Crystal Mountain, WA – After breaking ground eight months ago, the new Mt. Rainier Gondola is tentatively scheduled to open at Washington’s Crystal Mountain ski resort Dec. 22. A gondola cabin made its first trip Monday, traveling 2500 feet from Crystal Mountain’s base area to the 6,856-foot summit. The haul rope and cable were strung and spliced last week and the top and bottom terminals are near completion.nAll of the cabins will be attached within the next several days and crews will be fine tuning the state’s only ski resort gondola in preparation for the load test and final inspection on Dec. 20.

“This has been an exciting and intense project for us, with crews working incredibly hard since construction started. We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Tiana Enger, spokeswoman for Crystal Mountain. “I can’t wait to ride in one of the gondolas for the first time.”

Buckets full of concrete, simulating the weight of people, will be carried in the cabins during the load test. The Mt. Rainier Gondola is tentatively scheduled to open two days later.