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81-399: Nätschen has a 2-man chairlift which takes you up to the middle. Here you can choose to If you choose to go up more, there is Nätschen has 4 ski lifts , all made by Garaventa . Because Nätschen is fairly low down, and south-west facing, all of its lifts and runs all close relatively early for the summer season, sometimes even as early as the start of March. None of its lifts are open in

162-435: A strand . Several strands are wound around a textile core, their twist oriented in the same or opposite direction as the individual wires; this is referred to as Lang lay and regular lay respectively. Rope is constructed in a linear fashion, and must be spliced together before carriers are affixed. Splicing involves unwinding long sections of either end of the rope, and then winding each strand from opposing ends around

243-483: A Performance terminal with an Alpha drive unit at the far end. These early chairlifts also had vault drives which were located under the Performance terminal. The old (Colorado Superchair) at Breckenridge Ski Resort , and the (American Flyer) at Copper Mountain are two great examples of Performance terminals with vault drives. Very few lifts exist with this style to this day. Later on, the Performance drive terminal

324-403: A detachable 6-man chairlift. There are plans to construct a gondola running from Göschenen to the top of Naetschen. This will allow for quicker, easier access from other areas, and it will mean Andermatt will not have as much traffic as previously. If arriving from Göschenen, it would save approximately half an hour of time than having to go up to Andermatt, and it will be easier to get onto

405-407: A force is the rate at which it does work , and is given by the product of the driving force and the cable velocity) . In most localities, the prime mover is required to have a backup drive; this is usually provided by a Diesel engine that can operate during power outages. The purpose of the backup is to permit clearing the rope to ensure the safety of passengers; it usually is much less powerful and

486-487: A grip failure stacked two chairs together at Sierra-at-Tahoe , killing a 9-year-old boy. Finally, in 1995, 4 chairs plummeted from Whistler Blackcomb's Quicksilver lift while it was operating. A chair slipped from the steepest part of the lift, creating a domino effect involving 3 others. All four chairs fell 75 feet upon crashing into the sheaves on the nearest tower, killing 2 riders and injuring 8. Yan filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and has not operated since. Leitner-Poma

567-414: A high speed quad, DT-106 on a high speed six pack, or DT-108 on an eight-passenger gondola. The Torsion grip is still made today as Doppelmayr (North America) 's primary grip option. Unlike Poma 's grips, Doppelmayr grips are double position grips. When the chair enters a terminal, the angled roller is pushed down by a metal strip, which opens a grip jaw. The jaw remains open until the chair reattaches to

648-404: A passenger missing a ski, or otherwise unable to efficiently unload, such as patients being transported in a rescue toboggan . These uses are the chief purpose for a visible identification number on each carrier. Aerial ropeways always have several backup systems in the event of failure of the prime mover. An additional electric motor, diesel or gasoline engine—even a hand crank—allows movement of

729-772: A passenger ropeway can move up to 4,000 people per hour, and the fastest lifts achieve operating speeds of up to 12 m/s (39.4 ft/s) or 43.2 km/h (26.8 mph). The two-person double chair, which for many years was the workhorse of the ski industry, can move roughly 1,200 people per hour at rope speeds of up to 2.5 m/s (8.2 ft/s). The four person detachable chairlift ("high-speed quad") can transport 2,400 people per hour with an average rope speed of 5 m/s (16.4 ft/s). Some bi- and tri-cable elevated ropeways and reversible tramways achieve much greater operating speeds. A chairlift consists of numerous components to provide safe efficient transport. Especially at American ski areas, chairlifts are referred to with

810-963: A peak height of 12,434 feet (3,790 m). CTEC built their first detachable in 1989 at Solitude Mountain Resort (named the Eagle express). In building this lift they had a rare partnership with Von Roll for their detachable technology. This also happened to be the first detachable quad in Utah. From 1990 on they partnered with Garaventa for their detachable technology before they merged in 1992. They have built detachable lifts at many resorts, such as Grand Targhee, Stevens Pass, Deer Valley, Park City, Snowbird, Alta, Palisades Tahoe, Stratton, and Attitash. They constructed lifts until 2002 when they merged with Doppelmayr. Some Garaventa designs are used to this day. Yan Lift , known in its later years as Lift Engineering, built 31 high speed quads between 1987 and 1994, mostly in

