Sierra Nevada will renovate two ski lifts in Borreguiles area this summer

This summer's performance will begin to run, with the preparatory work, on April 25, the day after the end of the 2021/22 season.

Cetursa Sierra Nevada awaits the end of the deadline for the submission of offers to assess the eventual execution also this summer of the double ski lift El Puente, financed by the Ministry of Sports, and which will be oriented to training and competition.

Cetursa Sierra Nevada will undertake this summer the replacement of the Emile Allais fixed clamp chairlifts and the Veleta II by two six-seater detachables, in the largest performance in the ski lifts of the Granada winter resort since the 90s. This remodeling will involve the reorganization of the ski area of Borreguiles, the reduction of the waiting time in these initiation lifts and the improvement of its connections with the areas of Veleta and Laguna.

The installation of the two new ski lifts is part of a larger tender that affects two other mechanical means of Sierra Nevada, the Veleta chairlift and the Al Andalus gondola lift, whose replacement will be addressed in future seasons depending on the technical and economic circumstances.

This summer's action, co-financed with ERDF funds and Cetursa Sierra Nevada's own funds, will begin to be executed, with the preparatory work, on April 25, the day after the end of the 2021/22 season.

The new Emile Allais will have the same route as the current one, will require 6 pylons (compared to the current 9), will have a transport capacity of 3,250 users / hours and a travel speed of up to 5 meters the second. This facility is designed and adapted especially for beginner skiers from the lower area of Borreguiles.

Emile Allais Chairlift

The future Veleta II chairlift will be the one that offers the most changes with respect to the current one. The main novelty will be its shortening; the lower station of the new ski lift will change its location with respect to the current one – at the same height as the Emile Allais – for another 455 meters higher.

This modification will allow to decongest the lower area of Borreguiles -with ski lifts of high transport capacity- and distribute users in the 'green' perdiz, Amapola or Piñatas tracks, conducive to initiation and less used than those of beginners located below. They can also be used by expert skiers to reach the base of the Zayas ski lift or access the Laguna de las Yeguas through the Collado de la Laguna.

The future Veleta II chairlift will go from being a 3-seater chairlift with a fixed clamp to a detachable of 6, from 19 pylons to 9, it will be able to reach a speed of 5 meters / second, and a capacity of 2,500 people / hour.

The winning company must implement a digital platform for monitoring and controlling the energy of the new ski lifts, so that, with real-time consumption information, energy savings are guaranteed together without losing transport capacity. To do this, the energy consumption information of these mechanical means must be interconnected, adjusting the consumption to the real demand of users of each of them.

Veleta II Chairlift

The other two ski lifts included in the tender are the Veleta chairlift and the Al Andalus gondola lift.

The new Veleta chairlift will move 20 meters to the right -in an upward direction- its lower station to leave the hollow that now generates situations of hydrological risk. The rest of the line is the same, but with 9 pylons less (from 23 to 14), higher speed (they go from 5 m / s to 5.5 meters second), and similar transport capacity (3,100 users / hour)

For its part, the new Al Andalus gondola lift will be the performance of major. The future gondola lift, which will stand out for the greater comfort of users will have the same line as the current one, will have 17 pylons (compared to the current 26), a speed of up to 6 meters second and a capacity of 2,700 people per hour. Users (with a maximum of 10 per cabin) will be seated.

Double ski lift El Puente

On the other hand, the station also values the execution this summer of the double ski lift El Puente, depending on the processing of the public tender, currently in the bidding phase.

This ski lift is financed thanks to the subsidy of the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía to provide the ski resort with a competition stadium and training for the Andalusian quarry of winter sports. The double ski lift El Puente, in the area of Loma de Dílar, will allow a high turnover in the training of the ski clubs with the aim of improving the results and national presence of the Andalusian ski and snowboard teams.

The commissioning of the two ski lifts will also improve access to the black slopes Fuente del Tesoro and Neveros, will provide positive effects such as the decongestion of the Monachil Chairlift and the redistribution of users in a skiable area, Loma de Dílar, which has a high density of skiers and snowboarders.