowest costs will outlive the others.
Typical american documentary. Everything is hyperboled to maximum, huge, insane, awesome, biggest everything. Same thing repeated many times and lots of unnecessary cliffhangers added to make it more "exciting". Then the rest is human drama and reality tv.
We skied Whistler/Blackcomb the year the Peak to Peak opened. My three sons and I were so excited the first time we climbed aboard. One of the gondola's has a plexiglass bottom too, pretty cool achievement! Also, I think that first year a base jumper forced the door open and jumped out for the 1600' drop.
Prince George boy here, loved this documentary! I was in whistler when sum redbull guy jumped out of the gondola right at the sweet spot between peaks, guy was the talk of town!!
Great feat of engineering and a lot of people coming together to make it all happen.. I've been on huge auto plant jobs where things don't go as planned, you can't put F in before C so I get it. It's stressful for everyone from the Superintendent down to the laborers. But when all of the pieces of the puzzle finally fit and the stars align It's a great feeling of accomplishment for everyone that was involved in the project. Great job and congratulations to all who lent a hand on this massive task.
The sling is not made of Teflon, it's made of either polypropylene or (more likely) UHMWPE. Teflon/PTFE has terrible tensile strength, terrible creep and necking resistance, and it's much more expensive. I'll guess that the film crew heard UHMWPE described as "Slippery like Teflon" and rolled with that as simpler than saying "Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene".
Had the think it was the same plastic that you mentioned for a candy line that ran 15 hours a day. 2 good sized metric pre stretched chains ran over this plastic. After 8 years still looked brand new. Was at a FINN COR drive class back in the 1990's and they were one of the top companies to provide drives to power ski lifts in many countries. Somebody bought b them out maybe 20 years ago.
i like the idea that all the things that keep going wrong are done by the camera crews to make it more interesting. the snow at the beginning was a happy accident for them but they went out and slashed a tire or 2 and dug out the roads a bit
The issue with the concrete trucks could have been avoided by building a temporary construction ropeway, as it is usually done in Switzerland and Austria for such projects. It could also have been used for faster transport of most other stuff, including machines, to the construction site.
Been on the it countless times. Definitely been on when its swinging 5 ft side to side and its scary as hell. But hey it does its job well and has some insane views from the valley
As the owner of a construction company. It's NEVER been this bad dealing with suppliers, Tradesmen, general labor, and financiers. I just did 35 years in the business. Dealing with those issues, plus, adding in government overreach, it's not worth the headaches...Good health, freedom and success to all those out there taking the beatings to keep the world moving...Dying with my boots on...
I love the production of this doco. The directors and producers did not NEED dramatic music or to artificially make this exciting. The Story spoke for itself. VERY dramatic and exciting all on its own!!!! I was totally consumed by this WELL DONE documentary!!!!!
Amazing engineering feat. One thing I can't stand about some of these documentaries is how they repeat themselves over and over, when that time could be filled with other aspects of the project. But I get it, after the distraction of all to frequent commercials, the audience, with their short attention spans, have to be reminded to keep them on track.
