La Canopée des Cîmes
Overhanging panoramic platform with sublime views of Lac du Mont-Cenis and beyond. In winter, it is accessible to skiers only (top of the ski area), and in summer to hikers and mountain bikers from the Solert chairlift.
Description
Located at the summit of the Met, the highest point in the Val Cenis ski area (2,800 meters), the "Canopée des Cimes" is a platform suspended above the void that can accommodate 15 to 20 people simultaneously.
When the chairlift arrived, skiers and hikers used to get as close as possible to the break in the slope to discover the Mont Cenis massif and the peaks of the Italian and French Alps as far as the eye could see.
With this atypical and original architectural device, featuring sighting sights, Val Cenis allows the public to step safely over the void, to contemplate sublime landscapes at more than 180 degrees (from the Vanoise glaciers to Mont Viso and the Meije), to discover the extent of the protected natural area and the strategic importance of the Col du Mont-Cenis over the centuries. An orientation table accompanies the contemplation of skiers who, thanks to thematic panels, can discover the history and organization of the Mont-Cenis hydroelectric works built between 1962 and 1968.
Conceived by the Haute-Maurienne Vanoise ski resort, the "Canopée des Cimes" was designed and built in less than six months, thanks to the convergence of numerous energies. EDF made a financial contribution to the project, as part of its efforts to promote the ten-yearly emptying of the Mont-Cenis hydroelectric reservoir. Two Savoy-based companies were instrumental in making the concept a reality: Territoires Avenir designed the suspended platform; Techfun, a subsidiary of the MND Group, installed the masts and cables, which rise to a height of almost seven metres.
With this "Canopée des Cimes", Val Cenis offers its visitors a highly original experience, in keeping with the values of the resort, both authentic and attentive to the unique environment that surrounds it. The masts and cables are particularly discreet in the landscape.
Dictionary:
- Canopy: "The upper level of a forest, at the top of the trees, particularly rich in biodiversity."
- Cime: "Pointy upper extremity of a mountain".
- Canopée des Cimes: "Pointed observatory on the upper alpine level, the summit of a mountain, at the boundary between the plant and mineral worlds."
Identity of the structure:
- Diameter: 7.5 m
- Height: 7 m
- Weight: 3.5 t.
- Max. number of people: 15 to 20
- Composition: Galvanized steel and stainless steel mesh
- Manufacture and installation: GRC Tec and Techfun (MND Groupe)
Equipment
- Orientation table
- Tourist caves / Other natural sites
Environments
- Lake view
- Mountain view
- In the mountains
- Ski resort
Rates
Free access. Winter: accessible via the Met chairlift for holders of a valid ski pass. Not accessible to pedestrians.
Summer: accessible via the Solert chairlift for holders of a valid ski pass. Free access for hikers.
Opening period
From 17/12/2023 to 19/04/2024, daily, 9am to 4:30pm.
From 07/07 to 29/08, daily from 10am to 4pm.
Accessible Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays via the Vieux Moulin gondola lift and the Solert chairlift, followed by less than an hour's walk.
From 15/12/2024 to 21/04/2025, daily from 9am to 4.30pm.
Spoken languages
- English
- French
Location
Pets
Pets allowed : No