History & sustainable constructions

History

Despite the high elevation of the Corviglia skiing area, snow covered slopes were not entirely ensured for all of the 16 different ski runs, located on the south facing mountain side.  This sometimes became an issue during the months of March and April. It is for this reason, that the municipality of St. Moritz, St. Moritz tourist board and the mountain rail- and cableways St. Moritz have decided to access Piz Nair by building a cable car.

However, these panels were highly indebted. Hotelier Andrea Badrutt was given the task to find affluent guests as potential donors - and he succeeded. The order to build the cable car finally received the construction company Willy Habegger of Thun, the local architectural office A. Verdieri officiated as the architect. The total costs of construction reached 1.65 million Swiss francs (including a simple restaurant on the summit), which was financed entirely by private sources.
 

Overview historic developments

• Foundation of the company 'AG Luftseilbahn Corviglia Piz Nair' (in autumn)
• 1955 Opening of the first cable car in the Engadine. As a special feature, the rope line was diverted (curve) at the second tower to reach the mountain station, which is located about 35 metres south of the straight line as a result of the permafrost.
• 1968 Opening of the ski lift Lej da la Pêsch - Fuorcla Grischa
• 1977 Reconstruction of the cable car / Conversion to the driving speed of 10 m/s, speed increase to 10 m/s thereby increasing capacity to 360 persons/hour
• 1981 Electrification of the mountain station and of the ski lift Lej da la Pêsch
• 1988 Construction of the restaurant Lej da la Pêsch
• 1992 Reconstruction of the restaurant Lej da la Pêsch
• 1994 Construction of the chair lift Lej da la Pêsch - Fuorcla Grischa
• 2002 - Dismantling of the old cable car and construction of the present cable car - First cable car with steady tensioned steel cable, capacity of 720 persons/hour - Highest situated laundry in Europe
• 2002 Construction of the highest starting area (free fall) for the men's downhill World Cup 2003
• 2007 Management agreement between 'AG Luftseilbahn Corviglia' and 'Corvatsch AG', with headquarters in Silvaplana

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Facilities and installations on the mountain

Actions speak louder than words: St. Moritz sets a global example in nature conservation and environment protection and has realized a comprehensive energy project in an altitude between 1,170 and 3,057 metres. Hydropower, sun and wind are used consistently from the valley floor up to Piz Nair.

• Piz Nair bottom station (2,486 metres): The photovoltaic system on the building’s facade was installed in 2003 at a cost of CHF 250,000. The 95 polycrystalline solar modules with Schott silicone cells have a 12-14.5% efficiency rate. The installed capacity is 10 kWp, average solar power 11,500 kWh per annum.
   
• Piz Nair summit station (3,025 metres): In 2002, CHF 321,000 was invested in the photovoltaic system of 104 polycrystalline Shell-Siemens solar cells on the building’s facade. With a 12-15% efficiency rate, they supply an installed capacity of 13.2 kWp and produce an annual average of 13,000 kWh of solar power.