A funitel is a type of aerial lift consisting of one or two loops of cable strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. The cables are arranged so as to maximize stability of the passenger cabins. The name funitel is a conjunction between the French words funicular and teleferique.

An example of a funitel

In order to maximize stability of the passenger cabins, the cables are arranged in two pairs moving in separate directions. Although it might appear that there are four cables, most of the time there is actually only one (see diagram below).

The passenger cabins are connected to a pair of cables with four spring-loaded grips (two to each cable). Because the cable runs at a speed faster than that at which most people would care to board or disembark, the cabins must be slowed down while in the terminals to allow skiers to get on and off. This is accomplished by, once the cabin is detached from the cable, slowing down with progressively slower rotating tires, which are mounted on the ceiling of the terminal. Once the cabin has reached a speed at which it is safe to load or offload passengers, the cabin is moved about the end turnaround by tires mounted on the floor. The cabin is then accelerated to line speed with a second set of rotating tires.

See also

• Aerial tramway
• Gondola lift
• Chairlift
• List of aerial lift manufacturers
• Detachable chairlift
• Lift Engineering (built the QMC funitel - a funitel that actually had four cables)
• Skiing and Skiing Topics