Gallio: testing of the facilities at the Melette, at Christmas you can ski

After the testing of the Melette plants, the slopes will open before Christmas

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• The article is taken from the 15th issue of The Plateau on Saturday, November 30, 2019, which can be purchased at all newsagents in the Plateau.
   
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In recent days, the tests of the chairlift have been carried out with the automatic release of the Melettes.
This is proudly confirmed by the first citizen of Gallio Emanuele Munari. "Fornext week, we await the USTIF test certificate, which is in preparation for the request to the Province to operate the plant. Theoretically, for the 12th, 13th of December more or less we should close the circle permanently. The facilities are scheduledto open on day 20, with the following opening. Thanks to the snowfalls of recent days, the slopes on the north-facing backside, the Ronchetto and the Tre Pali,are already snowy, the snow has been beaten to create the bottom. The rain of the last few days has not taken away everything, indeed maybe it has packed, so, hoping that temperatures will drop a little, behind is already the bottom. The basin for planned snow is full and the company has already prepared cannons and giraffes."

A great interest snakes around the historic Gallic lifts,as Munari confirms:"The officiality is that the Melettes reopen,finally after years of closure and shadows, the historic lifts resee the light. There is a lot of expectation, both the tourist office of Gallio and that of Asiago receive daily many requests for information and expressions of interest towards the opening, personally I receive many messages, the Facebook page of Gallio Turismo is clogging up with requests, the official page of the ski resort, called leMelette, has 150 requests per day. There has been some movement, there is a strong interest even in the plain, everyone is talking about the Melettes.
Personally, I can't wait for the opening. This great interest is auspicious for the future of the plant and its sustainability."

One of the tests carried out at the Melette is the verification of the evacuation of the chairlift carried out by the Alpine Rescue, Denis Lunardi,as a rescuer, tells what happens in this type of test:"It is a test required by law to give the actual test to the plant. It's about testing it for emergency situations. In the event that for exceptional reasons (serious episodes of bad weather, a break for example) the chairlift can no longer move, it takes rescue teams to go through the cable cars of the chairlift through the chairs to the chair to drop the skiers who are harnessed and lowered to the ground where another rescuer is located who accompanies them to a safe place, in case it is possibleto descend to the valley.

Denis Lunardi goes on to explain which subjects can perform this type of test and the timing to be respected in these cases:"This test is required of the Alpine Rescue because it has adequate personnel and prepared to perform this type of operation.
The chairlift of the Melette, like everyone in Italy, has maximum intervention times, everything must be done within a few hours and in this chairlift is expected to be used twenty rescuers".

What did the Relief technician actually do on Thursday 28th? "He went under the pylon, climbed up the operating stairs of the pylon and arrived at the height of the supporting rope he hooked to it and by means of a pulley he was dropped from another rescuer to the chair. Once there he has the task of securing the 6 components of the chair and drops them one at a time, then proceeds with the same method for each chair until the entire chairliftis evacuated."

Mario Timpano,one of the promoters of the long-awaited reopening of the Melettes,on behalf of the company tells how these tests are taking place as well as giving explanations on the next opening of the lifts:"The chairlifts are three, the fourth is still under construction, it will be finished for next year. One of the three chairlifts was tested last week (from 18 to 22 November), while on the new exaposed the testing began on Tuesday 26 and is the last technical document necessary to apply for permission for the opening tothe public exercise ".

So can we officially say that Le Melette will open?

"Preparationsare running so they can open a few days before the Christmas holidays. We do not manage precisely because of the timing of these tests to open for the bridge of the Immaculate.
The third chairlift is currently affected by the 10-year general review, maintenance work will finish next week and then we will go to ask for its testing. For this we do not know if we will be able to perform all these fulfillments by December 20th,maybe it will take a few more days."

Whereas what about the Ski School? And for the purchase of tickets and subscriptions?

"A treadmill will be installed and the school field in front of the Baita table will be installed. While as far as the ticket office is concerned, you have to wait a little longer. We decided to adopt the new system that also used by Ski Dolomiti, the best system, the most cutting-edge.
We are setting up the internet connection because the Melette does not get fiber, we are doing work to activate the connection. When theplants officially open, we will start selling tickets and subscriptions. There will be perfect concomitant of everything."

Good news, therefore, that portends an opening of theMelettes,a historical plant to which not only the highlands are fond and that will bring benefits not only to Gallio, but to the whole Plateau.

Julia Rigoni