The inauguration on Friday 17 January 2025 of the 3S Jandri cable car in Les Deux Alpes redefines the standards of ski lifts. The Jandri marks the culmination of a monumental project, designed to meet today’s challenges and anticipate the needs of future generations. Fabrice BOUTET, Managing Director of SATA Group, and Fabien FELLI , Chairman of the POMA Group , share a behind-the-scenes look at this extraordinary project, whose complexity is matched only by the ambition that drove it.
The Jandri, a project driven by innovation and boldness
The idea of a structured cable car began to take shape in 2015. ‘Our job was to put the idea into practice and make dreams come true”, explains Fabrice Boutet. And what dreams they were! In just 18 months – even five minutes ahead of schedule – the team accomplished the feat of replacing the old cable car with a state-of-the-art machine.
From the outset, two main priorities guided the architectural choices: exemplary integration into the landscape and durability. ‘ We told our architects that we needed buildings that would fit in with what we love: stone, ice and snow. It was essential that they reflected our identity. And it had to last 50 years. There was no question of it going out of fashion in ten years’ time. This requirement for longevity extends to the cable car itself, designed to remain relevant in the face of constantly changing mountain activities: ‘We don’t know what the mountains will be like in 30 or 50 years’ time. Our role is to provide a tool that can adapt, whether for skiing, cycling, hiking, or even simply to allow people to contemplate Mont Blanc or the Écrins from high up.
The configuration of the terrain dictated the choice of 3S technology, which combines two carrying cables and a hauling cable. “It’s the only technology capable of responding to this specific route and the climatic challenges. With its long spans, it guarantees high throughput and resistance to difficult conditions such as wind and snow,” explains Fabien Felli.
To reduce the environmental impact of the project, every stage has been carefully thought through. “We installed a concrete plant at 2,600 metres to reduce the number of lorry journeys and built a base camp at 2,500 metres with 90 Algeco cabins where the workers could eat and rest. It’s these details that make all the difference,” explains Fabrice BOUTET. The ecological transition has also been a priority, with an environmental observatory to preserve biodiversity, the use of organic vegetable oil for the snow groomers for the last 2 seasons, and reduced energy consumption: “The Jandri consumes as much as the old machine, but carries twice as many people.
Exceptional human commitment to a collective project
The Jandri 3S cable car project brought together an impressive team, just like this extraordinary project. No fewer than 450 people from all trades were mobilised to bring the project to fruition. Among them, 190 workers lived and worked at an altitude of 2,600 metres during the summer and autumn of 2023, in a specially designed base camp designed to reduce travel and protect the environment.
This pooling of talent was also an exemplary human adventure, marked by unprecedented solidarity between companies that are usually competitors. “Getting competing companies to work on site was a real challenge. These companies, who were competitors all year round, were all focused on a single objective”, says Fabrice Boutet, Managing Director of SATA Group.
This collaboration has taken the form of simple but significant gestures. ‘When you see companies lending each other gondolas to reach pylons and save time, you think you’ve reached a milestone”, says Fabrice Boutet. This spirit of mutual support made it possible to meet the many technical and logistical challenges in an exceptionally short time, while creating a real team spirit among those involved in the project.
A ‘roped-off’ state of mind for an exceptional project
Over and above its technical prowess, this project has been underpinned by a collective spirit that has marked every stage of the project. Fabien Felli points out: “Even in the difficult moments, there was a real “mountain rope” spirit.Competing companies worked together, lending each other equipment. It’s the little gestures, like Thierry preparing 200 wild boar sandwiches or Yann and Fabrice organising drinks to boost morale, that make all the difference.
This shared trust, which is much stronger than a simple contract, has enabled us to overcome obstacles and achieve exceptional results. ‘ The Jandri is equipped with a garage, a real machine within a machine. A strategic infrastructure, this garage ensures that the cabins are maintained and operate automatically. It is now one of the largest garages in the world.
Fluidity, flow and modernity: the three pillars of the Jandri
The Jandri 3S (three cables) cable car is designed to provide an efficient link between the village of Les Deux Alpes and the glacier at an altitude of 3,200 metres. The facility features spacious 32-seater cabins, offering passengers optimum comfort and a panoramic view of the Écrins massif. The stations have been carefully integrated into the landscape, demonstrating a particular concern for preserving the natural aesthetics of the site.
The 3S technology combines the advantages of reversible aerial tramways and detachable gondolas, ensuring great stability in the face of extreme weather conditions, including strong winds (up to 100km/h) and heavy snowfall. This technical robustness guarantees reliable operation all year round, enhancing the resort’s appeal to tourists.
