The four year, €110m project to replace the lifts to Point Helbronner on the Italian side of Mont Blanc is reported to be virtually complete and operators Funivie Monte Bianco say they expect it to open within the next month, during June 2015.
The new lift system will have two stages rather than three, will be easier to access with its base station closer to the Italian exit of the Mont Blanc tunnel ((moving from La Palud at 1,370m to Entrèves at 1,300m), and will have state-of-the-art revolving glass-walled circular cable car cabins designed by Doppelmayr. The mountain stations have also been entirely redeveloped with stylish architectural designs and using green technologies designed to make them energy self-sufficient..
The former station at the Torino Hut is by-passed by the new lift but is being kept as a mountain refuge connected to Point Helbronner via a 154m tunnel and a 70m lift. The mid station is still at Le Pavillon, but with a completely new building.
Each cabin on the new lift is able to carry 80 passengers, a four fold increase on the old cabins’ capacity of 20 and they’ll also have hi-tec audio-visual facilities and rotate through 360 degrees during the ascent. This will take four minutes on the lower section, six minutes on the upper one.
There is extensive underground coach and car parking at the base station and a ski bus service will operate from Courmayeur.
The top station at Point Helbronner has been built from special materials designed to withstand the extremne environment including titanium panels and specially tempered glass. Built on four storeys on a small foot print, it is crowned by a 14m diameter circular terrace, providing 360 degree views including Mont Blanc, the Dent du Géant, Les Grandes Jorasses and the Vallée Blanche.
The buildings have been designed by architects Carlo Cillara Rossi and Guido Incarbone with the intention of making them “Zero Energy” constructions – in other words self-sufficient in energy requirements, not requiring external energy. The design therefore incorporates exceptional insulation and has large photovoltaic surfaces generating power and heat recovery systems to reuse energy.