 Poster: A snowHead
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Those of you who skied in Val Thorens last season, will recall that the wonderful Cime Caron Cable Car was out of action from around early January 2019.
Rumour has it that the cable was iced-up, and then the cable car was run before all the ice had been removed. So a new cable was needed — and here it is, now being installed.
Many, many thanks to "Skifan" for these photographs. (I think his name is Renée Stegeman: www.vacanski.com/contact.htm). His Flickr is well worth following, as he always has the most wonderful photographs of the latest new lifts and pistes etc. in the Three Valleys.
www.flickr.com/photos/skifan/albums/72157709139282393
www.flickr.com/photos/skifan/albums/72157709156237557
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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At the EoSB, three of us skinned up to the top station using the blue piste that runs below. By the time we got underneath it (one turn of the piste from the top), it was snowing very heavily and visibility was very much reduced, but we could hear the warning beeps from the cable car, which seemed odd. Then very slowly, over our heads, came the ghost of the Caron cable car. Well that’s how it looked, a vague grey shape in the cloud, running empty and silently down the mountain. Very surreal, so much that I didn’t manage a photo 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Good pix.
Amazed there were no automated systems in place to stop the tram running while icedup.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Still lots of snow there in 19th June. It looks skinnable 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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How does running the cars with ice cause the cable to need replacing?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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kditrj2d,
Presumably because the ice damaged the cable beyond repair ... 
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@Bergmeister, Yes, but how ?
The Tignes cablecar is cleared of ice by running it very slowly.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| rjs wrote: |
@Bergmeister, Yes, but how ?
The Tignes cablecar is cleared of ice by running it very slowly. |
The weather that did for the Caron cable car was some particularly full-on icing conditions - it took Courchevel about 3 days to de-ice the Vizelle bubble following the same storm...
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Icing is a common problem in maritime environments like our own. It’s the reason none of the Scottish areas have overhead safety or electric cables (to minimise de-icing and reduce damage). The alps are usually much drier so icing is less of a problem. Milder, wetter and windier conditions in the western alps may be a consequence of a warming world ?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| rjs wrote: |
@Bergmeister, Yes, but how ?
The Tignes cablecar is cleared of ice by running it very slowly. |
Actually I think the Grand Motte was out of action for the same reason this season, wasn't it?
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FAQ
I've no idea really! 