Jan 5, 2015

On the world's largest natural ski-jump hill in Bischofshofen in Austria, Güdel is ensuring that the ski jumpers make it to the top. A special cog railway brings the athletes safely and quickly to the jumping-off point at the summit.

This is the jump which determines the overall champion of the Four Hills Tournament every year. After thrilling competitions in Oberstorf, Garmisch, and Innsbruck the final decision was made in Bishofshofen on 5 and 6 January. The winner of this year's 63rd Four Hills Tournament was Stefan Kraft from Salzburg, whose victory was celebrated with a huge party afterwards. Over 25,000 enthusiastic spectators came along to cheer on the ski jumpers.

The advantages of cog railways are obvious. "Compared to cable cars they require considerably less maintenance, are not subject to yearly approval, and can be operated without supervisory staff", explains Mathias Marti, General Manager Business Unit Products at Güdel.

The cog railway, named the Mountain Stepper, was developed by Güdel in conjunction with Mountain Systems. It consists of two sections and can be used on both small and bigger, higher-altitude ski jumps. To do this, it transcends more than 100 meters in altitude from the valley station up to the summit. The railway adapts to the terrain, twisting and turning and negotiating crests and hollows. At two meters per second and with up to 8 people per cabin, the railway can cope with gradients of up to 72%. It is powered by two high-performance Güdel planetary gearboxes. The racks and pinions are also manufactured in-house by Güdel. Combined with Güdel's control system and electronics, the result is a safe and approved system for transporting passengers.

Güdel has already implemented a similar system in the past. Despite extreme weather conditions the cog railway provides reliable service all year round. Güdel quickly and safely transports skiers, hikers, cyclists, and their equipment to the summit and back again.