Rope gang complete major upgrade of Halley's Comet

Falls Creek has completed a major infrastructure upgrade, replacing the haul rope on Halley’s Comet, one of the resort's busiest high-speed quad chairlifts, ahead of the 2026 snow season opening on Saturday, 6 June. John Palmer, Falls Creek’s senior operations manager, said the haul rope replacement is a significant engineering feat, marking one of the largest pieces of off-season work undertaken at the resort this year. “Halley’s Comet is a key gateway for guests accessing our Snowsports School, Cloud 9 and some of our most popular beginner and intermediate terrain (such as Wombat’s Ramble and Drovers Dream), making its reliable operation essential," he said. "It’s one of our busiest lifts in the season.” To deliver the project, Mr Palmer said Falls Creek worked closely with Doppelmayr, the world’s leading ropeway manufacturer, with experience across 96 countries and recent Australian projects including the Mt Perisher 6 Chair, haul rope replacements at Falls Creek and Hotham, the Skyway Cable Car in the Blue Mountains, and the Arthurs Seat Eagle Gondola. He said the process to replace a haul rope takes many hands as the two ends must be de-tensioned and woven together. The haul rope arrives as a single long rope (for Halley’s Comet this was 1850 metres in length, weighing approximately 7350kg) and the two ends need to be joined together to make a single loop - a process known as splicing. Mr Palmer said it’s a delicate and manual operation that ensures the rope forms an endless loop and is considered an art in the world of lift transportation - it’s always performed by specialists. He said after the new haul rope is installed, the lift runs for 50 hours to ensure correct operation, before being tested again. "The replacement ensures the haul rope remains safe and compliant for years to come, while minimising the risk of unscheduled replacement," Mr Palmer said.

Rope gang complete major upgrade of Halley's Comet

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