Funitel de Péclet

Boismint is arguably the best-kept tactical secret in the entire Belleville Valley.

When the lifts open at 9:00 AM, 90% of the holiday-makers in Val Thorens naturally flock towards the central Peclet Funitel or the Caron cable car.

The central snow front gets busy very quickly.

But if you turn left instead and drop down into the Boismint sector, you have an entire mountainside virtually to yourself.

Because the two cables are spaced so far apart, side winds physically cannot twist or sway the cabin.

In 1990, they built the world's very first commercial Funitel, the Funitel de Péclet, taking skiers straight up towards the Péclet Glacier.

And the performance was unbelievable.

While normal gondolas had to shut down at 60 kilometers an hour, this new Funitel could safely operate in howling gale-force winds exceeding 110 kilometers an hour.