29
Nov

2011

Alpine Coaster (Sommerrodelbahn) – Mieders, Austria

Post by Gondola Project

For many people, travelling up and down a mountainside on a gondola provides enough enjoyment and excitement to last them an entire lifetime.

But for those times when a cable car ride isn’t enough, we have the Sommerrodelbahn Alpine Coaster – which is pretty darn fast.

A sommerrodelbahn can reach travel speeds of 40km/h! Image by Flickr User Nassfeld.

Hm…. roller coaster transit anyone? Enjoy the video!

 

On-Ride View


—

Off-Ride View 



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Just For Fun / Thoughts
36
Comments

Comments

  1. Matt the Engineer
    November 29, 2011 – 1:54 pm
    These are very common in tourist areas - and fun! I've ridden one in Hati and in Croatia. In Hati my wife and father-in-law decided it would be a good idea to test out the safety systems and not brake the entire time (except, of course, at the end). Man did they shoot down at an alarming speed.
  2. Erik
    November 29, 2011 – 4:28 pm
    Can we use this for public transit? Please? I wonder how the cars get back up again? Cable perhaps? Unfortunately this probably wouldn't pass safety regulations in North America. X-(
  3. Matt the Engineer
    November 29, 2011 – 6:17 pm
    I believe the one in Hati was a roller coaster style chain on the way up - I remember the tick-tick-tick-tick sound. In Croatia they hooked them on the bottom of a chair lift that brings you to the top. The one reason I doubt you'll see these here is the stopping mechanism. At the end of the ride the only thing keeping you out of a neck cast is the hope that the drunk 250 pound man behind you remembers to use his brake as he comes barreling down the last hill at full speed (and that the brake doesn't malfunction. and that the track isn't wet). Other than that it doesn't seem any more dangerous than a regular roller coaster.
  4. Nick Chu
    November 29, 2011 – 6:37 pm
    Who knows...this could potentially work as public transport if somehow capacity, cost, speeds etc. were comparable to existing mass transit systems. It'd be awesome if you could tell your family and friends that you "roller coastered" to work today - somehow making transit actually fun and enjoyable... instead of sitting in a crowded bus. =D
  5. Erik
    November 30, 2011 – 3:22 am
    Hey this is cable propelled, at least on the way up. I found this video of another ride using the same technology. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqAtQeU0qR0 This one seems to be a stand-alone system boarded at the bottom. One rides the whole way up (rather slowly) being pulled by a tether connected to an overhead haul rope loop, this then detaches at the top and the ride goes down again by gravity (and much faster!). This video shows the whole circuit, which means the first two thirds or so is REALLY boring if you're not a cable geek. ;-) Lucky for us he decided not to cut the 'boring' part at the beginning.
  6. Nick Chu
    November 30, 2011 – 8:59 am
    Great find!
  7. GiorgioXT
    November 30, 2011 – 11:26 am
    It is a summer use of a normal skilift .
  8. Steven Dale
    December 7, 2011 – 12:29 pm
    Does anyone have any strong explanation for this: Ever since Nick posted this article on the Sommerrodelbahn, our traffic has experienced an increase of roughly 25% - and it's sustained. Anyone have any theories? There can't actually be that many people looking for info on Alpine Coasters, can there?
  9. mick
    January 6, 2012 – 4:46 pm
    As a member of a rollercoaster club i also rode this alpine coaster with no brakes and couldn't understand why it was slowing on the straights,when arriving back at the start for a second go i checked out the mechanics on the ride ( as the cars are carried on the ski lift on their end) the operator showed me it had a fly wheel braking system, unlike the one ay Imsk which is i believe the longest in the world at 3.5 klo
  10. mick
    January 6, 2012 – 4:50 pm
    I am also one of the guys that did the Guiness world record of naked riders on a rollercoaster at Alton Towers on Nemisis, I was interveiwed i'm the grandad,
  11. David Ellis
    January 10, 2012 – 4:10 pm
    I have no explanation as to why my video is so popular at the moment, but people may be looking for more information on alpine coasters after seeing my footage, which might explain the increase in traffic on this site. A lot of people have posted on my YouTube video saying they would love to ride this so maybe people are researching other alpine coasters to plan their vacations? (just saying hello to Mick...good to see you on here - Mick rode this alpine coaster as part of the same group as I did, the European Coaster Club, back in 2005). Amazingly my video has been viewed 4.1 million times now - I am stunned!
