The new Söllereckbahn cable car is now ready for operation and has been waiting in the wings since its original opening date of December 25, 2020. We are very excited that the new 10-seater cable car will finally open its doors to you as soon as the current situation allows, as of today on February 10, 2021. The remaining work on the intermediate station, which is still pending, will be continued and completed starting in the spring.

What's special about the new cable car?
The new valley station is now located directly at the parking lot on the access road between Oberstdorf and Kleinwalsertal. You can therefore easily arrive by car or bus and reach the Söllereckbahn cable car directly via the new pedestrian bridge. Via the new intermediate station, near the Allgäu Coaster, you then ascend to approximately 1,400 m to the new mountain station, where the skiing fun can begin.

Preparations at Söllereck are in full swing and all the necessary work is currently being done to ensure perfectly groomed slopes, where we hope to welcome you from February 10, 2021.

At Söllereck, the final construction phase is progressing rapidly. Last week, all 10-person cabins of the new gondola lift were hooked into the cable. The cabins have a modern design and, with their black windows and petrol-colored plastic accents on the edges, are perfectly in keeping with our OK Bergbahnen image. Our logo adorns the front of the cabins in matching colors, and some have been specially painted as family cabins for the family mountain. This means that even the youngest skiers can admire our mascots Sölli and Berti while riding the cable car. The electronics in the stations have also been fully installed, and numerous test rides are now being conducted on the new Söllereck lift. As you drive past in your car or bus, you might occasionally see the new cabins across the street driving down to the valley station these days.

Last Thursday, the new 30 m long and 50 t heavy pedestrian bridge was installed at the new valley station of the Söllereckbahn cable car. For this purpose, traffic had to be diverted via the Söllereck parking lot that evening so that the large crane could be set up on the street. After the crane was fully erected, weighted, and adjusted after about two hours, the bridge was attached to the crane's hook via long suspension cables and, once optimally aligned, lifted and hoisted over the street. With the help of cables, employees of the assembly company rotated the bridge in the correct direction and placed the ends precisely over the foundations. With careful millimeter-precise work, the bridge was finally lowered and finally secured to the foundations. Thanks to it, visitors to the Söllereckbahn cable car will be able to walk comfortably and safely back and forth between the new valley station and the parking lot from Christmas 2020. The bridge, and thus access to the valley station, can be easily reached via an elevator from the bus stop.

A lot has happened at our construction site at Söllereck in recent weeks, especially visually. Work on the facades is in full swing, and some of the cable car buildings already boast a stunning wooden finish that blends perfectly into the landscape. The modern cable car elements, featuring our large eagle, complete the overall look. Green roofs will follow. The pedestrian tunnel connecting the two car parks is also being built at the new valley station. The crawler garage at the intermediate station has also been clad, and the final foundation work is currently being carried out on the curved multifunctional building. The cabins of the new Söllereck cable car have been temporarily stored in the car park next to the new valley station and are now gradually being hooked onto the cable.

A lot has happened at Söllereck since the supports were installed. The focus has been on the assembly of the valley, intermediate, and mountain stations, as well as the functional buildings. As of today, the basic framework of the valley station is clearly visible, and the assembly of the cable car stations at the two upper stations is almost complete. The highlight is certainly the new middle station at the location of the old valley station, where the new cable car will make a 90° turn towards the mountain. At the intermediate station, construction of the caterpillar garage and other buildings is also significantly advanced. The new cable was also installed on the new supports and in the stations this week.

A lot has happened, especially at the valley station, in recent weeks, and the station building has taken on a clear shape. The first new 10-person cabin has already been installed for proper alignment and adjustment.

The large cable car sections have also been delivered to the new middle and top stations and will be installed in the coming days and weeks.

As a special milestone on the Söllereck construction site, a Swiss helicopter supported the pylon installation last Friday. This allowed the pylon sections to be flown to their designated positions and installed within a day. In addition to the helicopter, numerous installers were on duty, climbing onto the new pylons and completing their final installation, secured by climbing harnesses. Now that all the new pylons are in place, the route of the new Söllereck cable car is clearly visible.

Excavation work at the valley, middle, and mountain stations for the new Söllereckbahn cable car has now been completed. Work to renew the new access road up to the new middle station (old valley station) has also been completed. A wide pedestrian path has been added to the road. The foundations at the new valley station are already clearly taking shape. The foundations at the new middle and mountain stations are also already visible. The special feature of the middle station is that the cable car is deflected by almost 90° so that it can travel further upwards. This is already evident in the foundation. Some of the concrete foundations for the supports have already been poured.

Particularly spectacular was the unhooking of the blue 6-person cabins, which were carefully and individually transported directly from the cable car to the truck. There, they waited in a row for transport to their new owners. By the way, if you're interested in purchasing an original Söllereck cabin, you can purchase them from the dealer Wissmiller. Further information is available at "www.pistenraupe.eu": https://www.pistenraupe.eu/.

After the small, blue cabins finally said goodbye, nothing stood in the way of demolishing the old buildings. Heavy machinery had already razed the completely gutted ski school and station buildings almost to the ground. Today, not much remains to be seen. Due to year-round operation on the family-friendly Söllereck mountain, the Söllereck cable car has served very well for a very long time, with over 70,000 operating hours, but has now clearly reached the end of its service life. The buildings, workshops, and guest infrastructure date back to the 1950s. Just in time for our 70th anniversary, the time is ripe for a modern, comfortable facility with new rooms for our guests and employees.

In addition to the demolition work, the first signs of new construction are also visible. The foundations for the new valley station are currently being laid in the existing parking area, and the access road up to the Allgäu Coaster and the new mid-station is being widened. This already gives us a glimpse of the new lift route.

Above the new mid-station, the first support foundations and the new storage pond for the modernized snowmaking system are already being built. The existing pond, which will be enlarged as part of the new construction of the main lift, has always been in exactly the same location.

Start of construction

Despite the coronavirus crisis, we are looking to the future with optimism and openness. For this reason, after the first step of the quality initiative with the opening of the new Schrattenwangbahn cable car in December 2019, this time will also be used to the best of our ability, and the next step will follow. The construction of the new Söllereckbahn cable car will be brought forward by two months, and demolition work began on April 20, 2020. With the early start of construction, the work is expected to be completed in time for the upcoming Christmas holidays.

Value creation for the region

The decision to start construction early is particularly pleasing to the regional construction companies, who are happy about the orders they receive.