Our Lady of the Rockies Foundation starts new campaign to raise $5M for gondola project

When word spread in Butte 46 years ago that work had begun on a 90-foot statue of the Madonna to be later set atop the East Ridge, there were both pessimists and optimists.

A former Butte resident living in Deer Lodge was less than thrilled with the project.

She voiced her objections in the form of a letter to the editor in The Montana Standard.

“A 90-foot beer bottle would hardly be more an eyesore on the naturalness of the East Ridge,” she wrote.

Another Montana Standard reader had a much more positive attitude. He didn’t ask the question, “why.” Instead, he asked “why not.”

“I’m all for giving it a try,” he wrote. “After all, can’t is a contraction of cannot — And in these days Butte can — it must.”

The “Butte can” attitude prevailed, and by Dec. 20, 1985, a cheering crowd watched as the mission was completed — Our Lady of the Rockies finally stood looking over Butte.

Fast forward to present day and the nonprofit organization behind Our Lady of the Rockies is stepping up their plans for a year-round gondola — a project they have long believed will not only create local jobs but boost tourism.

Plans for a gondola system are not a recent endeavor. Instead, it has been a work in progress for well over 30 years.

On the statue’s 30^th anniversary in 2015, David McCumber, editor of The Montana Standard, encouraged readers to support the transportation system for Our Lady.

“What better project to illustrate Butte’s can-do spirit and to more fully benefit from the full-on miracle the statue represents,” wrote McCumber.

Seven years later, Ray Ueland, a spokesperson for Our Lady of the Rockies, told the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners that the project was something the nonprofit’s board believed in.

“We are still very optimistic,” Ueland told the commissioners.

Today, optimism continues.

A recent campaign brochure to be shared with potential donors called the statue “a gift of faith, love and grit. It brought our community together – Now, it’s our turn to finish the journey.”

The dream becoming a reality, however, hinges on acquiring a significant amount of money — $5 million in the next year, which would help make the gondola a reality.

Ron Gallardo, board president of Our Lady of the Rockies Foundation, is confident the goal will be reached.

So far, three anonymous donors have given more than $150,000 in total. Obviously, much more is needed to secure the initial funding.

Gallardo said it took time and money to get Our Lady of the Rockies on the East Ridge. The same holds true for the gondola system.

“There’s a lot of work left to go,” he said.

Hence initiating “Be Part of the Legacy,” the recent campaign encouraging residents and businesses to donate to the cause.

“It’s going to take the Butte community to bring the gondola project to fruition,” he said.

Gallardo said the donations to help finance the gondola system are an investment in Butte’s future.

The board president said the foundation has gotten a lot of positive feedback.

Some of that positivity comes from Sebi Lüönd and Steffen Beil, potential participants in the project.

Lüönd is head of project finance for Doppelmayr Group, a major cable car manufacturer.

Home-based in Austria, the company, with 15,000 transport systems under its belt across the globe, installs about 150 aerial transports each year.

According to its website, the company is a leader in cable transit systems, including gondolas, for both winter and summer tourism.

Its American headquarters is in Salt Lake City.

Beil is the co-founder of FUNIS, an Austrian company which provides financing and management support to cable car companies.

Visitors to its website learn the company “provides financing and management support to cable car companies globally.”

The two men recently visited Butte. Both believe the gondola project could be a good investment.

“We are seriously looking into this,” said Beil.

One of the reasons for their visit was to get a closer look at Butte and learn more about the town and what it has to offer tourists aside from the 90-foot statue.

“Butte is a great destination for tourists,” said Beil, who admired Butte’s architecture and its mining history.

Beil, who has visited Butte twice in the past year, called Our Lady of the Rockies impressive.

“I’m totally in awe when I hear of the magnitude of the volunteer work of local people and how the whole town and businesses got together to actually realize a project,” he said.

Touring Butte’s historic sites answered a vital question for Lüönd — what brings people to this region.

At present, around 4,000 tourists visit the statue each summer, a usually short season in Butte. Depending on the weather, drivers also must hope the road is accessible on any given day.

Gallardo said the organization currently has a school bus and two passenger vans to transport tourists.

Beil called the gondola project a very good idea.

“With easy access, it solves a transportation problem,” he said.

Lüönd agreed, adding that the gondola system would be operated year-round, with a high probability of bringing in more tourists.

“It gives access to everyone, young and old, handicapped and not handicapped,” he said.

With the gondola system in place, Gallardo believes tourism to Our Lady could rise to 200,000-plus visits each year.

Gallardo said the gondola system would include 20-plus cars, potentially transporting 200 people at the same time as the cars go up and down.

“The story of Our Lady is just so inspiring,” he said. “We need to share her with the world and this system will allow us to do that.”