Summer Skiing France 2014

I understand that because glaciers move so much you cannot get the anchorage needed for chair lifts. PS the glacier runs at LDA are great for blatting down (that's a technical term). Also, Signal run (steepish but wide blue that forms a sort of bowl, I suppose) is usually open until July (according to Easiski blog of years gone by)

OldAndy wrote:

Snapzzz wrote:Quick question if i may.

If so how do you fix the towers for the drag lifts?

They sort of float and are adjusted as needed. That's why it is normal for glaciers to be serviced by drags unless the lift can carry across the glacier.
Although I think I have read that there are a few chairs on glaciers as well.

So do they have to maintain them, reposition them all them all the time.

As OldAndy said they 'float' on the glacier and are held upright by cables attached to the top and bottom stations and the masts (you can just about see the additional cables on the photo). As the lifts move with the glacier they have to be repositioned from time to time, usually once or twice a year depending on how fast the glacier is moving. This is done using an excavator and winches.



It is possible to install chair lifts on glaciers, but I think the top and bottom stations have to be sited on rock. This one is on the Furggsattel glacier above Zermatt, it was the first one built on a Swiss glacier and is Europe's longest glacier chair lift, with 12 of the 18 masts standing on the glacier. The masts were designed to be mobile in order to compensate for the movement of the glacier. The design of the supports allows for a displacement of 75 cm after which they have to be repositioned. The masts are held upright with a third cable.