By: Tyra Redmond
Jim Bollman, Skyride conductor for Stone Mountain Park.
Bollman relaxes on a nearby bench while the park is temporarily closed due to inclement weather. “For six years, I’ve loaded people onto the gondola lift, gave the history of the carving and the park in its entirety. The lift can hold 80 people, including one conductor, but I usually only load about 70 for extra safety precautions,” Bollman said. “When lightning starts getting within 15 miles of the area, we’ll only take people down from the mountain. Once the lightning gets within 10 miles, we shut everything down—but during that time, it gives us a leeway to get more people back down.”