@@cattnipp Where? You can't post pics in here. Bottom line, not only have I skied there, but most resorts out West (US.) I was also a ski instructor- been skiing since I was 12. It's been good fun but after a brain injury, I am not sure I want to risk it anymore. Getting old is not fun. Also, there is no real need to be soo cynical. I am a bit too. I guess I feel like it protects me from so many who lie, cheat and steal. In some ways it has but comments like yours remind me to try not to be- at least not as much or as vocal about it. It's not really a good look. I don't lie. I have a full life and do many things- travelled much of the world too. I play 4 instruments- (not all well), ski (very well), run (not well), travel a bit, etc. Yes, I have pics of nearly every place I have been too- maybe too many pics. You can post for free in "Amazon Photos" if you have prime. I have not been to Switzerland yet. I noticed that you have been. I wanted to get a few runs in on our way back from Italy a few years back but the wife said no way. I saw you play. I am not a huge fan of the R. Cube but many like it. Sounds too boxy and harsh to my spoiled ears. I run mostly pro-level gear. It does make a difference and you can play better because you hear more. I just got a Fractal FM9 Turbo. I can send you a pic of that too if you don't believe me- or I can point out your last chord on your first video was slightly out of tune. Looked like you were barring a A or Am chord. 1:16 You sounded great playing rush on the RAW Gibson. A good player does not need an amp. You were still slightly out of tune. You might also want to consider using a metronome so you can keep a smoother tempo going. You seem to play decently but you hesitate between some phrases a bit- or maybe you just need to practice more. It takes time. I've been playing on and off a long time- casually. I took lessons from some top guys which helped a lot. I still mostly consider myself a beginner- but a very decent beginner! Check out a dude called ZombieGuitar (in YTbe and he also gives lessons (best.)) He (Brian Kelly) is phenomenal and easy to understand- even for me. I also took lessons from John Mayers teacher but he is a lot harder to follow- very technical. Whenever I think I am intermediate or advanced, I hear a real guitar player- like my instructor"s" and it is very humbling- same with martial arts. I thought I was good at Judo until my smaller instructor very effortlessly kept flipping me, literally with one hand. Stay thirsty my cynical friend!😅
When I started skiing, a lift ticket was $25, and that included ski and boot rentals. Now they average $235 a day, without rentals. I guess somebody has to pay for this equipment
I rode, several times, the double chairlift in Stowe Vermont with three big, heavy ponchos on. The wind was blowing strongly and we rocked crazily back and forth. At the top the thermometer on the building registered 32 below zero, Fahrenheit. Lots of frostbite skiers at the bottom.
Good times at the resort! Yes sir,I remember up in Montana where I lived it was 27 below on the mountain that day in ‘98 and the liftys were like “what are you stupid?” And we were like “probably” 😂But being young we didn’t care! Nowadays oh heck no!
@@djscottdog1 Sometimes it is snowing at the peaks and raining at lower elevations. Skiing all the way down you have to deal with easy trails at the bottom and the crowd of people at the bottom lift lines. And then take multiple lift to get back to the top of the other mountain. Valuable time wasted when there is great snow at the top of the mountains.
@@michaellapolice6931 ah thwts why i ski in europe , ive never experienced rain or massive ques in the alps. As for waisting time on easy trails , better than wasting it on a lift
These are top notch contactors and riggers. Wow impressive engineering and execution! Plan B on getting around the golfing train blockage was to build a Railroad track around the parked vehicle :)
Plan B should have been asking Moose and Rocco to go to the guy and gently suggest that it was in his best interests to get his playtoy the eff outta the way. The freaking stones on that a-hole to show up and block the line when they knew there was a very important and time-sensitive load coming.
Love watching mega projects. The planning, design and construction skills needed is top shelf. Professionals for sure A couple things jumped out to me from 35+ years as a power lineman. at 30:15 Surprised that a swivel wasn't used between the pea line - pulling line. Then dude using a 4x4 as a "reel tensioner". Not saying I've never done that...just not the preferred method. Especially when you are standing in the bite like he was at 30:20. Tough on the shoulder when it catches. I'm now that old retired guy with aches and pains .
@@lydialas8756 wow, you got me. Hilarious, I forgot all about those comments. It is a cool video but those 2 things jumped out at me. I was surprised they were not edited out actually. I' should crop Wild Willy's picture if I want to elude sleuths like yourself. Thanks for the blast @Lydialas Hope to see you someday soon..on the trail or in the pub.
VEry interesting but oh so much repetition. I used to be a project manager before I retired so I have a small appreciation of the stress and skill of these people, well done indeed.
The second I heard the narrator’s tone of voice, I just knew the entire project was going to be put in jeopardy several times in the next 45 minutes. Oh, how I hope they’re successful…
So cool to see Peter (Pieter?) smile on opening day. I’m sure that was a stressful build, and that cable issue had him more stressed than he wanted to admit.
When they described sketching out an engineering solution on the back of a napkin and sending it out to Europe to be manufactured, all I could think of was the Stonehenge bit from Spinal Tap. Fortunately this outcome was better than David St. Hubbins' were.