Photos of the redevelopment of the Solaise lift in Val d'Isere

Regular visitors to J2ski.com will know that the current Solaise Express chairlift in Val d'Isere is being replaced with a 10-person gondola.

Work on the redevelopment of the resort's third most used lift is currently underway. We took these photos of progress on the base station earlier this month.

The gondola machinery is being buried underground at the base area to reduce the noise impact for inhabitants and fauna living around the 'front de neige'.



The new gondola will have 91 cabins and will be equipped with heated seats and wifi. It will take just 7 minutes to reach the top of the Solaise and will increase the passenger capacity by 40% to 3600 people per hour.

The new lift will be completed and ready to open for the new 2016/17 ski season when the resort opens on 26 November.

The redevelopment includes a new beginners area and a tubing area, both served by a magic carpet.

Consideration has been given to the environment. Val d'Isere Telepherique commissioned a study before the operation started to help minimise the impact. The new lift will have only 16 pylons compared to 34 previously. Additionally to compensate for the impact on woodland, five trees have been planted for every one cut down.

Even the wrapping around the site helps minimise the visual impact of the work taking place:





Article by Iain Martin

10 people a beast, will be interesting what they find to be the effective uplift capacity as can see them struggling to co-ordinate lining 10 willing people in a line.

iainm wrote:The gondola machinery is being buried underground at the base area to reduce the noise impact for inhabitants and fauna living around the 'front de neige'.

I think you've got hold of the wrong end of the stick here Iainm. If you look at this photo you can clearly see that the machinery is located under the canopy where it always is on this type of lift.


The motor and gearbox sit between the rails on which the cabins run when they are detached from the cables.

Up at the top station the garage has been partially built underground, there are some drawings on the architect's website http://www.sg-architecte.com/portfolio_page/tc10-solaise-2/

Ranchero_1979 wrote:10 people a beast, will be interesting what they find to be the effective uplift capacity as can see them struggling to co-ordinate lining 10 willing people in a line.

It's a gondola, not a chairlift.

Interesting to see this development taking place. Although the old solaise lift could get busy it was usually only first thing in the morning. If this new lift operates as planned, it should mean very little waiting time at the base. We've actually found the largest waits to be for the Olympique telecabin heading up to Bellevarde. On the whole queue times in val d'Isere are pretty good.

Did I read that the old red cable car on the other side of the nursery area is going?
Pity as this served people coming from that residential area. The new lift may increase cross traffic over the nursery are which can be a little hectic at times with people zooming in all directions.

Yes the cable car is being dismantled, staff told me last April, and replaced. i am not sure whether the new Solaise gondola is the replacement. It might well be, as I have never seem The cable car full.

From what I have read, the new lift will replace both of the old lifts.

It also seems that they are creating a new area up on the Solaise for beginners, so perhaps the intention is to get all novices up and down on the gondola to a dedcated higher area. There will be a "day lodge" up there too, so sounds sensible if parents wish to go up to watch their bra... err... children learn to ski :)