891-465: A powerful spring-loaded cable grip which detaches at terminals, allowing the chair to slow considerably for convenient loading and unloading at a typical speed of 200 ft/min (2 mph, 4 km/h, 1 m/s), a speed slower even than fixed-grip bunny chairlifts . They are now commonplace at all but the smallest of ski resorts . Some are installed at tourist attractions as well as for urban transportation. Another advantage of detaching chairs

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972-443: A retractable acrylic glass dome to protect passengers from weather. An alternative system for reconciling slow boarding speeds with fast rope speeds is the carpet lift : the chairs move at full speed even through the terminal. Boarding passengers are progressively accelerated on a system of conveyor belts of carpet-like material until nearly matching the chair speed. On Sunday, 26 December 2004, Lech am Arlberg and Schröcken in

1053-404: A ski industry vernacular . A one-person lift is a "single", a two-person lift is a "double", a three-person lift a "triple", four-person lifts are "quads", and a six-person lift is a "six pack". If the lift is a detachable chairlift, it is typically referred to as a "high-speed" or "express" lift, which results in an "express quad" or "high-speed six pack". The capacity of a lift is constrained by

1134-441: A variety of sizes, carrying from 1 to 8 passengers. All chairs on a given chairlift usually have the same capacity. Slang terms for the different sizes include "single", "double", "triple", "quad", "six pack", and "eight". Detachable chairlifts may also be described as "high speed" or "express", which results in terms such as "high speed six pack" and "express quad". Some detachable chairlifts have so-called bubble chairs , which add

1215-672: Is a Swiss maker of chairlifts and gondolas. While they are an important player in the European ski lift market, only a few of their lifts have been installed in Asia and South America. Sadly, there are currently no Bartholet detachable chairlifts in the United States. French MND has a history of Alpine manufacturing. The company formerly partnered with Bartholet for their grip technology. With this technology having been developed in Europe,

1296-427: Is a type of aerial lift , which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs . They are the primary on-hill transport at most ski areas (in such cases referred to as 'ski lifts'), but are also found at amusement parks and various tourist attractions. Depending on carrier size and loading efficiency,

1377-430: Is a type of passenger aerial lift , which, like a fixed-grip chairlift , consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope (called a haul rope ) that is strung between two (or more) terminals over intermediate towers. In contrast to the fixed-grip version, the chairs of a detachable chair lift detach from the haul rope for loading and unloading. The significance of detachable chairlift technology

1458-400: Is activated all power is cut to the motor and the emergency brake or bull-wheel brake is activated. In the case of a rollback, some lifts utilize a ratchet like system to prevent the bull-wheel from spinning backwards while newer installations utilize sensors which activate one or more bull-wheel brakes. All braking systems are fail-safe in that a loss of power or hydraulic pressure will activate

1539-648: Is also known for building some very unusual lifts, mostly at Breckenridge Ski Resort , which include North America's only double loading chairlift (Quicksilver Super6), the first high speed lift in Colorado with a midway load (Peak 8 SuperConnect), and the highest lift in North America (Imperial Express SuperChair) at 12,840 feet. It also built the new highest high speed six pack as of 2022 in North America (Lenawee Mountain Express), located at Arapahoe Basin , with

1620-399: Is connected to the cable with a steel cable grip that is either clamped onto or woven into the cable. Clamping systems use either a bolt system or coiled spring or magnets to provide clamping force. For maintenance or servicing, the carriers may be removed from or relocated along the rope by loosening the grip. Also called a retention bar or safety bar , these may help hold passengers in

1701-468: Is largely limited to smaller chairlift installations, otherwise the AC motor would need to be significantly oversized relative to the equivalent horsepower DC motor. The driveshaft turns at high RPM , but with lower torque . The gearbox transforms high RPM/low torque rotation into a low RPM/high torque drive at the bullwheel. More power is able to pull heavier loads or sustain a higher rope speed (the power of

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1782-457: Is not used for normal operation. The secondary drive connects with the drive shaft before the gear box, usually with a chain coupling. Some chairlifts are also equipped with an auxiliary drive, to be used to continue regular operation in the event of a problem with the prime mover. Some lifts even have a hydrostatic coupling so the driveshaft of a snowcat can drive the chairlift. Carriers are designed to seat 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 8 passengers. Each

