Not having seen the site, the crew walked around with the client early in the morning before going back down the mountain to start tipping the truck - only to get to the top cable car station to find the first of 146 flightcases were already making their way up the mountain! Swiss efficiency was becoming apparent.
A battery of High End Studio Colors and Studio Spots were employed inside and out (in Condomes), Studio Due 2500W City Colors made mountain-lighting less of a challenge and blue 400W HQIs made light work of the achitectural aspects. Inside a myriad of Source Fours (Pars and profile), birdies, P38 uplighters, Mini-Scans, mirrorballs and 400W UV scoops transformed a somewhat functional skiing restaurant into a very respectable nightclub.
Cable car stations by their nature lend themselves to easy rigging, the restaurant, however, was more of a challenge. 136kg Prostars proved an ideal tool for the many small trusses inside over the dancefloor, the exterior trusses over the docking station required sterner stuff however and some long chain drops.
Despite being almost 3000m up the mountain the local electricians produced a variety mains at exactly 240V/50Hz for our benefit. Further mains distribution was made easier by the use of curiously placed 32A three-phase sockets attached to apparently random bits of the mountain. As no information was being volunteered as to why they were there, the crew thought it best not to ask!
(Lee Baldock)