The old icy Linga 2 lift at Chatel is now history.

Châtel ski area, located in the giant French-Swiss Portes dui Soleil ski region, has replaced its Linga 2 chairlift with a new six-seater for this season, which began at the resort earlier this month.

The old Linga 2 chairlift which took skiers up to Col du Linga at 2050m (6724ft) has been replaced by the new Echo Alpin six-seat detachable chairlift, departing from beside the Leiche ski lift at 1550m (5084ft). The 1580m (5182ft)-long lift with a vertical rise 525m (1722ft) can carry 2400 people per hour, and this capacity should be increased to 2700 people per hour after the initial trial period.

The new chair is one of the fastest lifts of the Portes du Soleil area as it can carry skiers at a speed of 5.5 metres per second taking them to the top in about five minutes.

Châtel has also announced it is increasing the area it can cover with artificial snow thanks to the addition of a new reservoir. The resort now has 180 snow guns and the Combes and Linga 2 runs now have snowmaking.

• Châtel: follow news about the French ski resort here
• New Projects: click here for news about new projects and upgrades in the ski world