Long night of the cable car in the Silvretta Montafon

St. Gallenkirch (A). On Friday 1 July, Silvretta Montafon hosted the Long Night of the Cable Car in St. Gallenkirch. The Silvretta Park Montafon celebrated the completion of the Valisera cable car and the reopening of the Revier Mountain Lodge. The varied supporting programme included evening and night rides on the Valisera cable car until 11.00 pm, as well as exciting insights behind the scenes of Silvretta Park Montafon, the Valisera cable car and the new Revier Mountain Lodge. Market stalls with regional specialities and a large tombola rounded off the programme. Later in the evening, the piano artist Kevin Owen warmed up the guests live at the pre-opening party in the Revier Mountain Lodge.

Numerous employees, owner representatives, partners, neighbours and cable car colleagues from Vorarlberg and Tyrol as well as representatives from politics and business attended the Long Night of the Cable Car in St. Gallenkirch. Among them were Provincial Councillor Christian Gantner and Vice President of the Provincial Parliament Monika Vonier. Also present were Thomas Pichler (Managing Director of Doppelmayr Seilbahnen), Franz Rauch (Rauch Fruchtsäfte), Franz Hörl (Austrian Chamber of Commerce), Manuel Bitschnau (Managing Director of Montafon Tourismus) Josef Lechthaler (Mayor of St. Gallenkirch) and Jürgen Kuster (Stand Montafon representative). The festive programme included a blessing by Pastor Joe Egle, evening and night rides on the Valisera cable car and a large raffle with prizes including annual passes, skis, hotel stays and much more. Visitors were able to sample Montafon specialities at market stalls. Interested visitors were also able to take a look behind the scenes: In the valley station of the Valisera cable car, there was a hybrid PistenBully, the Intersport shop and the new SiMotel to see. At the middle station, Doppelmayr employees provided information about autonomous lift operation and at the top station, visitors could marvel at the Älpler Bar and the PV system. With around 2,000 visitors, the Long Night of the Cable Car met with great interest.

Valisera cable car officially opened
The new Valisera cable car has been in operation since December 2021, but coronavirus measures meant that a celebration was not possible at this time. With the Long Night of the cable car, the completion could finally be officially celebrated. ‘We are delighted to welcome so many guests and companions here today,’ says Peter Marko, one of the two managing directors of Silvretta Montafon. The Valisera cable car is the first autonomously operated 10-passenger gondola lift in Austria. ‘The Silvretta Park Montafon with the new Valisera cable car is a real flagship project for our skiing and hiking region. With a little delay, we can now finally celebrate this in style,’ adds Martin Oberhammer, also Managing Director of Silvretta Montafon. The amenities of the Silvretta Park also include convenient, barrier-free access from the underground car park to the gondola lift boarding point. With around 50 charging stations, the underground car park is also the largest e-charging car park in Vorarlberg and was realised in cooperation with the MOON POWER brand.

New: Revier Mountain Lodge Montafon
Another opening was also celebrated as part of the Long Night of the Cable Car: since 1 July, the Revier Mountain Lodge Montafon with 107 rooms has enriched the regional tourism offer. The Revier Hotels are part of the Swiss REVIER Hospitality Group, a joint management company of the two brands PRIVÀ and Revier. ‘We are delighted to open the Revier Mountain Lodge Montafon. Our guests can expect an innovative lifestyle concept and a modern design. Above all, we inspire through authenticity and uncomplicated interaction. This creates a great feel-good atmosphere that invites you to relax, enjoy and make friends. We have completely reinterpreted the classic forms of accommodation and completely focussed on the needs of our young and young-at-heart guests who want to experience something together. Our Mountain Lodge is an absolute insider tip and we are already looking forward to giving our visitors unforgettable moments,’ says Daniel Renggli, CEO Revier Hospitality Group. In addition to the opportunity to visit the new premises, the Revier Mountain Lodge also hosted a big pre-opening party with Kevin Owen live on stage during the Long Night of the Cable Car.

Enhancement for the entire region
The atmosphere at the opening was excellent. ‘These investments in the Montafon mark the beginning of a new era. They are a living sign for the development of the region. Silvretta Montafon has a decisive role to play here as a driving force for future Alpine tourism, which is strongly characterised by sustainable considerations,’ explains Gerhard Burtscher, CEO of Bank für Tirol und Vorarlberg (BTV), the owner of Silvretta Montafon. Josef Lechthaler, Mayor of St. Gallenkirch, adds: ‘The entire region is being upgraded with these important projects and at the same time we are securing value creation in the valleys. I am delighted that we can now all celebrate this together at this Long Night of the Cable Car.’