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A couple highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit (slow week, sorry):

• Elected officials for ski area reject ski lifts – The Elected Officials Transportation Committee (ETOC) have rejected a proposal to study a concept plan to link all four ski mountains of Aspen, Colorado by cable cars and/or gondolas. The ETOC cited “everything from environmental concerns to high winds shutting the system down.” Interesting how an elected body with no knowledge of cable transit systems can pass judgement on the technology without even studying it first. Even more interesting this comes from a body of officials elected to represent a ski resort area.

• Gondola Riders Barely Inconvenienced, Demand Apology – Proving that an unjustifiable sense of entitlement is not unique to the western world, tourists are demanding an apology from Beijing’s Fragrant Hills Park. Apparently, park officials left the tourists stranded in a gondola system for a total of (gasp!) ten minutes. Most interesting is the claim that riders “found themselves dangling 500 meters off the ground” which seems highly unlikely considering the highest gondola in the world only measures 436 m off the ground and is located in Whistler, British Columbia.