1863-560: Is now classified as a CLD-260 terminal. These and the older terminals were the only types of terminals to use chains instead of tires for contours. In 1989, the old design was officially retired with the addition of the Avanti high speed quad at Vail, and a new design, called the UNI , was introduced. This design was utilized from 1989 to the last year of the DS-104 grip in 1994. In 1992, the design

1944-406: Is primarily the speed and capacity. Detachable chairlifts move far faster than their fixed-grip brethren, averaging 1,000 feet per minute (11.3 mph, 18 km/h, 5.08 m/s) versus a typical fixed-grip speed of 500 ft/min (5.6 mph, 9 km/h, 2.54 m/s). Because the cable moves faster than most passengers could safely disembark and load, each chair is connected to the cable by

2025-471: Is the ability to remove chairs during severe weather in order to reduce stress on the rope and towers. Furthermore, operating the unladen rope during extreme weather is effective at preventing—or greatly reducing—ice and snow accumulation on the sheaves and rope. This saves considerable time, expense and hazard when opening the chair for operation, which would otherwise require workers to climb each tower and chip away ice and shovel snow. Chairlifts are made in

2106-413: Is the present day version of Poma , as joint venture in the United States. In Europe, Poma and Leitner operate as separate ventures. They no longer make these types of detachable products: Arceaux Carrier, Arceaux version 2 Carrier, Performance Terminal, Challenger Terminal, Competition Terminal, Leitner Grip, Omega Terminal, and Omega grip. Now, Leitner-Poma has created an improved Omega carrier, along with

2187-437: Is useful for children—who do not fit comfortably into adult sized chairs—as well as apprehensive passengers, and for those who are disinclined or unable to sit still. In addition, restraining bars with footrests reduce muscle fatigue from supporting the weight of a snowboard or skis, especially during long lift rides. The restraining bar is also useful in very strong wind and when the chair is coated by ice. Some ski areas mandate

2268-579: Is usually constructed of transparent acrylic glass or fiberglass. In most designs, passenger legs are unprotected; however in rain or strong wind this is considerably more comfortable than no canopy. Among more notable bubble lifts are the Ramcharger 8 at Big Sky Resort , North America's first high speed eight pack; and the longest bubble lift in the world is the American Flyer high speed six pack at Copper Mountain . To maintain safe operation,

2349-649: The J-bar , the two most common skier transports at the time—apart from mountain climbing . His basic design is still used for chairlifts today. The patent for the original ski lift was issued to Mr. Curran along with Gordon H. Bannerman and Glen H. Trout (Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific RR) in March 1939. The patent was titled "Aerial Ski Tramway,' U.S. patent 2,152,235 . W. Averell Harriman , Sun Valley's creator and former governor of New York State , financed

2430-621: The "Adirondack Express", a high-speed triple, the only lift of its kind in the Eastern US, at Gore Mountain , NY in 1984. Then Poma built the first chairlift that went 1,100 feet per minute, the Green Mountain Express, at Sugarbush Resort , VT in 1990. The detachable chairlift didn't start with a chairlift, rather, it started with the Platter lift in 1908, as the sticks left the cable and attached when someone loaded onto

2511-427: The (Quicksilver Superchair's) installation. Although hard to prove, the earliest known Poma quads are from circa 1985, such as the (Coney Glade) at Snowmass , the (Liberator Express) at Mission Ridge (installed in 2005, formally known as (Summit Express), ran at Winter Park Resort from 1985 to 2005), and others. Many of the original high speed quads they built were known as Alpha Evolution lifts, because they utilized

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2592-442: The 17th century for crossing chasms in mountainous regions. Men would traverse a woven fiber line hand over hand. Evolutionary refinement added a harness or basket to also transport cargo. The first recorded mechanical ropeway was by Venetian Fausto Veranzio who designed a bicable passenger ropeway in 1616. The industry generally considers Dutchman Adam Wybe to have built the first operational system in 1644. The technology, which

2673-485: The 1990s are infrequently fixed-grip. Existing fixed-grip lifts are being replaced with detachable chairlifts at most major ski areas. However the relative simplicity of the fixed-grip design results in lower installation, maintenance and, often, operation costs. For these reasons, they are likely to remain at low volume and community hills, and for short distances, such as beginner terrain. Detachable chairlift A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift

