Ski Lift Company Commits To Preserve Mont Blanc Glacier
26th August 2020
Last modified on May 14th, 2021
Skyway, the alpine cable car connecting Courmayeur in Italy to Chamonix in France claims to be the first company to come up with an environmentally sustainable research project to preserve the glacier.
It plans to analyse activity results from the past three years, and forming the foundation of the Save The Glacier project, to implement what it says will be an achievable action plan with a clear social and environmental focus.
“Glaciers are the most immediate evidence of climate change, said the President of Skyway Mont Blanc, Federica Bieller.
“The highest glaciers in Europe are those of Mont Blanc and the forecasts, if confirmed, say that they will be among the last to die out.
“To preserve them we need to work together and act sustainably, so that we can all continue to treasure and enjoy these mountains for centuries to come.”
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The company has already made a start.
Work has been carried out to clean up an area of the Gran Flambeau glacier which had signs of human damage.
Twenty tons of scrap and iron materials were unearthed and transported downstream to be properly disposed of.
Skyway says it will now look at green-certified supplies, reducing the volume of waste, along with eco energy sources and emissions, and water.
The windows on the Skyway cable car collect the heat and avoid it being dispersed.
Electric heat pumps are used and no fossil fuels are burned. Skyway also buys energy that it cannot produce itself from a network that guarantees it is from 100% renewable sources.
Free water distribution points have been installed and thermal bottles are given to employees to avoid the use of plastic bottles. The bottles will also be available for sale.
Skyway hopes that eventually it can establish a “green consortium” which will be joined by other companies, suppliers and institutions.
The Skyway Monte Bianco Experience takes passengers to the roof of Europe at 3,446 metres.
The four spherical cabins gently rotate to give 360° panoramic views of the peaks and the summits of Valle d’Aosta, Cervino, Gran Paradiso, Monte Ros and Combin.
The newest Punta Helbronner station, set at 3,400 metres, is used as the starting point for many extreme off-piste skiers.
The idea of building a lift connecting Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley and Chamonix dates back to the 1930s.
It was the brainchild of Count Dino Lora Totino, one of a family of Biella-area wool industrialists.
Construction of the cableway was interrupted by the Second World War but the lift finally opened in 1947.
It gave access to Mont Blanc for the first time to everyone, rather than just mountain experts.
It became Skyway in a major modernisation in 2015.
