Swiss study measures COVID transmission on gondolas.

[ski diva]

There's a new Swiss study that says the risk of catching coronavirus on a 12-minute gondola ride is 100 times less than during a normal working day in a two-person office. Also, the risk of catching the virus on a 12-minute ride on a gondola with open windows is a thousand times less than during a dinner with eight people in a room with closed windows.

Here's more info.

 

[contesstant]

"With the windows closed, however, the risk increases considerably. "
So, open the windows, but it doesn't say how many people are in each car.
I have mixed feelings about riding the gondolas this year. We have 8-person gondolas and they are crammed pretty tight when they are full. I'll go with as many as 3 others and insist on open windows, but truthfully, I've only ridden the gondola a handful of times this year. Problem is, some people don't want the windows open. There's nothing like having a confrontation with someone who is sitting across from you for 12 minutes+ with nowhere to escape to.

Anyway, that's good information even if it still leaves me with some questions.

 

[Christy]

It doesn't say anything about whether people are talking or not. Or if there are dudes that pull the mask down, or at least off their nose. What they say about the air exchange with the windows open makes a lot of sense, but it's being crammed into a small space with variables--someone that won't open windows, or who pulls their mask down to talk to their friend--that make this a no-go for me. Haha easy for me to say though, there's only 1 gondola in our whole state and you can also get to the top at Crystal by lift (well 3 lifts).

 

[marzNC]

It's a bit a hard to see exactly how the study would apply to many American gondolas. The Swiss consider an 8-person gondola to be "small." I have a feeling that the length of ride is shorter in N. America is generally much shorter than in the Alps.

The "large" gondola with a capacity of 80 people is equivalent to the trams used at JH and Snowbird. Those are running with 25% capacity as I remember, plus open windows.

" . . .
The scientists used air pressure sensors to measure airflows in three different kinds of enclosed ski lifts: a small 5m3 gondola that can carry eight people, a medium-sized lift of 40m3, and a larger one of 50m3 for 80 passengers.

The tests found that, with cabin windows open, air was exchanged 138 times per hour in the smallest cabin, 180 times in the medium one and 42 times in the largest. Its poor ventilation was due to the fact that it had only small skylights on the roof and no windows open to the sides.
. . .
When comparing the three different ski lifts, the risk of catching the virus from other contaminated passengers is more or less similar, the study found. This is due to the fact that the journeys with the large cable cars are generally shorter than those by gondola. With the windows closed, however, the risk increases considerably.
. . ."