‘An icon of the North Country’

The fall foliage season is one of the peak periods of ridership for the historic aerial tramway at Cannon Mountain. The iconic tram will cease operations after the upcoming fall season to make way for its replacement. (Courtesy photo)

Jace Wirth has three reasons — two economic, one historic — to warrant the $27.2 million expense for a new tramway at state-owned Cannon Mountain and Franconia Notch State Park.

First off, there’s the payback, according to Wirth, the general manager of Cannon Mountain and Franconia Notch State Park.

With revenue from tram rides averaging about $2 million a year, the payback would take about 13.5 years, he said.

Second, is the secondary effect the tram has on the tourism economy in the North Country. As an attraction, it helps contribute to a $10 million impact that tourism has on the region, Wirth said.

Then there’s the cultural impact.

To many in the North Country and beyond, a tramway rising 2,201 vertical feet to the peak of Cannon Mountain, in full view of the scenic Franconia Notch parkway (Interstate 93), is as much a historical and cultural part of the region as the former Old Man of the Mountain.

“The tram is such an icon of the North Country,” said Wirth. “There’s quite a few folks that feel very strongly about its impact in the North Country, as we do as well. I know folks in the local community are thrilled by this project because they know it generates rooms and meals. They know it generates gas, retail shopping in the North Country. The tram is an important part, not only of the park system, but the general tourism economy to the North Country.”

Sarah Stewart, commissioner of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, said the project speaks to Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s recent declaration that 2025 is the “Year of New Hampshire State Parks.”

“The Cannon tram is a symbol of New Hampshire,” said Stewart.

History is ingrained in the tram. The Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway was the first tram to operate in North America with the original tramway starting operation in 1938.

Cannon announced July 14 the beginning of the process to replace the current 45-year-old aerial tramway — two cabins (distinct in their mustard yellow and ketchup red) each capable of carrying 80 passengers up and down the mountain that lies within Franconia Notch State Park. Wirth said the tram had reached its “natural end of service life.”

Asked about a timeline, Wirth declined to get into too many specifics, saying a structural analysis of the current tram system would start later this summer. “And that’s pending governor and Executive Council approval,” he said.

The structural analysis will look at existing towers, terminals and foundations. According to Cannon, this analysis will help refine design requirements and load considerations for what Wirth calls “Tram Three,” since it’s the third generation of tram at the mountain.

The tram will stop operating at some point after the upcoming fall foliage season, with the project taking up to at least two years to complete.

Improvements to the tram system had a previous incarnation in 2022. It had a projected budget of $18 million for an overhaul. But the only bid on the project was for $29 million (plus $4.2 million for paint repairs), leading to the rejection of the bid and a temporary hold on the project.

Discussions arose again in 2023 when then Gov. Christopher Sununu suggested replacing the tram with a less expensive gondola system, but public feedback favored keeping the iconic tramway.

The state’s new capital budget earmarks $27,225,000 for a new tramway.

The capital budget, as contained in HB 25, is different from the operating budget legislation in HB 1 and HB 2.

While the operating budget provides the day-to-day funds for the state, the capital budget is set aside for long-term investments, such as equipment or infrastructure. The money comes from state revenue or grants or, on occasion, borrowing or bonds.

About $7 million was added to the new tramway during its journey through the 2025 legislative session. When HB 25 was initially filed, $20 million was provided for the project. The House increased it to $26 million, then the Senate increased it to $27.2 million, the sum that was ultimately agreed to by legislators and signed by the governor.

Part of the calculus in cost justifying a project is the payback. While the current capacity, cost and frequency of tram transits is worth about $2 million a year in revenue, according to Wirth, he was reluctant to predict how a new tram might change the calculation for the better. He said there is little overhead in comparison in terms of maintaining and operating the tram.

Will the new tram cabins have a greater capacity? Will the frequency of transits to the top increase, this increasing overall usage? Will the ridership cost increase?

