HERITAGEThe Teletraineauof Notre Dame de Bellecombe

The Teletraineau

The Télétraineau was the very first ski lift in Notre Dame de Bellecombe more than 80 years ago.
It marked the beginning of the winter sports era, in 1937.
It wasn’t functional during the Second World War and was replaced by the first ski lift in 1948.

Getting there

Teletraineau

The little story

In 1997, Mr. Émile JOGUET passionately undertook the restoration of this incredible machine, for the 60th anniversary of the resort.
This former ski instructor had to make the missing parts himself.
The first rides on the teletraineau were organised on the 60th anniversary of the resort, and the driver on this occasion was none other than Mr. René JOGUET, who was used to drive it in 1946.

In 2017, Notre Dame de Bellecombe resort celebrated its 80th anniversary!
For this second occasion, the teletraineau was completely restored again, protected, and placed under a shelter in the heart of the village. This restoration is the result of work of passionate volunteers.

This device, which is a unique model in France, is in perfect working order to this day. As a symbol of the 80 years of the resort, it has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1997.

Come and discover it in the heart of the village, it is magnificent!

How does it work?

This device is self-propelled by a Ford V8 engine, which is mounted on 4 800m long cables, all anchored, at the top of the slope, to a fir tree, and at the bottom of the slope to tension counterweights.
These cables pass through a capstan – A gearbox (2 forward and one reverse for the descent), connected to the engine, drives the capstan.
A safety device, consisting of two harrows can be activated quickly in case of a problem.

20 people seated could reach the summit of Reguet in 6 minutes.
The driver sometimes faced difficult conditions since the piste was not groomed at the time.