By building the world’s highest 3S gondola lift ‘Matterhorn glacier ride’ to Klein Matterhorn in Zermatt (CH), LEITNER ropeways has created a ropeway highlight that has made waves worldwide. Some of the cabins developed with Italian design firm Pininfarina feature glass floors. These cabins have now been recognized with an award in the ‘Aviation & Maritime Technologies’ category at the renowned German Innovation Award.
Special features
Each year, the Design Council, which was initiated by the German Parliament and is founded by the German industry, presents the ‘German Innovation Award’ to honor outstanding products and solutions with a special user focus and which add special value compared with previous solutions. The 3S cabin of the ‘Matterhorn glacier ride’ on Klein Matterhorn was one of this year’s award winners. Its unique design earned it a win in the ‘Aviation & Maritime Technologies’ category. The jury, made up of independent, interdisciplinary experts from industry, science, institutions and the financial sector, was particularly impressed by the exclusive “special features” in four of the 25 cabins. These four cabins have a glass floor with a surprise feature. The cabins’ true secret is revealed after three minutes of the journey, when the opaque glass floor suddenly becomes transparent and reveals a spectacular view of the glacier landscape 170 meters below. LEITNER ropeways was honored for this special technical feature and unique innovation. These four cabins are also ornamented with thousands of Swarovski® crystals – the Swarovski ‘Crystal Rocks’ decorate the cabin exteriors and the lettering on the comfortable seats.
Completion of the ‘Matterhorn glacier ride’ was one of the highlights of the 2018 ropeway year for LEITNER ropeways. Besides the challenges due to the difficult working conditions at elevations of up to 3,812 meters above sea level, the comfort and luxury standards were also particularly high.
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