The 4.4 kilometre-long ?Peak 2 Peak? gondola bridges the tops of neighbouring Whistler and Blackcomb mountains and saw two million rides on it in its first year of operation after it opened in December 2008.

With an unsupported span of 3.02km, and at points 436m above the valley floor, the 11-minute ride is certainly not one for anybody suffering vertigo.

"Since the Peak 2 Peak gondola was introduced to the skiing and riding experience, it has totally changed the way our guests experience the mountains," Whistler Blackcomb spokeswoman Michelle Leroux told AFP.

"The connection from one mountain to the next makes it effortless to follow the sun, find the best snow or meet up with friends."

Leroux said the gondola, boasting spectacular views of the valley, is now the cornerstone of the Whistler ski area, which boasts 33km? of pistes, making it the largest ski area in North America.

"Many people who were sceptical about what benefit the Peak 2 Peak would bring are now converts and after a full year of operation people find it hard to imagine what we did without it before," she said.

"With more than two million rides on it in the first year of operation it is safe to say the gondola is an integral part of the Whistler experience."

Not only do the gondola's 28 cars, affixed to three thick steel cables, afford skiers easier access to the mountains but they also attract non-skiing visitors such as day-trippers and hikers, a factor local businesses argue has boosted profits.

"There's no question the Peak 2 Peak has been a huge boost to the economy over the last 12 months," Fiona Famulak, president of the Whistler chamber of commerce, told AFP.

"There have been visitors coming in the summer months just to experience the Peak 2 Peak, and with that influx, there is the added boost to local food and beverage and retail trade."

The Roundhouse Lodge, a 900-cover restaurant atop Whistler mountain serving everything from noodles and dumplings to chili and fish and chips, gets routinely mobbed by hungry skiers and visitors at lunchtime, many having arrived on the massive gondola.

"It's kind of awesome," said Australian Shelly, enjoying a day off from her seasonal job snowboarding.

"The lift gives you the option of skiing in two different resorts and opens up so much terrain. It's great for people like me, who often work late or split shifts."

G.D. Maxwell, a writer and columnist for Whistler's weekly Pique news magazine for the last 14 years, told AFP that one of the biggest bonuses from the lift was the effect it has had on transport.

"A lot of day skiers are now parking their cars in Creekside, the first part of Whistler you get to from Vancouver, and getting the lift over to Blackcomb, easing road traffic and actually making their trip faster," Maxwell said.

"There has been an expected and noticeable effect on the way the people access the mountain.

"They can ski one mountain and then try another by means of an 11-minute ride. Before they'd have to race down the mountain to catch a lift."