Lungern-Schönbüel
A central Swiss ski area that stopped mid-season in December 2012 when its operator went bankrupt, was shut down outright by the federal transport office over safety breaches, and had its chairlift removed so that skiing could not return.
- Region
- Obwalden
- Country
- Switzerland
- Status
- closed
- Year closed
- 2012
- Reason for closure
- The operator Panoramawelt AG went bankrupt and ended ski operations on 22 December 2012, at the very start of the season. In March 2013 the Federal Office of Transport ordered both aerial installations closed after repeated breaches of statutory duty-of-care and operating-permit conditions. When the property changed hands in July 2015 the four-seat chairlift and the drag lifts were dismantled, which removed any possibility of skiing returning.
History
Schönbüel rises to 2,011 m above Lungern in the canton of Obwalden, reached by a cable car from the valley to Turren and then a four-seat chairlift, with drag lifts on the tops towards Höch Gumme and Arnifirst. It ended abruptly. The operator Panoramawelt AG went bankrupt and stopped ski operations on 22 December 2012, days into the season, and in March 2013 the Federal Office of Transport ordered both aerial installations shut after repeated violations of duty-of-care rules and permit conditions - a closure on safety grounds rather than snow. The valley cable car was sold in July 2015, just ahead of final shutdown, to LTB Lungern-Turren-Bahn AG, formed by the Obwalden entrepreneur Theo Breisacher, who overhauled it and reopened it with new cabins in May 2016. The chairlift and the ski lifts above were taken down, which settled the question of whether skiing might return; the last act was the demolition of the former Sporting mountain restaurant and the chairlift's top station by the Teilsame Lungern-Obsee to clear the remaining contaminated ground. Switzerland has lost around 167 ski areas in total, of which about 148 have been completely dismantled, and Lungern-Schönbüel is among the larger of them. The area now works as a summer hiking destination. Its opening year, lift build dates and piste names are not recorded in accessible sources.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turren - Schönbüel | Chairlift - Quad | The four-seat chairlift linking Turren to Schönbüel; dismantled after the 2015 sale, ending any prospect of ski operations | |
| Schönbüel - Höch Gumme | Surface lift | One of the two ski lifts on the Schönbüel terrain; removed with the chairlift | |
| Schönbüel - Arnifirst | Surface lift | The second Schönbüel ski lift; removed with the chairlift | |
| Lungern-Turren-Bahn | Gondola | The valley cable car from Lungern to Turren. Sold in July 2015 to the newly formed LTB Lungern-Turren-Bahn AG, overhauled with new cabins and reopened in May 2016; it survives as a summer and hiking lift |
Sources and further reading
- https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungern-Sch%C3%B6nb%C3%BCel
- https://www.srf.ch/news/zentralschweiz-skigebiet-lungern-schoenbueel-am-ende
- https://www.blick.ch/schweiz/zentralschweiz/lungern-schoenbueel-stellt-betrieb-ein-tod-eines-skigebietes-id2126261.html
- https://m.srf.ch/news/regional/zentralschweiz/obwaldner-investor-rettet-tourismusgebiet-lungern-schoenbueel
- https://www.obwaldnerzeitung.ch/zentralschweiz/obwalden/der-schandfleck-neben-dem-berghaus-schoenbueel-verschwindet-ld.1139076
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Location
46.7877, 8.0990