Val Thorens’ Cime Caron Tram Involved in Serious Accident, Out for 2024-25 Season
The Cime Caron tram allows skiers and riders to access some bowl terrain from the Val Thorens side.
Val Thorens has announced that the 135-passenger Cime Caron cable car will be out of operation for the entire 2024–25 ski season following a serious accident in November 2024. One of the tram cars collided with the top station, causing extensive damage that requires a full replacement—despite only being five years old. Six workers were injured, two of them seriously, though none sustained life-threatening injuries.
This aerial tram connection facilitates access to the advanced-oriented Cime Caron area from the Val Thorens side—and it was also meant to be used for the Freeride World Tour 2025 at the end of January. While other lift routes do serve the same terrain, this crash will have several knock-on effects for skiers and riders at Val Thorens, as well as the broader, interconnected Les 3 Vallées region.
A map of Val Thorens with the Cime Caron tram route highlighted in red.
Our Take
With a height of 3,200 meters (10,500 feet), Cime Caron is one of the prominent peaks within the Val Thorens ski area (which itself is part of France’s renowned Les 3 Vallées, the largest interconnected ski domain in the world). And with a full replacement required for a tram that was fully replaced just five years ago, Val Thorens probably isn’t particularly happy with the situation they have at hand.
Luckily, while this cable car offered direct access to this iconic summit, it’s not the only way to reach it. Skiers can still make their way to Cime Caron via the Orelle side, though it requires a multi-lift journey, including the Orelle-Caron 10-seater gondola. Once at the top, Cime Caron serves as a critical junction, offering trails descending into both Val Thorens and Orelle and connecting the two resorts.
However, this incident does have some far-reaching implications for this season, specifically for the Freeride World Tour 2025—which will return to Val Thorens for the first time since 2017. The event was set to utilize the Cime Caron tram, but with the lift out of operation, the competition will instead use access routes from Orelle to reach the same terrain. It remains to be seen what operational impacts that change brings about.
Val Thorens expects the new Cime Caron tram to be operational in time for the 2025–26 ski season; we do not expect any notable capacity changes from the old, 135-passenger tram.
Cime Caron provides access to several trails and lifts in both Val Thorens and Orelle.
Final Thoughts
The closure of the Cime Caron cable car for the 2024–25 season is undoubtedly less-than-ideal for Val Thorens skiers and riders, as it provided the most direct access to the Cime Caron summit from the Val Thorens side. However, with the area still accessible via Orelle, the impact on the resort’s immense skiable footprint will be relatively minor. While the accident is an unfortunate turn of events, the replacement of the five-year-old tram will ultimately be a positive upgrade for the resort. Our thoughts are with those injured in the incident, and we wish them a full and speedy recovery.
Considering a ski trip to Les 3 Vallées this year? Check out our Les 3 Vallées review in video form below.
