When was the chairlift invented

In some areas, horse-drawn sleds transported skiers up carriage roads, Masia says. Canadian skier Alex Foster built the first working model of the rope tow—a continuous rope that skiers simply grabbed onto and held with their hands—in outside of Shawbridge, Quebec.

By , the tow rope technology had made its way to Woodstock, Vermont. Both technologies quickly caught on across Europe and the U. But first, the railroad had to decide where to build its proposed winter playground. After unsuccessful searches in Washington, California and Utah, Schaffgotsch had almost given up when he arrived in the Wood River Valley of southern Idaho in early January He spent a few days in the quiet ranching and mining community of Ketchum, before wiring Harriman that this was the place.

It was a lot of backcountry mentality. To attract the wealthy railway clientele he desired, Harriman believed he needed to make skiing easier and more comfortable. According to a telegram he sent to Union Pacific chief engineer H. Harriman also invited Hollywood celebrities to visit the resort, free of charge, to help boost its reputation.

Curran, a year-old licensed engineer and Nebraska native who had been working for Union Pacific since , first as a draftsman and later as a bridge engineer, got to work on a solution.

For his invention, Curran drew inspiration from conveyor belts used to load bananas onto ships in Central America. Curran—who had never skied and, even after inventing the chairlift, never did—drew up plans and submitted the proposal to his Union Pacific boss, who promptly laughed in his face, according to Ryan.

His idea caught their attention, and they gave Curran the green light to move forward with his invention. A little more than you bargained for, but that relates to some other comments on this post as well. I got this information from some background research I did for a video project on Ropeway History. You are commenting using your WordPress.

You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Search Search for:. Wooden towers on Ruud Mountain. The top drive terminal is getting a new lift shack thanks to the Sun Valley Company.

The bottom shack has an awesome wood stove inside. Original single chairs are mostly still on the line. Share this: Email Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Next Article Instagram Tuesday: Wheels. Could they run the lift with nobody on it? Billy B. If you have any questions, please email us at customerservice ameriglide.

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