2754-662: The Bregenzerwald, became the first chairlifts to have heated seats when five Doppelmayr detachable chairlifts offer skiers the added luxury of a warm seat on the uphill trip. Doppelmayr (North America) built the first detachable quad chair in the world, the Quicksilver SuperChair, in 1981 at Breckenridge, CO. This chair was later replaced by the Quicksilver Super6, a detachable six person chairlift, by Poma in 1999. Von Roll Habegger installed

2835-572: The Oberalp/Sedrun ski area were announced. This will be done by having 3 ski lifts, two detachable 4-man chairlifts and an 8-man gondola (with a middle station), and approximately 20 km of ski pistes. Most of these pistes will be intermediate/red runs, but with a few easy/blue runs and expert/black runs. The runs will go from the top of Nätschen (Gütsch), to the Oberalppass station. The T-bar at Oberalppass station will be replaced by

2916-543: The Torsion grip today. Doppelmayr in the U.S. is starting to discontinue the Garaventa carriers, and replacing them with Doppelmayr EJ carriers. Doppelmayr is known for building the first high speed quad, building the first 8-passenger gondola at Steamboat Ski Resort and having a good relationship with Big Sky Resort , Vail Ski Resort , Beaver Creek Resort , Steamboat Ski Resort , and many other ski resorts. Bartholet

2997-618: The U.S. to have rectangular tower heads. The Orient Express was also the first Doppelmayr chairlift in the U.S. to have 800 horsepower. The original grip was slightly modified later before the Vail quads were built. Known as the Spring Series, these grips were known as DS-104 grips on high speed quads and DS-108s on eight passenger gondolas. In 1995, a newer grip was introduced called the Torsion series . Torsion grips were called DT-104 if on

3078-462: The United States and Canada. The detachable grips were of an unusual design, in which a steel bar with V-shaped troughs sat atop the haul rope and were held in place by tensioning assembly with rubber springs. These grips relied more on gravity and friction than raw grip force, and were much weaker than other designs. The grips were notorious for slipping, and often required realignment. Yan stopped building detachables after two fatal accidents. In 1993,

3159-410: The bar must be swung up, out of the way. The physics of a passenger sitting properly in a chairlift do not require use of a restraining bar. If the chairlift stops suddenly (as from use of the system emergency brake), the carrier's arm connecting to the grip pivots smoothly forward—driven by the chair's inertia—and maintains friction (and seating angle) between the seat and passenger. The restraining bar

3240-416: The boarding area. This ensures the correct, safe and quick boarding of all passengers. For fixed grip lifts, a walkway can be designed so that it moves at a slightly slower speed than the chairs: passengers stand on the moving walkway while their chair approaches, hence easing the boarding process since the relative speed of the chairlift will be slower. Aerial passenger ropeways were known in Asia well before

3321-446: The brake. Older chairlifts, for example 1960s-era Riblet Tramway Company lifts, have a hydraulic release emergency brake with pressure maintained by a hydraulic solenoid. If the emergency brake/stop button is depressed by any control panel, the lift cannot be restarted until the hydraulic brake is hand-pumped to proper operating pressure. Some installations use brittle bars to detect several hazardous situations. Brittle bars alongside

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3402-402: The bullwheel. This prevents the potentially disastrous situation of runaway reverse operation. The rope must be tensioned to compensate for sag caused by wind load and passenger weight, variations in rope length due to temperature and to maintain friction between the rope and the drive bullwheel. Tension is provided either by a counterweight system or by hydraulic or pneumatic rams, which adjust

3483-425: The cable upon departing the terminal. Grip clamping force is measured just prior to the double position grips reattaching to the haul rope while a carrier (chair) is exiting the terminal, in contrast to Poma's grips, in which grip force can be measured as the grip travels through the contour. Insufficient grip force triggers an alarm and brings the lift to a halt before the carrier reaches the first breakover tower after

3564-403: The chair in the same way as a safety bar in an amusement park ride. If equipped, each chair has a retractable bar, sometimes with attached foot rests. In most configurations, a passenger may reach up and behind their head, grab the bar or a handle, and pull the restraint forward and down. Once the bar has swung sufficiently, gravity assists positioning the bar to its down limit. Before disembarking,

3645-443: The chairlift's control system monitors sensors and controls system parameters. Expected variances are compensated for; out-of-limit and dangerous conditions cause system shutdown. In the unusual instance of system shutdown, inspection by technicians, repair or evacuation might be needed. Both fixed and detachable lifts have sensors to monitor rope speed and hold it within established limits for each defined system operating speed. Also,

