A 3.5km gondola lift will replace the road to reach the easternmost resort in the Pyrenees.

GironaUlldeter is one of the most accessible and busiest gateways to the high mountains in the Girona Pyrenees. Located at the tip of the Camprodon Valley, it forms a glacial cirque at over 2,000 m surrounded by legendary peaks such as Bastiments and Gran de Fajol, which span the Ter and Freser Headwaters Natural Park. At the foot of the mountains is the ski resort of Vallter 2000, the easternmost mountain range in the Catalan mountain range, with a dozen pistes and lifts. Nearby is the Ulldeter refuge, the oldest on the Iberian Peninsula, popular with hikers. To get there, you have to follow a 12-kilometer winding road uphill from Setcases, with several parking areas that are packed to the rafters on weekends. This route will change completely in the coming years, as the Generalitat (Catalan government) plans to ban cars and install a new gondola lift from the village, which would become the only access to the area.

According to the government's plan, the new funicular will be at least 3,420 meters long, will overcome a vertical drop of 627 meters, and the journey will take about 12 minutes, with ten-seat cabins and a capacity of 2,000 people per hour. The infrastructure, which will run on renewable energy, will eliminate the need for 85,000 vehicles and will also involve the dismantling of five old ski lifts, as it will reach the highest points of the slopes, naturalizing the surroundings of the natural park. Furthermore, the Generalitat (Catalan Government) believes that this measure, with an investment of 40 million euros, is key to guaranteeing the future of Vallter, consolidating it as a sustainable tourist destination open all year round. Currently, ski tourism, with increasingly less snowfall, does not generate enough revenue to maintain the facilities.

The Catalan Government Railways (FGC) has already initiated the urban planning and environmental processing, which is in the reporting process, and is currently awaiting permits from Setcases. with constant changes in the municipal government, which is working on urban modifications for its POUM to make it possible for the cable car to leave near the town.

"2,000 people per hour coming in sandals: it's going to be crazy.

However, the project has caused discontent among residents, naturalists, ranchers, and mountain lovers from all over Catalonia, and also from Northern Catalonia (the border with France is very close), who believe it will have a major impact on the landscape, as it will require people to pay to go to the mountains and will contribute to the overcrowding of a natural park. Formed under the name Defensem Ulldeter, they have the support of some sixty organizations, as well as personalities such as Kilian Jornet, and today Saturday they have organized a demonstration in Camprodon, which has brought together about 200 people.

"It will be crazy, now about 50,000 people come a year and the path is already eroded, imagine with 2,000 people per hour who come with sandals," he defends Eva Martínez Picó, spokesperson for the platform. He added: "They're full of talk about renaturalization because they'll be removing ski lifts and tar, which we've had for 50 years and nothing has happened, but, on the contrary, they'll have to pierce the forests with 20 or 25 pylons to support the cable car and open paved trails in places where no one ever goes to install them."

The group is aware that the resort's future is in jeopardy, but believes alternative solutions should be explored: "We must reflect on European movements and studies on the management of mountain areas after the snow season. This is a 1960s response, and it would be great if Vallter would give its all and be a pioneer in the transition." The platform presents a list of ten proposals, such as a museum on Catalan hiking or outings for all audiences to discover orchid blossoms, mammal tracks in the snow, or the geological heritage of the surrounding area. "If we apply the sun and beach tourism model, with visitors in droves and paying little money, it will be destructive and predatory," concludes the spokesperson, who points out that "to save a bankrupt company, we cannot squander natural heritage."

The roadside hostel announces legal action.

In general, the Generalitat's proposal is supported by the main economic sectors in the area, convinced that it can revitalize the region in a context of increasingly fewer snow months. However, there are also affected businesses that are not convinced, such as the Hostal Pastuira, located next to the road, which is being considered for closure. According to the project map, the gondola will stop, but the owners fear it won't be the same: "It will hurt us a lot, we will lose all these customers who came for a vermouth, lunch or dinner because it was on their way and now they will have to look at schedules, take the gondola and pay an amount that they are going to do, we also have groups that have just arrived, who, when the proposal is final, will present legal allegations with a lawyer.

In response to these complaints, the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition insists that "the transformation of Vallter will be carried out with the utmost respect for the traditional and landscape assets of Vallter and for the Natural Park of the Headwaters of the Ter and the Freser." Likewise, from FGC, they emphasize the need to "pave the way and find solutions to the challenges of the ski resorts by being more careful with the environment and maintaining jobs."