Molliessoulaz
A single yellow Poma drag lift in a Beaufortain hamlet at 1,200 metres, run from 1965 until the commune closed it in 2001 despite a petition; the pylons were lifted out by helicopter in 2006.
- Region
- Savoie
- Country
- France
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- 1965
- Year closed
- 2001
- Reason for closure
- Declining snowfall at 1,200 m made the lift uneconomic to run. The municipality decided on permanent closure in 2001, going ahead despite a petition signed by 280 people.
History
Molliessoulaz is a hamlet at about 1,200 m in the Beaufortain in the Savoie - the ghost-station archive places it in the commune of Beaufort, OpenStreetMap in neighbouring Queige. Its ski lift was a single yellow Pomagalski drag from Praz Bustarin to the Croix, installed in 1965, serving one main slope known simply as la grande piste. It was a village operation rather than a resort: the lift worked on an alternating back-and-forth principle with next to no safety equipment and a reputation for being unpredictable, and what former visitors remember is less the skiing than the bar, the hot chocolate and the winter gatherings. Snow at that altitude became unreliable, the commune voted to close permanently in 2001, and a petition of 280 signatures did not change the decision. The pylons were flown out by helicopter in 2006 and the site has gone back to nature.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Platter | Poma | A yellow Pomagalski drag lift from Praz Bustarin up to the Croix, installed 1965 and closed in 2001. It ran on an alternating back-and-forth principle with minimal safety equipment and a reputation for unpredictability. The pylons were removed by helicopter in 2006 |
Runs
- La grande piste
Sources and further reading
More in France
Location
45.7096, 6.4645