Prat Niolat
Two drag lifts on the slopes of the Mont Mouchet in the Margeride, running from around 1970 until the late 1980s; the cleared lift line is still visible and the inn at the foot is still open.
- Region
- Auvergne
- Country
- France
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- late 1960s
- Year closed
- late 1980s
- Reason for closure
- Changing habits and the isolation of the site. Photographs from its working years show reasonable numbers of skiers, but it was a long way from anywhere - roughly 30 km from Saint-Flour and 70 km from Le Puy-en-Velay - and it did not survive the shift towards larger resorts. The exact closing year is not established.
History
Prat Niolat was a small station on the Mont Mouchet, in the Margeride on the border of the Haute-Loire and the Cantal, with slopes between about 1,280 m and 1,365 m. Two detachable drag lifts served it - one climbing the steep bank behind the auberge, and a second called Robust III which probably served the beginners' ground, though where exactly it stood has not been pinned down. It opened in the late 1960s or early 1970s and very probably closed towards the end of the 1980s; the archive that documents it is explicit that the date needs confirming, so it is given here as approximate. The Auberge de Prat Niolat still stands beside the old ski ground and the trench cut for the main lift line can still be picked out. Piste names, lift specifications and manufacturers are not recorded.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prat Niolat | Surface lift | A detachable drag lift climbing the steep slope behind the inn; its cleared line is still visible in the terrain | |
| Robust III | Surface lift | A second detachable drag lift, probably serving beginners, whose exact location on the site has not been established |
Sources and further reading
More in France
Location
44.9758, 3.3729