For the first time in the Allgäu and Vorarlberg, these will be the most modern lifts from Doppelmayr (D-Line). This will provide guests on the Ifen with the quietest and most comfortable lifts in the Allgäu Alps, with an impressive 5 cm more space per seat in the cabins. At the same time, the Hahnenköpfle mountain restaurant will be completely renovated and, in keeping with its recently received coveted "Green Toque" culinary award, will be redesigned as a high-quality table-service restaurant, including a separate pine-wood parlor. With the completion of this second construction phase for the start of the 2017/2018 season, the Ifen will finally become a "premium family ski area."
Kleinwalsertal, February 22, 2017 – The ski lift company on the left bank of the Breitach River is investing a total of around 40 million euros in the innovations of the extensive Ifen construction project, thus completely renovating a ski mountain in less than two years. After the first major construction phase in 2016, which culminated in the opening of the Olympiabahn, Germany's and Vorarlberg's fastest chairlift on December 15, 2016, just in time for the start of the season, as well as the construction of a modern snowmaking system with a reservoir including wastewater and drinking water lines, the extensive Ifen construction project is now entering its second phase. The next step will be the modernization of the Ifen I and Ifen II lifts (formerly the Hahnenköpflebahn). The guiding principle here is "More Safety - More Comfort - More Enjoyment" and is also the concept for the new lift technology, which will be the first in Allgäu and Vorarlberg to be the D-Line from Doppelmayr.
To ensure the enjoyment factor is met across the board, the mountain restaurant is being rebuilt with 220 seats inside and 330 seats outside and will serve guests at the highest level from next season.
"There are two lifts that are being built together so that you can travel from the valley station to the mountain station at 2,030 meters in one go. We made this decision so that we can offer guests the best possible comfort and maintain a first-class product in the region. By combining the most modern and comfortable lift facilities in Vorarlberg and the Allgäu region, coupled with top-class gastronomy, we are keeping our promise to create a truly premium family ski area," explain Dr. Andreas Gapp and Augustin Kröll, Managing Directors of the Skiliftgesellschaft links der Breitach.
As a result, guests can enjoy the Ifen nature experience even more relaxed. "Our main goal is to at least maintain the number of our day visitors and continuously increase the number of overnight guests, and with all these innovations, we as shareholders are convinced that we will succeed!" emphasizes Michael Lucke, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Skiliftgesellschaft links der Breitach.
Skiing and snowboarding at an altitude of 2,030 meters and over 25 kilometers of slopes down to the valley, with the longest blue slopes in the region on one side and the legendary black Olympic slope on the other, are what the Ifen ski area stands for, a destination popular with every target group. Whether beginners, pros, natural snow lovers, or freeriders, the Ifen offers the perfect slope for everyone. With the completion of the second construction phase at the start of the 2017/2018 season, the Ifen will finally become a "premium family ski area" true to the motto "More safety – More comfort – More enjoyment"!
History of the Ifen ski area:
In 1961, the Olympialift was built as a hotel lift for the Auenhütte. Eight years later, the Hahnenköpfle Schwebebahn Etschmann & Co. KG was founded. In the following years, the Ifenhütte double chairlift and the Ifen drag lift were built. On February 19 and 20, 1977, the international FIS giant slalom races for men and women took place on the Ifen. In 1978, the Hahnenköpflebahn cable car was built, but its operation was only permitted for the winter season. In 1991 and 1992, the operators modernized the Ifenhütte double chairlift and the Hahnenköpflebahn. The winter hiking trail on the Gottesacker plateau was first presented to the public in 1996. In 1999, the operators submitted an overall concept for the modernization of the Ifen cable cars. In 2016, the newly founded Skiliftgesellschaft links der Breitach, founded on February 25, 2016, as a merger of the former Kleinwalsertaler Bergbahn AG ski areas of Ifen and Walmendinger Horn, as well as the Heubergarena owned by the Haller family, implemented the first investment step of 17 million euros. In 2016, the Olympic cable car and a modern snowmaking system were built in just eight months. A further €23 million will be invested by the start of the 2017/2018 season, enabling the second construction phase to be completed. This includes the modernization of the Ifen and Hahnenköpfle cable cars, as well as the mountain restaurants. This will give Allgäu and Vorarlberg the quietest and most modern cable car system. The D-Line from Doppelmayr is a pioneering cable car technology with the highest level of passenger comfort.
www.das-hoechste.com
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For further information:
Augustin Kröll
Management/Board
Fellhornbahn GmbH, Faistenoy 10, D-87561 Oberstdorf Phone (Germany): +49 (0) 8322 / 9600-2010
Kleinwalsertaler Bergbahn AG, Walserstraße 77, A-6991 Riezlern (Austria): +43 (0) 5517 / 5274-2010
Skiliftgesellschaft links der Breitach GmbH & Co KG Mobile: +49 (0) 175 93 50 633
Email: augustin.kroell@das-hoechste.com
