Hybrid lift

In the winter, gondolas require skiers and snowboarders to remove their equipment and walk into the cabin.

Some lifts have so-called 'bubble' chairs, which add a retractable acrylic glass dome to protect passengers from weather.

Year-round versatility is increasingly important as ski resorts add summertime activities, such as downhill cycling and nature hiking trails.

To allow safe loading and unloading, stations have separate areas for the different carrier types.

Northside Express (formerly named Horse Hill) built in 1986 at Mount Buller in the state of Victoria was the first Doppelmayr hybrid lift in the world.

"Le Grand Cerf" in Les 7 Laux, France consists of a six-passenger chair and an eight-passenger gondola.

In Norway, the ski mountain Strandafjellet installed a Leitner Telemix lift in the summer of 2010.

The Hybrid (French: l'hybride), at Mont Orford in Quebec, Canada, is a 6-passenger chair/8-seater gondola cabin that replaced a double-chair in 2008.

Three chondolas operate within Colorado, including the Chondola at Telluride Ski Resort (hybrid between a high-speed quad and a four-person gondola), the Centennial Express at Beaver Creek Resort (high speed six pack, with ten-passenger gondola cabins after every five chairs) and the American Eagle lift at Copper Mountain Resort (high speed six pack, with eight passenger gondola cabins every four chairs).

Also in the United States are several lifts that can be converted as needed into gondola operations, For example, the Big Mountain Express at Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana is a high speed quad that runs with all chairs in the winter but runs with chairs and cabins during the summer.

Wildcat ski area in New Hampshire converts their quad chair to a gondola during the summer months.