Dramatic footage captured and shared by Lolo Balaguer this week shows the moment an old ski lift cable is cut apart at a former ski resort in the French Pyrenees. The video shows the lift cable whipping down the hill after it had been cut, demonstrating just how intense the work involved in dismantling ski lift infrastructure can be.
Cable Was Already Cut at the Bottom
According to Balaguer, the cable had already been cut at the bottom, leaving only the upper section to be removed. With the cable already disconnected below, the method shown in the video was used because it was the quickest way to finish the job.
There was not a significant amount of tension remaining in the cable, but removing old lift equipment still required care. The work was part of the dismantling of the former Puyvalador ski area in the Pyrénées-Orientales.
A Look at Ski Resort Dismantling
Removing a lift cable can be one of the more challenging parts of taking apart an old ski lift. Cables can stretch for long distances between towers and are designed to withstand substantial forces while a lift is operating.
Several techniques can be taken to remove an old lift cable, including being carefully and slowly removed so as to preserve and protect any of the lift parts. In this case, though, where the entire machine had been abandoned for years and was simply being removed, cutting the cable was undeniably the quickest and easiest method. Especially given that the crew was just a few people.