Thanks to the Jandri, the journey time up the mountain (6.4km) has been reduced from 40 to 17 minutes, while increasing transport capacity by 60% on the second section and 40% on the first. This fluidity is essential for distributing skiers across the entire ski area at a rate of 3,000 people per hour.
This giant of ski lifts meets three main objectives: to improve the flow of traffic, to distribute traffic more evenly across the ski area, and to offer optimum comfort. “This structuring cable car is designed to quickly get our customers out of the village and up to higher altitude. It cuts the journey time from 40 minutes to just 17 minutes,“ explains Fabrice Boutet. ‘ This moment is experienced in silence and comfort, a feat made possible only thanks to the trust and commitment of an exceptional team,” adds Fabien Felli.
The work on workflows was also central. “The problem with a single structural tool is that everyone ends up in the same place. So we have invested in other lifts, such as cable cars and a gondola lift, to spread skiers and hikers out over the whole area.
Finally, modernity is not limited to passengers. “We’ve thought about each workstation so that our employees find their job enjoyable and easy. It’s not just a machine, it’s a vision of society in which everyone has a role to play”, he insists.
Jandri: a concentrate of cutting-edge technology
‘We have installed four Direct Drive slow motors, representing the highest level of technology available today,” explains Fabien Felli. These motors reduce energy consumptionby 15%compared with a conventional motor, while guaranteeing optimum power.
Another major advantage is the integration of the generating rollers, an innovation that makes this cable car a model of sustainability. “When these rollers turn on the cable, they generate electricity to power the cabins. This makes us a world benchmark for intermediate stations. This exemplary technology, developed in partnership with the Thomas company, embodies POMA’s commitment to combining performance and environmental responsibility.
An extraordinary project completed in record time: 18 months and… 5 minutes ahead of schedule
Among the many exceptional features of the Jandri 3S cable car, one of the most memorable anecdotes is its ‘early’ opening – precisely ‘5 minutes before its scheduled opening time’, says Fabrice BOUTET with a wink.
Inauguration of the Jandri cable car at Les Deux Alpes. ®I Love Ski
It has to be said that this colossal project, completed in just 18 months by the POMA group and the architectural firm ATEAM (in charge of building the stations), is a feat in itself. Given the technical complexity, the extreme weather conditions and the logistical coordination required for a project of this scale, meeting such a deadline was almost impossible. However, thanks to rigorous planning, the mobilisation of the best experts, and exemplary collaboration between the various players, the work not only met this ambitious schedule, but was completed with a touch of humour: commissioning was brought forward by 5 minutes to symbolically celebrate the excellence of the teams.
This gesture, and this anecdote, though light-hearted, left a lasting impression and testifies to the team spirit and good humour that accompanied the completion of this extraordinary project. It also highlights the ability of French players to overcome major technical and human challenges, while maintaining a friendly approach that respects local issues.
The Jandri construction site, seen ‘from the air
The Jandri 3S cable car in Les Deux Alpes is a human feat made possible by the expertise of people like SAF Hélicoptères. Nicolas Dotto, helicopter pilot and base manager at Alpe d’Huez, talks to us about the unique challenges of this exceptional project, which includes 7 pylons replacing the existing 17. The tallest pylon is 50m high.
‘We’ve been involved in the project for two years now,“ he explains. “We put a lot of work into pylon number 1, because it wasn’t accessible by vehicles. We chose not to lay out a runway so as not to damage the planet. So everything was done by helicopter, particularly for the supplies to the tower’. This first tower, located in a particularly isolated area, required hours of flying time to transport the materials needed for its construction. For Nicolas Dotto, the essence of this project lies in the cooperation between the various players. “It was this combination of technical expertise and professionalism that really made the difference.
This exemplary collaboration resulted in the successful completion of an extraordinary project, a symbol of the ingenuity and commitment of our teams in the world of ski lifts. As Nicolas Dotto pointed out on the day the Jandri was inaugurated, the project ‘really comes into its own’ when viewed from the inside.
Cabin of the Jandri cable car in Les Deux Alpes. ®I Love Ski
What’s happening to the old Jandri?
All the equipment from the old Jandri (stations, pylons and cables) will be dismantled and recycled through specialised channels, in accordance with the regulations.
Station 1 will be redeveloped for internal use by SATA Group and to meet the station’s operational needs. Station 4 has already been dismantled. The intermediate stations at 2600m are due to be dismantled in 2025, paving the way for the creation of a dedicated beginners’ area. The gondolas from the old cable car have found a second life: they have been sold to private individuals and companies for decorative purposes.
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Jandri: an extraordinary track record
- Speed of 8 metres per second, or 28.8 km/hour
- 6.4 kilometres of travel
- 1,480m difference in altitude
- 40 kilometres of cables
