French ski resort Val Cenis, which is already at the forefront of actions to combat climate change, has set a new standard by creating it’s new Roches Blanches quad chairlift using mostly parts from the previous lift and other decommissioned lifts.
The projected was undertaken jointly with the famous French ski lift manufacturer, Poma, with both it and the ski area based in France’s Isère region.
Using second-hand equipment made up of parts bought from other resorts (cable elements, seats, stations etc.) the innovative procedure was found to reduce greenhouse gas emissions whilst a combination and cut the need for new raw materials by up to 90%, with the savings mostly made in terms of steel used.
In fact only 35 of the 400 tonnes of equipment (cables, nuts and bolts and station roof) were manufactured specifically for the Roches Blanches chairlift project
The new lift will also have nine fewer pylons, down from 21 to only 12 in total. It will be much faster than its predecessor though, ascending in five minutes compared to the 12 minutes and 30 seconds of the previous lift. The new lift will be much more comfortable, Val Cenis says.
Once dismantled, the current chairlift will either be sold for spare parts or in turn be recycled!
