La Thuile’s New Gondola Aims to Redefine Year-Round Mountain Tourism

A major new gondola is set to transform access to the upper slopes of La Thuile, replacing two ageing chairlifts and opening one of the Aosta Valley’s most spectacular viewpoints to a much wider audience.

The new Les Suches–Chaz Dura gondola is scheduled to enter service in December 2026. Operated by Funivie Piccolo San Bernardo, the project will replace the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts—also known locally as Terres Noires—with 74 enclosed cabins, each carrying up to 10 passengers. The system will have a capacity of approximately 3,000 people per hour.

The installation is designed to cover roughly 600 metres of vertical gain in just a few minutes, improving circulation through one of La Thuile’s key sectors and reducing reliance on the older lifts during busy periods. Industry data lists the new gondola at approximately 1,950 metres in length, with LEITNER identified as the manufacturer.

Faster access to the slopes

For skiers, the most immediate benefit will be a quicker and more comfortable connection between Les Suches and Chaz Dura. The upper station will provide access to pistes 9 and 10 and improve circulation toward the Piccolo San Bernardo area, part of the cross-border Espace San Bernardo ski domain shared with La Rosière in France.

A new intermediate station is expected to be particularly valuable for beginners and families. From there, skiers can access the Les Suches sector and nearly 10 kilometres of blue runs without having to continue to the summit. Enclosed cabins will also offer protection from wind, snow and cold—an important advantage in a high-altitude area where weather conditions can change rapidly.

The upgrade is being presented as more than a simple lift replacement. Local reporting describes it as part of a wider modernization of Valle d’Aosta’s cableway infrastructure, following similar investment in other major resorts in the region. For La Thuile, the aim is to improve comfort, increase capacity and strengthen the link between the Italian and French sides of the international ski area.

A mountain experience beyond skiing

The most significant change may concern visitors who do not ski. The new gondola will allow pedestrians to reach Chaz Dura and enjoy panoramic views of the Mont Blanc massif, the Rutor Glacier, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. On exceptionally clear days, the view extends across the French Alps toward the Massif Central.

That shift reflects a broader change in Alpine tourism. Cable cars and gondolas are increasingly being developed not only as ski infrastructure, but also as year-round transport systems for sightseeing, hiking, cycling and family recreation. At La Thuile, visitors will be able to travel to altitude, enjoy the landscape and return by gondola without having to descend a ski run.

The project’s promoters say this will make the upper mountain more accessible to families, walkers and occasional visitors who want to experience high-altitude scenery without taking part in downhill skiing.

Summer plans include hiking and mountain biking

Operations are expected to continue during the summer months. Hikers will be able to use the gondola to begin walks at higher elevations, avoiding the most strenuous part of the initial climb.

The lift will also support the resort’s mountain-bike strategy. New easy and very easy enduro routes are being planned for less experienced riders, while advanced bikers will gain easier access to existing technical trails on the Piccolo San Bernardo side. A further route is planned along the mountain ridge toward Pont Serrand, linking into the cross-border cycling network between La Thuile and La Rosière.

The resort already promotes a 152-kilometre network of slopes across La Thuile and La Rosière. Its official operating information lists the Italian ski area as scheduled to open on November 28, 2026, with the international connection expected to operate from December 12, weather and operating conditions permitting.

A €35 million investment

The gondola project has been reported as an investment of approximately €35 million, making it one of La Thuile’s largest recent infrastructure projects. That figure places the development within a broader Alpine trend: resorts are replacing fixed-grip chairlifts with higher-capacity gondolas that can serve skiers and pedestrians in every season.

Such projects are intended to improve the visitor experience, but they also respond to wider pressures facing mountain destinations. Resorts must manage ageing infrastructure, rising maintenance costs, changing weather patterns and the need to attract visitors outside the traditional winter season. A lift that operates for skiing in winter and hiking or cycling in summer can generate a broader economic return than a facility designed for only a few months of the year.

Panoramic restaurant planned for 2027

The gondola is only the first stage of La Thuile’s wider development plan. By the end of 2027, the resort expects to add a panoramic restaurant near the upper station, including a terrace projecting outward over the mountainside.

The planned restaurant would turn the arrival point into a destination in its own right—a place for lunch, an aperitif or a coffee overlooking the Mont Blanc region, whether or not visitors have come to ski. Funivie Piccolo San Bernardo president Killy Martinet has described the strategy as a response to increasingly varied customer expectations and a desire to welcome people who simply want to experience the mountains with family and friends.

For La Thuile, the new gondola represents a decisive move away from a resort model centred exclusively on downhill skiing. When it opens in December, the project will improve the winter lift network. Its longer-term significance, however, lies in making the mountain more accessible throughout the year—to skiers, pedestrians, hikers, cyclists and visitors drawn simply by the view.