Lone Peak Tram attraction named ‘Kircliff’ for Kircher family’s leadership
EBS STAFF
As Big Sky Resort continues construction on its Explorer Gondola, another summer project has been the summit experience of the Lone Peak Tram—soon to operate for its third winter season—highlighted by a new alpine observatory.
The “glass summit experience” will be “unlike anything else in the American West,” according to an Aug. 25 press release from Big Sky Resort, announcing the name of the project as “Kircliff” as a nod to the decades of “pioneering innovation” from the Kircher family. “Cantilevered off the mountain’s edge, this architectural marvel creates a place where the immensity of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem can be experienced in jaw-dropping spectacle.”
The Explorer Gondola will provide access from the base area to the base of the tram, eventually making Kircliff an ADA-accessible experience that does not require skis or hiking boots—the experience will be fully ADA-accessible in the summer, with further construction planned between the gondola and tram terminals to enable winter accessibility in the future.
“This reimagined summit experience transforms Lone Peak into a year-round, must-visit destination,” resort President and COO Troy Nedved stated in the release. “Kircliff unlocks the opportunity for every guest to stand on one of the highest peaks in the region and witness a horizon that stretches from Yellowstone to the Tetons.”
The release added that the Explorer Gondola will be the world’s fastest 10-person gondola, including heated seats, floor-to-ceiling windows and a mid-station to access beginner terrain near the top of the resort’s original Explorer chairlift.
The resort will open in fewer than 100 days, on Nov. 26, and Kircliff and the Explorer Gondola are scheduled to open Dec. 20, according to the release.
