Devastating fire destroys Chamonix cable car station

13th September 2018, by Amy Grealish

Chamonix cable car station damaged by fire credit: OT Vallée de Chamonix / Salome Abrial

The Lognan mid-station of the Grands Montets cable car in Chamonix, France caught fire at 1.40pm on Tuesday 11th September, suffering damage that may not be fixed in time for the ski season.

While no one was injured, the fire has caused significant damage, affecting the lift’s machinery and the station’s Rider Café;, in addition some of the lift’s cables were weakened by the high temperatures, causing a cabin to crash to the ground.

The blaze started while workmen carried out routine improvements to the station’s roof. A statement from the lift operating company explained that the flames spread quickly across the roof and inside the wooden structure.

The Grands Montets cable car starts (as the Lognan cable car) at the small village of Argentière and leads to the middle station at Croix de Lognan (1972 m); from there a second stage goes on to the Grands Montets top station at 3275m. The cable car is used by skiers, but also by alpinists to access Aiguille Verte, Les Drus, Les Droits and all the other mountains above the Argentière Glacier.

The damage is substantial and the cable car will be stopped for several months for repairs.

• ski
• france
• chamonix
• cable car
• fire
• grands montets

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