A new gondola has opened in the French Pyrenees which will lead to reduced road traffic from the Louron Valley up to the ski area of Peyragudes this season.

The new Skyvall gondola, with a price tag of €10m, has its base station located north of Loudenvielle near Balnéa and its upper station on the snow front in the heart of the resort.  The 3km long lift has 32 cabins, each holding up to 10 people, and climb 650 vertical metres and is the first stage of a  €30m, 10 year project to transform Peyragudes in to a year round resort.

The new lift is expected to result in a sharp reduction in car traffic on the Peyresourde pass road up to the ski area and the resort has calculated it will significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the valley (estimated reduction to 274 tonnes of CO2 or 89 072 car trips / year less.