During the night from 22 November to 23 November 2019, a violent storm hit the Chamonix valley.
The foehn winds that blew in Chamonix did considerable damage to the Montenvers Railway.
Moreover, the freshly installed Christmas tree from the Place du Triangle de l'Amitié fell victim to the foehn.
Montenvers Railway Damaged
On 23 November 2019 in the morning, the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc has announced via a press release that the track of the Montenvers railway has suffered a great deal of damage as a result of the gale-force winds that struck the Chamonix valley during Friday night.
According to Le Dauphine, the first damages discovered were located at the bridge in front of the station in Chamonix. The strong winds have blown the fence, the lateral barrier, as well as the crossing gate.
Then, as the teams of workers came up along the track, they have discovered many fallen trees.
The CMB teams are working hard to restore the track to working order as soon as possible. On 24 November, there have been many lumberjack operations to clear the track of fallen trees.
As a result, the Montenvers trail remained closed on 23 & 24 of November.
While the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc had initially declared that the reopening of the Montenvers train might be possible on November 25th, the repairs are not completed and might take a little longer.
"This work is more important than at first anticipated & requires a few further days of closure of the Montenvers line. We will keep you informed of progress in due course", concludes the CMB their press release.
The Christmas tree collapsed
On 23rd November in the morning, the Chamoniards discovered their beautiful Christmas tree fallen on the Place of the Triangle de l'Amitié.
The tree, which was freshly installed by the city services, fell the victim of the strong storm which affected the Chamonix valley.