3726-419: The chairlift, it is preferable to strike the safety gate—that is, it should not be avoided—and stop the lift than be an unexpected downhill passenger. Many lifts are limited in their download capacity; others can transport passengers at 100 percent capacity in either direction. The boarding area of a detachable chairlift can be fitted with a moving walkway which takes the passengers from the entrance gate to

3807-528: The company installed their first U.S. system at Waterville Valley New Hampshire . The lift is called the Tecumseh Express , and is a detachable six-person bubble chairlift. In late 2023, Bartholet cancelled its MND partnership when it was purchased by HTI Group (the parent company of Poma, Leitner, Leitner Poma of America and many others). In April of 2024 MND revealed its Orizon line. A new model of Terminals, Grips and carriers. The carriers include

3888-401: The core. Sections of rope must be removed, as the strands overlap during the splicing process. Every lift involves at least two terminals and may also have intermediate supporting towers. A bullwheel in each terminal redirects the rope, while sheaves (pulley assemblies) on the towers support the rope well above the ground. The number of towers is engineered based on the length and strength of

3969-644: The detached carriers through the terminals. Aerial lifts have a variety of mechanisms to ensure safe operation over a lifetime often measured in decades. In June 1990, Winter Park Resort performed planned destructive safety testing on Eskimo , a 1963 Riblet Tramway Company two-chair, center-pole fixed grip lift, as it was slated for removal and replacement with a high-speed quad Poma lift. The destructive testing attempted to mimic potential real-life operating scenarios, including tests for braking, rollback, oily rope, tree on line, fire, and tower pull. The data gleaned from this destructive safety testing helped improve

4050-406: The grip travels through the contour, and for the lift to come to a stop before the grip is reattached to the haul rope if insufficient grip force is detected. Unlike Doppelmayr lifts that check grip force while a grip and carrier are leaving the terminal, most Poma detachable lifts are not built to operate in reverse because a grip force failed grip can be brought to a halt within the terminal. Poma

4131-404: The height of some towers to improve clearance over a road. Passenger loading and unloading is supervised by lift operators. Their primary purpose is to ensure passenger safety by checking that passengers are suitably outfitted for the elements and not wearing or transporting items which could entangle chairs, towers, trees, etc. If a misload or missed unload occurs—or is imminent—they slow or stop

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4212-406: The lift to prevent carriers from colliding with or dragging any person. Also, if the exit area becomes congested, they will slow or stop the chair until safe conditions are established. The lift operators at the terminals of a chairlift communicate with each other to verify that all terminals are safe and ready when restarting the system. Communication is also used to warn of an arriving carrier with

4293-420: The minimum and maximum rope tension, and speed feedback redundancy are monitored. Many—if not most—installations have numerous safety sensors which detect rare but potentially hazardous situations, such as the rope coming out of an individual sheave. Detachable chairlift control systems measure carrier grip tension during each detach and attach cycle, verify proper carrier spacing and verify correct movement of

4374-411: The most common, though AC motors and AC drives are becoming economically competitive for certain smaller chairlift installations. DC drives are less expensive than AC variable-frequency drives and were used almost exclusively until the 21st century when costs of AC variable-frequency drive technology dropped. DC motors produce more starting torque than AC motors, so applications of AC motors on chairlifts

4455-417: The motive power ( prime mover ), the rope speed, the carrier spacing, the vertical displacement, and the number of carriers on the rope (a function of the rope length). Human passengers can load only so quickly until loading efficiency decreases; usually an interval of at least five seconds is needed. The rope is the defining characteristic of an elevated passenger ropeway. The rope stretches and contracts as

4536-582: The new LPA grip, and a new version of the Omega terminal. Leitner-Poma has good relationships with Breckenridge Ski Resort , Vail Ski Resort , Winter Park Resort , Snowmass , Aspen Mountain , Buttermilk , Aspen Highlands , Okemo , Mount Snow , Sugarbush Resort and many other ski resorts. Doppelmayr (North America) , formally known as Doppelmayr CTEC is the merger of CTEC, Garaventa, and Doppelmayr globally. They continue to make Garaventa and Dopplemayr Carriers, their UNI-GS/UNI-G (Europe) terminals, and