  12. Alok Sharma
    May 10, 2012 – 7:41 am
    Hi, Any idea about the manufacturers of these system and how much they cost to build. It may be nice to introduce them in India....
  13. Steven Dale
    May 14, 2012 – 5:24 am
    No idea, Alok. It's funny, we mostly put this item up on a lark because we thought our readers would find it kind of amusing. Now it's one of the most-read posts on the site. Very strange.
  14. David Ellis
    May 14, 2012 – 7:19 pm
    The ride is made by a company called Brandauer. Here is a link to their publicity material. http://www.brandauer.cc/data/folder_e.pdf I don't know how much they cost to build, but it would be great to see more of them. Alok - I hope India can get some of these...they are so much fun. Feel free to share the video with others in India...it would be good to get some interest in the video from around the world! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqCkICXWdWI
  15. John Swinborne
    January 12, 2013 – 1:29 pm
    I haven't been able to find out "how does this coaster stop". Could you explain how is stops?
  16. David Ellis
    January 13, 2013 – 9:43 pm
    Yes...you have to use the brakes. The cars have a natural speed delimiter so they don't exceed the safe operating velocity, however within those constraints the speed is controlled by the rider with a manual brake lever. You push it away from you to release it (which I did all the way down) but at the end you MUST pull it back towards you to apply the manual brakes. It works like a dead-mans-hand system, the default brake position is on. Hope that helps.
  17. David
    March 26, 2013 – 4:50 pm
    It's all over Facebook is why the 25% increase in traffic
  18. Steven Dale
    March 27, 2013 – 4:13 am
    Actually the 25% increase we were talking about was back in November in 2011. For some odd reason, this post got picked up again through Reddit and is now causing a 1000% increase in traffic to the site. Strange.
  19. Scottish McGonk
    March 27, 2013 – 5:28 am
    I believe the increase in traffic may be down to folks like me searching 'sommerrodeibahn Mieders Austria' after seeing the footage on Facebook and checking that it's real before sharing it. :)
  21. Scottish McGonk
    March 27, 2013 – 12:42 pm
    That's how I found my way here. :)
  22. David Ellis
    March 27, 2013 – 9:20 pm
    Great to see that my video has suddenly got popular again :-) I have seen at least 4 Facebook pages showing it, with close to 100,000 shares between them...it's funny how these things suddenly take off...it's almost like viral-part 2 ! Keep watching and sharing folks. David.
  23. kevin mclaughlin
    March 28, 2013 – 6:27 pm
    I also came here after searching Google if this thing was real i never knew such things existed but now i'm going to make it my mission to ride one the only thing is i wonder if i can get my gf to agree to come on it too lol
  24. Allan
    March 30, 2013 – 4:41 am
    I too was looking to see if it was real after coming across it on Facebook, have now put the site in my favourites, loads of good info.
  25. David Ellis
    April 1, 2013 – 8:14 pm
    NEW - I have added a Questions and Answers video on my channel - all the main questions I have received about the Alpine Coaster video are answered there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2unbiYChnX8 Best wishes, David.
  26. Ross Edgar
    April 2, 2013 – 1:59 pm
    I first came across the Gondola Project via this post. I was sent a link to the video via a chain email, after which I Googled Sommerrodelbahn in Mieders, having been on a few of these myself. The Google search found the Gondola Project and I have been a regular visitor ever since!
  27. Paraic Kavanagh
    May 31, 2013 – 1:05 pm
    Please see this vide on youtube. Was this incident reported it looks like this young girl could have a serious injury. can you please let me know if this was reported and is the young girl is ok. Thank you kavpar@gmail.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU21_-g__yg&feature=player_embedded
  28. Steven Dale
    June 3, 2013 – 6:16 am
    Hi Paraic, I have no idea about anything else regarding this video. It is the first time I saw it. Obviously, it's awful and steps should be taken to ensure that nothing like that happens again.
  29. David Ellis
    June 3, 2013 – 2:01 pm
