The Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie S.p.A lift company, which runs the ski lifts around Courmayeur, has announced that a remarkable four-year €110 million project to rebuild lift access to Pointe Helbronner on the Italian side of Mont Blanc is complete and the lifts are operating ready for the coming winter. The company says that the installations will open to the public next month on a date still to be announced.
Work to replace the lifts began in 2011 after more than a decade of planning. Originally a three-stage cable-car connection, the new lifts are now in two stages, which operate much faster and with a much higher capacity.
There are many remarkable aspects to the project and the result. These include the fact that the new cable car’s cabins revolve through 360 degrees on the ascent and that the new upper station has been built to be energy self-sufficient.
In addition, the Torino Hut is no longer directly accessed by the cable car, but is instead accessed by a 154m long horizontal tunnel and a 70m vertical elevator, from Pointe Helbronner.
All three cable-car stations have been completely re-built to designs by award-winning architects.
Starting from the bottom: the all-new base station is at an all-new location, Entrèves (1300m). It is a ribbed stainless steel structure with wood frames and an abundance of glass to optimise the use of natural light. It is located next to the Mont Blanc Tunnel with direct access to the A5 motorway. There is extensive underground parking (more than 330 spaces) and a bus station which will be where a shuttle service from Courmayeur stops.
From here the lift ascends to the mid-station in four minutes. The mid-station is still at Le Pavillon du Mont Fréty, but with a completely new station, and from there the second stage of the lift goes direct to Pointe Helbronner in just six minutes, bypassing the Torino Hut.
The Pointe Helbronner station has four levels on a small footprint with terraces cantilevered out. It has been built with super-tough materials like titanium panelling, zinc-plated steel and super-tough tempered glass to withstand the elements. A large circular terrace on the roof provides spectacular views of Mont Blanc and the Vallée Blanche.
Each cable-car cabin is round and can carry up to 80 people, compared to 20 in the old lift cabins. The greatly increased capacity should, the operator hopes, eliminate queues. The Doppelmayr-built lift has hi-tec audio-visual facilities, and the cabins which have floor-to-ceiling glass windows slowly revolve through 360 degrees on the ascent.
