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A major lift upgrade is to be underway during the summer ready for the 2019/2020 season in the Swiss 4 Valleys, the hub of the luxe resort of Verbier. Announced by Nendaz ski resort in the 4 Valleys, the new gondola will be installed to connect Pranion to Plan du Fou, replacing the Fontaines ski lift and the old Plan du Fou cable car. Although the 8 passenger cabins will replace these, the T-bar lift will still continue to operate.
This ultimately means greater access for pedestrians with the link between Haute-Nendaz and Siviez possible without using cable facilities in the area or accessing the areas by road. The new lift will also triple the uplift of riders and pedestrians from 800 people per hour to 2,400 per hour – a 200% increase.
The base station of the new gondola will undergo slight alterations in which it will be adjacent to Pranion-Tracouet chairlift and will allow boarding of both facilities at the same level. The upper station will also be altered to make passenger’s journeys a lot more convenient. It will be fully linked to Siviez Plan du Fou gondola and passengers will be able to transit from Prarion to Siviez without having to leave the gondola. Skiers will also be able to get off mid-way at Plan du Fou and ski on slopes both sides of the mountain.
The total investment for the gondola upgrade is around CHF 25 million! This is the largest part of the lift company’s total 60 million investment for upgrades since 2016.
The new gondola isn’t the only enhancement to the area with plans to expand artificial snowmaking machines into the Greppon-Blanc sector.
It certainly looks like next season is going to be a good one for the 4 Valleys!