4617-509: The new Omega T-Grip came out and a new terminal known as the Omega was introduced for it. It was replaced by a newer variant that mainly modified the windows on the ends in 2003. Unlike Doppelmayr, the Poma grips are single position. In such method, they are pressed down, which opens the jaws to detach the chair, and then the jaws close and the spring is released. The process is reversed for attachment. This design allows grip force to be measured as

4698-414: The position of the bullwheel carriage to maintain design tension. For most chairlifts, the tension is measured in tons . Either Diesel engines or electric motors can function as prime movers. The power can range from under 7.5 kW (10 hp ) for the smallest of lifts, to more than 750 kW (1000 hp) for a long, swift, detachable eight-seat up a steep slope. DC electric motors and DC drives are

4779-660: The project. Mont Tremblant , Quebec opens in February 1938 with the first Canadian chairlift, built by Joseph Ryan. The ski lift had 4,200 feet of cable and took 250 skiers per hour. The first chairlift in Europe was built in 1938 in Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic ), from Ráztoka, at 620 m (2,034 ft), to Pustevny, at 1,020 m (3,346 ft), in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountain range. New chairlifts built since

4860-599: The rope and prevent it from falling if it should come out of the track. They are designed to allow passage of chair grips while the lift is stopping and for evacuation. It is extremely rare for the rope to leave the sheaves. In May 2006, a cable escaped the sheaves on the Arthurs Seat, Victoria chairlift in Australia causing four chairs to crash into one another. No one was injured, though 13 passengers were stranded for four hours. The operator blamed mandated changes in

4941-403: The rope to eventually unload passengers. In the event of a failure which prevents rope movement, ski patrol may conduct emergency evacuation using a simple rope harness looped over the aerial ropeway to lower passengers to the ground one by one. A steel line strung alongside a mountain is likely to attract lightning strikes. To protect against that and electrostatic buildup, all components of

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5022-410: The rope, worst case environmental conditions, and the type of terrain traversed. The bullwheel with the prime mover is called the drive bullwheel ; the other is the return bullwheel . Chairlifts are usually electrically powered, often with Diesel or gasoline engine backup, and sometimes a hand crank tertiary backup. Drive terminals can be located either at the top or the bottom of an installation; though

5103-421: The safety and construction of both existing as well as the next generation of chairlifts. As mentioned above, there are multiple redundant braking systems. When a Normal Stop is activated from the control panel, the lift will be slowed and stopped using regenerative braking through the electric motor and the service brake located on the highspeed shaft between the gearbox and electric motor. When an Emergency Stop

5184-447: The sheaves detect the rope coming out of the track. They may also be placed to detect counterweight or hydraulic ram movement beyond safe parameters (sometimes called a brittle fork in this usage) and to detect detached carriers leaving the terminal's track. If a brittle bar breaks, it interrupts a circuit which causes the system controller to immediately stop the system. These are small hooks sometimes installed next to sheaves to catch

5265-509: The slopes. Nätschen's railway station is owned, run, and served by the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn . It has one platform , and a passing track for trains which need to pass each other — a common occurrence given that the line is almost all single track, and the trains are running at a tight schedule. Public trains are operated every hour each direction. The station also sees Glacier Express trains and car shuttle trains (in

5346-732: The stick. A detachable two person chairlift called White Lady was installed in Cairngorm Mountain, Scotland in 1961. In 1981, the first ever high speed detachable quad in the world was installed, the Doppelmayr-built Quicksilver SuperChair at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado . This lift was relocated in 1999 to the Owl's Head Ski area in Quebec as "Le Lac", and was dismantled in 2019 after 38 seasons in two countries. This first detachable chairlift

5427-455: The strands such as a broken wire, pitting caused by corrosion or wear, variations in cross sectional area, and tightening or loosening of wire lay or strand lay. If passengers fail to unload, their legs will contact a lightweight bar, line, or pass through a light beam which stops the lift. The lift operator will then help them disembark, reset the safety gate, and initiate the lift restart procedure. While possibly annoying to other passengers on

5508-464: The summer of 1936. Prior to working for Union Pacific, Curran worked for Paxton and Vierling Steel, also in Omaha, which engineered banana conveyor systems to load cargo ships in the tropics. (PVS manufactured these chairs in their Omaha, NE facility.) Curran re-engineered the banana hooks with chairs and created a machine with greater capacity than the up-ski toboggan ( cable car ) and better comfort than