    I was made aware of this video the other day, and I am really disappointed that one senseless rider on this fantastic ride acted such an idiot. Given the guy was trying to emulate my own 'no brakes' video, I have added my own video response on my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnszO_NLWAU I just hope that the girl wasn't too badly shaken up (whilst it appeared she lost consciousness she must have been conscious to have held down the brake lever to continue down the mountain...without doing so you simply stop). My fear is that this one fool could ruin the future enjoyment of these fantastic attractions through them having to implement and enforce tight safety rules which up to this point have just not been needed - they have always been able to rely on riders applying common sense. Sadly this puts all that into question. David.
  30. Billy
    June 4, 2013 – 7:53 am
    Wrong David. The person who is responsible for the accident was the individual in front of the girl who kept STOPPING on the track...which last I checked was against the rules because of how dangerous it is...as was demonstrated in that video. The kid who crashed into the girl isn't innocent...but he's FAR less guilty of that accident than the person in front of the girl who kept STOPPING. if you watch the WHOLE video of the run, you see him come upon that group several times....one of the last times in which you can see whoever it is in front of the girl stopping and pointing at "scenery." I thought doing that was completely against the rules... The cameraman isn't innocent...but he's far less guilty of riding dangerously than the person in front of the girl was.
  31. David Ellis
    June 4, 2013 – 5:07 pm
    Hi Billy, Don't get me wrong, I am not saying the Italian family who kept stopping on the track are blame-free, far from it, however there is no justifiable excuse for the guy deliberately ramming the girl. The safety guidance on the Mieders website doesn't refer to not stopping on the track http://www.serlesbahnen.at/index.php?id=30&L=1 so not sure where you checked the rules? Have you ridden it? I have indeed watched (and listened to) the full video several times, enough to hear the guy say "F this, I'm gonna F-ing ram them" (4:48) so this tells me all I need to know. Think of this ride as being on a highway...sometimes there will be traffic that will be stopped on the carriageway ahead of you without warning...no matter why the traffic ahead of you has stopped, if you ram someone in front of you, it will be you to blame. The UK Highway Code says "Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear" - on the highway the cameraman would be at fault for the collision...this ride is no different. Yes, the family were not using the ride correctly and shouldn't have stopped, totally agreed, but the collision is the fault of the cameraman. The fact he saw them stop several times in front of him actually makes his behaviour even worse, as based on their earlier behaviour he should have worked out that carrying on riding 'no brakes' was not appropriate and was only going to lead to a collision at some point. It was a simple case of 'road rage', and that is never justifiable behaviour in my view.
  32. Billy
    June 4, 2013 – 7:04 pm
    Next time you go to Miedres ask them if it's ok to stop and sit on the track...
  33. David Ellis
    June 4, 2013 – 7:14 pm
    Billy, of course it isn't, and I never said it was. Perhaps it's time to move on from that particular video and enjoy one which doesn't involve any collisions! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqCkICXWdWI :-)
  34. Steven Dale
    June 5, 2013 – 4:23 am
    I would have to agree with David here. Similar to his highway analogy, it would be like someone who was on a ski hill going slower than most people. As a skier is only really responsible for not hitting the people in front of them - and largely has no control over what's going on behind them, responsibility for collisions tend to rest with the person bringing up the rear. Yes there are always going to be people who maybe ruin the fun, but at the end of the day, that's absolutely no excuse for intentionally ramming a girl from behind in this way.
  35. rozé bob
    August 7, 2013 – 8:38 am
    Hallo, ich brauche deine E-Mail an eine Partnerschaft Vorschlag für einen Film über einen Behindertensport explois machen
  36. David Ellis
    August 8, 2013 – 11:51 am
    Hello Roze Bob...please can you explain whose email address you need, to avoid any confusion. Hallo Roze Bob ... kannst du bitte erklären, deren E-Mail-Adresse, die Sie benötigen, um Verwechslungen zu vermeiden.

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