Aquila
A Val Sangone area reaching 1,800 metres from the Alpe Colombino, abandoned during the 1980s for want of snow and because the wind made its piste dangerous.
- Region
- Piedmont
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- early 1960s
- Year closed
- 1980s
- Reason for closure
- The poor snowfall that characterised the 1980s, and the strong winds the area is exposed to, which could make the piste dangerous.
History
The Aquila lifts started from the car park in front of the hotel at the Alpe Colombino, at 1,250 m in the Val Sangone, reached by the provincial road from Giaveno through the hamlet of Maddalene. From there a chairlift ran up the ridge to around 1,800 m, through scrub and broadleaf woodland lower down and onto meadow and scree towards the top, with a skilift alongside. The installations went up in the first part of the 1960s and were dismissed during the 1980s under private ownership. The survey gives two causes, and the second is less common in this dataset than it should be: the decade's poor snowfall, and the fact that the site catches strong winds that could make the piste dangerous. When the Piedmont census was compiled both chairlift stations were still standing as separate buildings, along with the skilift pylons and the service tracks, and the site was graded three out of six for environmental damage. Course names were never compiled; the coordinates mark the Alpe Colombino at the foot of the lifts.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift | The main chairlift, running along the ridge from about 1,250 m to roughly 1,800 m. Both its departure and arrival stations, two separate buildings, were still standing | |
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | A skilift, of which the pylons remained along with the service pistes |
Sources and further reading
More in Italy
Location
45.0288, 7.2676