“We’re contemplating using the existing infrastructure on the same alignment, so this structural analysis will confirm that as part of the analysis,” said Wirth. “That will also help us refine the design requirements and the load considerations of the next operation tram system. So the answer to your question is that it’s a little too early to say what the new capacity of the tram will be? And we have to go step one with structural analysis. Subject to those findings, that will inform the design of tram equipment itself.”

There are only a few companies in the world capable of doing the kind of project that the state envisions.

The largest is Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, the leading builder of aerial tramways and other ropeway systems around the world.

The Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group was formed in 2002 when Doppelmayr of Austria merged with Garaventa AG of Switzerland to form the world’s largest ropeway manufacturer.

Currently, there are 12 tram systems in operation in North America. Ten were built by Doppelmayr or Garaventa. The two other players are Von Roll and Nuova Agudio.

Nuova Agudio built the Cannon tram that opened in 1980 with 80-person capacity cabins and an uphill travel speed of 1,500 feet per minute.

For those familiar with New England ski areas, the Jay Peak tramway in Vermont was originally built by Von Roll in 1966. In 2000, the tram received new 60-passenger cabins manufactured by Garaventa and was retrofitted by Doppelmayr/Garaventa in 2017.

The one Von Roll original-equipment tram is Heavenly Valley in California.

For businesses involved in large infrastructure projects, site visits to other locations that have done similar projects is often an important source of information.

Asked if that has happened as part of this project, Wirth said, “We already have. It’s been a big part of the past efforts. I’d say, look for more details in late summer. We’ll intend to release more information, particularly about structural analysis. We’re eager to share the experiences, the knowledge, the information that a prospective contractor on that will have, and I think that’ll shed some light on that question.”

One point of reference could be the newest tram in North America — the 75-passenger Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky, Montana, built by Garaventa and the first new tram built at a North American ski resort in 15 years.

The new Big Sky tram was put into operation on Dec. 19. It replaced an almost 30-year-old tram. It increases passenger capacity by 60 people (up from 15) and cuts ride time by over a minute.

The Cannon tram is considered by skiers and riders as a tertiary lift to access the mountain’s trails. During the ski season, it usually operates only on weekends and holidays to accommodate skiers/riders and the sightseers who want a winter view of surrounding White Mountains.

If you’re intent on skiing as many laps as possible at a ski area like Cannon, the high-speed detachable quad is preferred over the tram, though skiers at Cannon often leave time for a tram ride or two to access such historic runs as DJ’s Tramline run on those rare days when there’s enough snow to open it.

“Its historical and legacy impact is very important to our skiers and the state for the winter,” said Wirth.

“It serves in a very valuable capacity, in terms of internal usage, back of the house house, for staff, transport, equipment, equipment to the top. Most importantly, again, hearkening back to its heritage and the legacy, this is the type of experience that has anchored skiing, really, at this mountain in New England since the 30s,” Wirth added. “There’s a real business value to it four seasons, but you’d have to call the Cannon tram a strategic anchor of not only Cannon and Franconia Notch State Park, but also New England skiing in the North Country.”

The bulk of ridership is during the spring, summer and fall.

“Spring, summer, fall tourism and sightseeing, by way of the tram, is certainly good business for the New Hampshire park system and for Cannon Mountain,” said Wirth. “That tranche of time we see about 100,000 riders.”

“Generally, with our load frames in the summer, when we’re kind of operating at a steady pace, we essentially schedule tickets in 15-minute increments. So that represents about 460 people per hour,” he added.

Wirth said there will be transparency about the project as it moves forward.

“We’re going to be very active with our updates on the project as we go,” he said. “That first key milestone is for us to begin that structural analysis late summer. We’re going to continue to provide the community, press, our legislators really active updates as things go on.”

If and when the project proves successful, Cannon will not only have the oldest tram system in North America, it will also have the newest tram equipment in North America.