New gondola lift in Peyragudes

The link of 3 kilometers in length will have a difference of total altitude of 600 meters and about 20 intermediate pylons. At the beginning, the flow will be 1,000 people per hour, and eventually it will reach 2,000 people per hour.
The departure station will be located upstream of the D25 road, in an area adjacent to the village of Loudenvielle, destined to the construction of housing developments, but still little built and very close to the service station.
The arrival station will be located in the urbanized area of the ski resort of Peyragudes and will be included in the set consisting of the Sérias and Privilege buildings.
The construction work has just begun: it has begun with the pruning of trees, now that the sap has dropped. Then proceed with the network supply works that include the elevation of the power line to 63,000 V and then the concrete blocks. This work will resume in the spring of 2019 and should be completed just before summer, with an opening scheduled for July 1, 2019.

The new gondola of Peyragudes SkyVall: 10 millions

Total amount of the investment is € 10 millions with financial assistance from the Occitan region by an amount of € 1.5 million and the assistance of the department of Hautes-Pyrénées for € 500,000. The remaining 8 million euros will be half a loan from the Caisse des Dépôts and the other half will come from three other financial entities.

A tool at the service of the territory and the environment. “This tool will allow us to merge and connect two idyllic places of our territory: a high-altitude site and the valley, to avoid duplication and create complementarities, argued Michel Pélieu, to our colleagues La Depeche du Midi.

SkyVall will reduce road traffic from the mountain port.

It is a respectful transport that will be a perfect complement for the development of the valley. The ski resorts that stand out are those that have urban areas in the valley and in altitude. We are in a four-season development plan, which will increase the offer of activities during the summer and will give life to both places (Peyragudes and Loudenvielle) throughout the year.
“The gondola lift will be operated by SPL Peyragudes (formerly SEMAP) from November 1. “We have been waiting for the new gondola lift for many years”, said Laurent Garcia, Director of SEMAP in an interview with Iloveski.
This is an incredible tool for the economic development of the valley. The góndola lift should help the ski resort of Peyragudes to maintain its appeal and develop further. We can easily offer a station-town option in the valley and altitude ski resort at the top. We must develop new practices, in all seasons. A means of urban transport. Located in the mountains, the gondola lift will also have an urban transport function.

Tourists who stay at the resort can go down and enjoy the village life at night and vice versa

It will allow everyone to choose their place of residence: in the valley or in altitude. Tourists who stay at the resort can go down and enjoy the village life at night and vice versa, tourists who stay in the valley can enjoy the activities offered by the resort at 1,650 m altitude. “The gondola lift will operate every day of the week, with a very wide opening hours,” says Laurent García.
“In the morning, seasonal workers will be able to use the gondola lift to go to work, which will considerably reduce the risk of an accident if the road is snowed.”
The evening extensions of the schedule are also programmed on certain days of the week to enjoy life in the valley, go shopping, go to the movies, etc.
Image: iloveski.org

An economic boost for the valley

This project links the ski resort of Peyragudes with the Louron valley and is part of a global economic development project in the Louron valley, that will aim to facilitate the movement of visitors between the resort and the valley.
This will lead to 2 main consequences:

• Consequences in terms of development

Especially through the implementation of a major real estate program in the Louron Valley. In fact, it is an opportunity to increase the volume of accommodation linked to the ski area by chairlift. A 4-star hotel is being built, consisting of 60 rooms, located in the city of Loudenvielle. Its inauguration is scheduled for the winter season 2019-2020. This is a high level movement of the accommodation offer that was missing in the valley, but also in the resort: most of the accommodations are apartments and tourist residences. This project is supported by Hotels Invest Sport.
The renovation of the PENE-NEIGE campsite also deserves to be highlighted, with the creation of 300 bungalows, 5-star comfort with spa. The capacity of these bungalows should double very quickly.

• Consequences in terms of activity:

The possibility of moving easily and quickly between Loudenvielle and Peyragudes will be perceived by existing and future leisure operators as an opportunity to increase the volume of potential customers, and due to the lack of supply redundancy of leisure between the bottom and the top of the link, to increase economic activity. An indoor sports hall will be open for the first time to the public this October 25. It will allow to receive events, indoor competitions throughout the year for the greatest happiness of the inhabitants of the valley but also tourists.
A few steps from the gym, a new extension of Balnéa is planned with the creation of a new outdoor pool, the Mayan baths. The works must have started this autumn for a spring delivery and an investment of € 1.4 million. Although it is not possible to anticipate in detail the new work related to the implementation of this interurban link, we can already see an increase in the number of real estate and the variety of leisure activities deployed around the world in the valley of Loron.
Good news and a positive impact in terms of employment and local development in one of the most charming valleys of the French Pyrenees.
If you want to discover the new SkyVall gondola Peyragudes, enter here!