Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway
Encyclopedia
The Vallée Blanche Aerial Tramway or Funivia dei Ghiacciai or Télécabine Panoramic Mont-Blanc, (previously Télécabine de la Vallée Blanche) is a passenger aerial tramway
between Courmayeur
(Italy
) and Chamonix
(France
) by passing over the Mont Blanc Massif
, in the Alps
. The project was by Vittorio Zignoli of Polytechnic University of Turin
. No helicopters were used, and all the workers were chosen among locals and alpine guides. After a construction period of four years, it began service in 1958.
The tramway connects the Aiguille du Midi
and the Pointe Helbronner
with each other over a distance of some 5 km (3.1 mi).
It has fixed track cables (one each direction) carrying 12 groups of 3 small cabins each which are pulled by a haulage rope of 10200 m (33,464.6 ft) in a single loop.
The cabins take some 30 to 35 minutes for the whole distance including 5 short stops corresponding the stops of the cabins in the stations at either end.
The cabins run from the Aiguille du Midi station (3778 m (12,395 ft)) over a stretch of 1,684 metres (1 mile) to the Gros Rognon station (3536 m (11,601 ft)), whereby it crosses the Vallée Blanche, a glacier and snow valley. The Gros Rognon station is purely technical, it contains the counterweights of the fixed cables and the rails bending the horizontal direction of the cables by some 8° to the right.
Behind the Gros Rognon it crosses the glacier
Glacier du Géant and spans a length of 2,831 metres (1.76 miles) without support. Although the cables sag by some 255 m (836.6 ft), the cabins still have a clearance of some 300 m (984.3 ft) to the glacier underneath.
Between the rocks of the Large and the Small Flambeau three 315 m (1,033.5 ft) long steel cables are installed, which take over the role of the cable support (Pylône suspendu / Suspended Support Pillar). During construction, it was decided to build this unique configuration, because the glacier is unsuitable as the location of high tower construction. Between the anchors of these cables at either side, there is a difference in altitude of 136 m (446.2 ft) and furthermore, these cables have a horizontal inclination of some 23 ° to the direction of the tramway.
From this support the aerial tramway runs to the Pointe Helbronner, also at 3466 m (11,371.4 ft), again with a span of 447 m (1,466.5 ft).
In August 1961 the Tramway was badly damaged when an aeroplane of the French Air Force
tore its hauling cable. Three cars crashed and six people were killed. The pilot
landed his damaged plane safely.
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
between Courmayeur
Courmayeur
Courmayeur is an Italian town and comune in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley, in northern Italy. It is located at the foot of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe, in the Graian Alps range, and is crossed by the Dora Baltea...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) and Chamonix
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...
(France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) by passing over the Mont Blanc Massif
Mont Blanc Massif
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the western Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France , Italy , and Switzerland...
, in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. The project was by Vittorio Zignoli of Polytechnic University of Turin
Polytechnic University of Turin
The Polytechnic University of Turin is an engineering university based in Turin, northern Italy. Established in 1859, Politecnico di Torino is Italy’s oldest Technical University. In 2011 it was ranked as the best engineering university in Italy in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.It is...
. No helicopters were used, and all the workers were chosen among locals and alpine guides. After a construction period of four years, it began service in 1958.
The tramway connects the Aiguille du Midi
Aiguille du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps.The cable car to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was built in 1955 and held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent...
and the Pointe Helbronner
Pointe Helbronner
Pointe Helbronner is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps on the watershed between France and Italy.The peak which previously was a mere geodetic reference point was named after Paul Helbronner, a French polytechnicien, alpinist and geodesist who pioneered cartography of the...
with each other over a distance of some 5 km (3.1 mi).
It has fixed track cables (one each direction) carrying 12 groups of 3 small cabins each which are pulled by a haulage rope of 10200 m (33,464.6 ft) in a single loop.
The cabins take some 30 to 35 minutes for the whole distance including 5 short stops corresponding the stops of the cabins in the stations at either end.
The cabins run from the Aiguille du Midi station (3778 m (12,395 ft)) over a stretch of 1,684 metres (1 mile) to the Gros Rognon station (3536 m (11,601 ft)), whereby it crosses the Vallée Blanche, a glacier and snow valley. The Gros Rognon station is purely technical, it contains the counterweights of the fixed cables and the rails bending the horizontal direction of the cables by some 8° to the right.
Behind the Gros Rognon it crosses the glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
Glacier du Géant and spans a length of 2,831 metres (1.76 miles) without support. Although the cables sag by some 255 m (836.6 ft), the cabins still have a clearance of some 300 m (984.3 ft) to the glacier underneath.
Between the rocks of the Large and the Small Flambeau three 315 m (1,033.5 ft) long steel cables are installed, which take over the role of the cable support (Pylône suspendu / Suspended Support Pillar). During construction, it was decided to build this unique configuration, because the glacier is unsuitable as the location of high tower construction. Between the anchors of these cables at either side, there is a difference in altitude of 136 m (446.2 ft) and furthermore, these cables have a horizontal inclination of some 23 ° to the direction of the tramway.
From this support the aerial tramway runs to the Pointe Helbronner, also at 3466 m (11,371.4 ft), again with a span of 447 m (1,466.5 ft).
In August 1961 the Tramway was badly damaged when an aeroplane of the French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
tore its hauling cable. Three cars crashed and six people were killed. The pilot
Bernard Ziegler
Bernard Ziegler is the former Airbus senior vice president for engineering. He is well known for his evangelical zeal for the application of the fly-by-wire system in the Airbuses. He is the son of the former Airbus CEO, Henri Ziegler....
landed his damaged plane safely.
Coordinates
- Aigu du Midi: 45°52′41.49"N 6°53′13.73"E
- Gros Rognon Angle Station: 45°52′06.4"N 6°54′15.33"E
- Hanging Support Structure: 45°50′57.14"N 6°55′39.86"E
- Pointe Helbronner: 45°50′46.68"N 6°55′53.61"E