Monterosa / Italy: FUNIFOR PASSO DEI SALATI - INDREN

The new lift that will link Passo dei Salati to Indren will cover a distance of 1582 metres as the crow flies. It will leave the 2970 metres of Passo dei Salati, to be more precise from a side area at 2960 metres a.s.l., in order to reach in 4 minutes and 54 seconds 3275 metres, where the Indren Glacier is.
Its speed will be 10 metres per second. It will carry 740 people per hour with 2 cabins for 60 standing people each.
It will be a very modern Funifor and will allow skiers to reach the powder paradise in the heart of Monte Rosa, wild pearl in Monterosa Ski.
The lift will follow a new track, never traced before by a lift and will cover on Aosta Valley area the boundary perimeter with the Piedmont side of the skiing area.
Passo dei Salati, the historical watershed between Aosta Valley and Piedmont, flagship of the Monterosa Ski skiing area for its interregional skis on- link, will become the launch pad towards the Gotha of the free ride tracks in Monte Rosa.
This is the first Aosta Valley Funifor and the second for the Monterosa Ski skiing area.
The Indren Funifor is under construction since June 2006, a complex site, in an environment particularly sensitive to temperatures’ sudden changes and to weather variations.
The realization was entrusted to Doppelmayr Italia s.r.l. in Lana (Bolzano).
The total investment for this new lift was of € 17.224.000, which is a heavy commitment for Monterosa SpA. Monterosa SpA therefore, could have the chance to receive a regional funding for the whole amount of money.
The lift will be operated from 2 technicians in the cabin, it will not have intermediate stops and will reach the arrival station in two spans, making the most of its 800 kW of engine power. Technicians are now studying some new energy systems from a sustainable source (photovoltaic), together with a floor heating system with graphite; the water supply will be possible thanks to the snow fusion and to rainfall. The working site has been studied by ARPA VdA for the permafrost and by the Servizio Aree Protette dell’Assessorato Agricoltura e Risorse Naturali for the bird life. The ski market and the free riders can’t really wait to participate to this off-limit meeting with adventure, of course signed Monterosa Ski!

FUNICULAR FRACHEY ALPE CIARCERIO

The works for the construction of the new lift Frachey-Alpe Ciarcerio which will replace the historical 2-seat chairlift that has been working since 1978, are well under way.
The new track will be launch during the 2009-2010 season and will represent the first Aosta Valley funicular devoted to ski (second only after the SPA Funicular in Saint Vincent).
The lift, whose building was entrust to a cooperation between Leitner s.p.a. in Vipiteno (Bolzano) and Costruzioni Stradali B.G.F. s.r.l. in Issogne (Aosta), will be equipped with 2 cable cars that can carry, each of them, 110 people, towed by a rope moved by the winches at the top station.
It will have an hour capacity of 1500 people and will be able to work at night time too, so that also romantic night travellers will have the chance to reach Alpe Ciarcerio and the area around.
Its engine power will be 900 kW, and it will carry the user from 1617 metres a.s.l. in Frachey to 1981 metres a.s.l. in Alpe Ciarcerio. The team to make it all work will be formed by two cabmen, an engine driver, and a department head. 
I twill reach the maximum speed of 8 metres per second and it will be suitable for people of all ages, involving an always increasing number of visitors, who will have access to all snowy areas, without the thrill, only for skiers, of the chairlift.
The investment of Monterosa SpA for this new jewel, is 12.300.000,00 Euros and thanks to the commitments of the Aosta Valley Region, the lift will be financed for 100% with public funds.
What helped us deciding for this kind of lift is the longevity of the lift itself and the big number of people who can use it. This is a mean of transport which is far from the traditional lift transportation. It will travel on a straight track with a length of 797 metres, with no intermediate stops and with a travelling time of about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, at a cruise speed of 7 metres per second.