The builders of the new lift have started pouring concrete in Oz.
The big bases at the top and bottom were poured at the end of last summer. Now they are constructing the bases for the pylons and starting to assemble the lift.
The bases are around 100 to 200 cubic meters of concrete and the fastenings are visible poking through the tops.
Nearly all the concrete is delivered by helicopter as the terrain is so steep. Just the one by the Clos de Pré chalets is accessible to trucks.
The helicopters will also deliver the pylons, one section at a time, to be bolted to the base and to each other.
Reshaping the landscape
They are also reshaping the lower parts of the Chevreuils piste so that it’s now possible to ski directly to the top of the new lift. There is another piste down from where the new lift will be to the bottom of the Poutran Gondola.
This will create an interesting new crossroads at exactly the point where we have all been trying to maintain maximum speed to get the Alpette lift.
However, it will mean that skiers coming down Chevreuils will no longer have to ski through the village to get to the bottom of the Poutran.
Along with pouring concrete in Oz, there has also been a reshaping of the bottom of the L’Olmet run where it approaches the top of the Olmet button lift, making it easier to take the small green piste that runs through the trees to the left.
Bits and Pieces
In the coach park they have started to assembled the parts for the top lift station. It looks like a huge bit of self-build furniture. I wonder if IKEA make self-assembly ski lifts?
Some of the parts are relatively easy to identify but other are more mysterious.
I wrote in a previous post about the bottom lift making progress during the early summer.
