Wengen-Männlichen
Wengen-Männlichen
The path up to Männlichen from Braunbär Hotel & Spa could hardly be more comfortable: the cable car valley station is right in front of the hotel. This large cabin takes six minutes to go up to the mountain station, which culminates at 2,229.90 m above sea level. We owe this luxury to the avalanche winter of 1999.
1999
The avalanche winter of 1999 owes its name to the numerous avalanches that occurred in January and February of this year. A large part of the Alpine region has been affected, from the French Hautes Alpes to Switzerland and Tyrol. The consequences were sometimes so catastrophic that, for the first time, hazard level 5 (“very high”) on the European avalanche risk scale was declared for several days.
In the Alpine region, numerous traffic routes have been blocked and entire valleys have been cut off from the world. Switzerland alone recorded some 1,200 avalanches, causing a total of 17 deaths in buildings and on roads. The valley station of the Wengen-Männlichen cable car was also affected.
An air connection
The Wengen-Männlichen cable car went into service on 22 July 1954. Initially, the cabins could accommodate 40 people, but in 1963, they were replaced by cabins with a capacity of 50 seats. In 1973, the 425 hp engine brought further modernization, increasing transport capacity by around 12%. Wait times at the valley station started to decrease.
The third technical expansion took place in 1991 and 1992. Except for the valley and mountain stations, the old cable car has been completely renovated and the existing cabins have been replaced by two spacious 80-seat cabins. Travel time increased from 6 to 7 minutes to 4 to 5 minutes.
In the winter of 1999, an avalanche hit the Wengen valley station head-on. The wharf was covered with snow, trees, and stones over ten meters high. As a result, its operation had to be interrupted for several months and the cable car was no longer allowed to operate from its former location.
And then? In April 1999, the Board of Directors decided to move the valley station outside the avalanche zone. Immediately said, immediately done! Plans were drawn up at lightning speed, permits were obtained, and construction work was carried out. At the beginning of December 1999, the first cabin took off from the new location in the direction of Männlichen.