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La Plagne: Reconstuction work after fire
After the fire on August 5th, reconstruction work on the station of the Bellecote cable car has started and will continue for four months. The aim: to re-open the connection between the ski fields and the glacier for December 2005.

Bernard Chancel, President and General Director for SAP, on the reconstruction of the arrival station G6 of the glacier cable car, “The challenge is considerable, but far from impossible”.

The Fire

Friday August 5th, 07:45am. A shepherd noticed smoke billowing from the arrival station of the Bellecote cable car a 3050m above sea level. Emergency services were alerted and all methods used in an attempt to try and put out the fire which had started. Teams were brought in by land and by helicopter, and with the help of two helicopters the fire was put out at 11:45am. The material damage was evaluated: station G6 was entirely destroyed, the cable melted under the heat of the fire, breaking and dragging down with it 5 cabins, one of which was broken in its fall. One pylon was destroyed, and two heads of pylons are to be replaced.

The Glacier and Traversee chairlifts, the high altitude restaurant and the emergency hut were untouched.

The same afternoon, representatives of corporations Pomagalski, BDRM (Departmental Office for Mechanical Lifts), research centre DSCA, and SAP, visited the site to assess and take immediate action with regards to reconstruction. It was decided that construction teams would work seven days a week, in shifts of 3 and 4 days, living on site in temporary accommodation set up at 3000m.

The reconstruction

The first task was to carve out a road to permit trucks and machines access to the site. This work was started without delay and lasted two weeks. From Wednesday August 24th, demolition teams were able to access the site. The new station will be built on the same site as the old one, necessitating the latter's total destruction. The remains will be evacuated by trucks bringing up the new materials.

The team, which will consist of up to 30 people, will live on site. An accommodation area, consisting of 8 bungalows, will be erected at the beginning of September. This area will consist of a kitchen bungalow, a refectory, toilets and showers, a dormitory and an office. As well as construction workers, a chef and a rescue worker will live at the site. The rescue worker will be in charge of first aid, stewardship, food stocks, kitchen help, de-icing, etc.

Stages of Construction

Following the demolition of the old station, the second phase of works will consist of the laying of concrete by the end of September. This phase must be completed before the onset of the first freezes expected by mid-October at this altitude. The concrete will be mixed at la Plagne brought up in stages to the glacier, using the 19km road which connects Plagne Villages to Glacier Bellecote.

The assembly of parts for the station will be made by lifting apparatus which will remain on site this winter and will be brought down again in the spring. Puma helicopters will complete any necessary lifting. The cable, which will be delivered by TrefilEurope in mid October, will be put in place from station G4 of the Roche de Mio, at 2700m above sea level. 6km in length (3 km each way), the cable will pass through station G5 at the Col de la Chiaupe at 2500m, to climb up in the direction of the Bellecote glacier, at 3050m. At G5, the preceding station, reconstruction needs are small – there is just one pylon, line and cable passage to repair. This work can be carried out parallel to that going on at the glacier.

The original cabins, which were being stored at the Roche de Mio station at the time of the fire, will be put back in place on the new line.

Reconstruction in Figures:


Between 3.5 and 4 million euros
6km of cable
19km of road from La Plagne village
1 hour ascent in a four-wheel drive
site at altitude of 3050m
altitude of Col de la Chiaupe: 2500m
Re-opening of lift predicted for December 2005
5 August 2005: date of fire
accommodation area for glacier: 8 bungalows
2500kg: maximum weight of materials to be carried by Puma helicopters
300,000: average number of passengers using this lift every winter
30: maximum number of workers living in the accommodation area at 3050m.

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