The miracle did not take place at the foot of the Puigmal massif in upper Cerdanya, on the French-Spanish border. The stay granted on 24 October ends on 29 November before the Commercial Court of Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) which had ordered the judicial liquidation of the company Puigmal 2900 on 18 October. A few weeks before the winter season, a delay had been requested on the condition that new financing be found to provide working capital and allow the restart of the lifts: they never arrived. Proposals for partnership (with Trio Pyrénées in particular) and appeals to local authorities have gone unanswered.
"We leave behind a tool that is in perfect working order but without the means to run it"
Éric Matzner-Lober, president and co-founder of Puigmal 2900
Thus, it is the judicial liquidation of the company Puigmal 2900, in public service delegation of the municipality of Err since July 2021 to operate the lifts after works. Before this second life, local authorities had thrown in the towel for the first time in 2013 with liabilities of €13 million that taxpayers continue to reimburse today. This time it is the private entrepreneurs, six mountain and Puigmal enthusiasts, who are paying the price for this bad deal. "It can be estimated that almost €1,200,000 was swallowed up. But that didn't mean the money was squandered. We refurbished the lifts and renovated the restaurant room. We are leaving behind a tool that is in perfect working order but without the means to run it this season. So we're turning the page," says Éric Matzner-Lober, the president and co-founder of the operating company, who went from anger in October to bitterness at the end of November when it was time to take down the lift poles.
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In addition to the losses of shareholders who have to give up their current accounts, 169 members (associated with the project) have also lost their feathers in the crash. These small carriers, recruited in Cerdanya and southern Catalonia, had contributed either €1000 or €1250 to be part of the club. The "Puigmal enthusiasts" were not helped by the circumstances. The Pyrénées-Orientales Departmental Sports Union had, in 2022, closed its doors in Cotzé. And the weather last winter was not very favourable, with barely 30 days of operation for less than 10,000 skier days. By way of comparison, the alpine resort of Val-Thorens sold more than 23,000 passes for its opening weekend on November 25 and 26.
"Paradoxically, the children of the departmental council's stay centre (UDSIS), which is operating this year, will have to take a bus to transport themselves to the Cambre d'Aze to be able to ski. The communities have never supported us," says Éric Matzner-Lober. After the disappearance of Puyvalador, at the other end of the Catalan highlands, it is the closure of a real wild skiing and free-ride stadium in the Pyrenees.