subject: The First Ski Lift Invented [print this page] The First Ski Lift Invented The First Ski Lift Invented
In the 17th century rope passenger ways were being used in Asia to cross chasms in the mountains but in 1616, a Venetian engineer by the name of Fausto Veranzio designed a bicable passenger ropeway. The Dutch man Wybe Adam then went on to build the first operation ropeway in 1644 and this technology was adopted by Alpine regions in Europe, progressing rapidly to include a wire rope and electrical system to drive the cable. During World War I, various militaries used similar systems for tramways for supplies and troops in the mountains between Italy and Austria.
The first cable system built specifically for skiers was done in 1908 by a German hotel owner. It was a simple overhead cable with handles or harnesses for the skiers to grab. It was held up by wooden towers and powered by a water mill initially and later an electric motor.
In 1933 Alec Foster built the first rope tow in Shawbridge, Quebec, just for skiers.
The first known chair lift was developed for Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho in 1936. The chair lift was designed and developed by engineer James Curran, who had worked for a steel firm which had engineered a system to load bananas onto cargo ships in the tropics. Curran simply took the idea and instead of hooks to pick up the bananas, he added chairs and created a machine able to work with a much greater capacity. This basic design is still used today for chair lifts.
In the 1940's the 'J-bar' was invented as a way to drag skiers up the piste. It consisted of a long vertical bar curving into a short horizontal bar (forming a 'J' shape) attached to an overhead cable which was pulled round on an electronic system. The J-bar was later replaced by the T-bar, which is still in use today but has twice the capacity as each bar takes two skiers.
Chairlifts and cable car systems developed over time. The construction of the Mount Kasprowy cable car in Poland began in 1935 and horse and carts had to drag the building materials as far up as possible and then the materials were carried by hand the rest of the way. It was completed in around 7 months and involved complicated mining operations and foundation laying for the nine wooden pillars that would support the cable. The system is still in use today, although has obviously been somewhat modified.
