New 'Apple Cable Car' Is Inspired by Ski Lifts

The lift runs 1,300 meters, of which 400 meters are within a tunnel. The lift uses Leitner's DirectDrive system for low acoustic impact.

28 gondola cabins on the lift work to transport apples, and a 29th transports 'plant personnel,' which we're assuming is the people who work at the processing facility. An automated forklift system then unloads and loads the gondola cars at the top and bottom of the lift.

You can watch Leitner's video of the new Apple Cable Car by tapping or clicking below. Keep reading for more.

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Watch: Behind the World’s First Apple Cable Car - Ep. 01

Watch: Behind the World’s First Apple Cable Car - Ep. 02

But what's the point of this fancy system for transporting apples? During apple harvest season, the lift transports the apples uphill into underground storage cells. The rest of the year, the lift transports the apples from the storage cells down into the valley's packing plants, which then distribute the apples to markets.

The project was dreamt up in January 2013, but it was a full ten years before it was initiated in March of 2023. Leitner's Sales Manager, Alberto Contin, noted in the brand's web series on the gondola how the project wasn't just significant due to its successful outcome, but because of how it reflects Leitner's values of innovation and sustainability.

Specifically, initial plans had placed the gondola terminal at the entrance of the tunnel. However, subsequent evaluation of the system realized that it was not only inexpensive to bring it within a tunnel, but that it would also keep crates of apples from having to be transferred onto other industrial handling systems, ultimately making it a more streamlined and energy-efficient process.

The lift may not be of much use for skiers, but it's certainly an incredible expansion of a company like Leitner's technology into the far more widespread industry of agriculture. While perhaps not every mountain valley needs a gondola, it makes one think about how structures like this could make transportation centers more energy-efficient.

Somewhat ironically, the first chairlift built at Sun Valley, Idaho, was inspired by a lift that moved bananas in South America. Lift technology has come full circle.