5589-496: The summer. In 2009 plans to overhaul, replace, update, and insert new ski lifts and runs on Naetschen were announced. This will be part of Orascom Hotels and Development 's Andermatt project to make Andermatt a large holiday resort. These plans include In 2010 there were two new wind turbines installed on Nätschen, to power the new lifts. These were both Enercon E-44 models. The new lifts will be made by Swedish company SkiStar . In 2009 plans to connect Nätschen's ski area with

5670-417: The system are electrically bonded together and connected to one or many grounding systems connecting the lift system to earth ground. In areas subject to frequent electrical strikes, a protective aerial line is fixed above the aerial ropeway. A red sheave may indicate it is a grounding sheave. In most jurisdictions, chairlifts must be load inspected and tested periodically. The typical test consists of loading

5751-418: The tension exerted upon it increases and decreases, and it bends and flexes as it passes over sheaves and around the bullwheels . The fibre core contains a lubricant which protects the rope from corrosion and also allows for smooth flexing operation. The rope must be regularly lubricated to ensure safe operation and long life. Various techniques are used for constructing the rope. Dozens of wires are wound into

5832-534: The terminal. Because of this design, most Doppelmayr detachable lifts are designed to allow operation in reverse. This allows a grip force-alarmed grip and carrier to be backed into the terminal for inspection or removal. The original terminals on the Quicksilver Quad were all completely enclosed, but in 1985, in time for the Vail Ski Resort high speed quads, the terminal design changed to what

5913-415: The top-drive configuration is more efficient, practicalities of electric service might dictate bottom-drive. The drive terminal is also the location of a lift's primary braking system. The service brake is located on the drive shaft beside the main drive, before the gearbox. The emergency brake acts directly on the bullwheel. While not technically a brake, an anti-rollback device (usually a cam) also acts on

5994-515: The uphill chairs with bags of water (secured in boxes) weighing more than the worst case passenger loading scenario. The system's ability to start, stop, and forestall reverse operation are carefully evaluated against the system's design parameters. Load testing a new lift is shown in a short video. Frequent visual inspection of the rope is required in most jurisdictions, as well as periodic non-destructive testing. Electromagnetic induction testing detects and quantifies hidden adverse conditions within

6075-608: The use of safety bars on dangerous or windy lifts, with forfeiture of the lift ticket as a penalty. Vermont and Massachusetts state law also require the use of safety bars, as well as most Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Restraining bars (often with foot rests) on chairlifts are more common in Europe and also naturally used by passengers of all ages. Some chairlifts have restraining bars that open and close automatically. Some lifts also have individual canopies which can be lowered to protect against inclement weather. The canopy, or bubble,

6156-597: The winter only) passing through it. The station has a waiting room. In November 2012 Andermatt and Nätschen appeared on the British television series The Gadget Show . Presenters Jason Bradbury and Pollyanna Woodward were testing electric bicycles , scooters , and several mobile phone photo editing applications , on the hills of Nätschen. 46°38′31″N 8°36′28″E  /  46.64194°N 8.60778°E  / 46.64194; 8.60778 Chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway , or chairlift ,

6237-652: Was changed slightly mainly in the entry funnels area. With the introduction of the Torsion series came the UNI-M terminal, which underwent a number of minor cosmetic changes between 1995 and 2002. Currently, two options are offered, the UNI-G terminal, and the UNI-GS terminal, which can be distinguished through the appearance of the end windows. The first UNI-GS chairlift, Panorama, debuted in 2003 at Gunstock Mountain Resort . Poma entered this market within two to three years of

6318-513: Was followed by a Doppelmayr detachable triple chair at Mt Bachelor in Oregon in 1983 and two detachable quads at Mt Buller , Victoria, Australia in 1984. Until 1985, Quicksilver was also the only detachable quad in Colorado when Vail Ski Resort installed four Doppelmayr high speed quads. In 1988, Vail Ski Resort opened up Orient Express Lift #21, which was the first Doppelmayr chairlift in

6399-638: Was further developed by the people living in the Alpine regions of Europe, progressed rapidly and expanded due to the advent of wire rope and electric drive. World War I motivated extensive use of military tramways for warfare between Italy and Austria. The world's first three ski chairlifts were created for the ski resort in Sun Valley, Idaho in 1936 and 1937, then owned by the Union Pacific Railroad . The first chairlift, since removed,

6480-521: Was installed on Proctor Mountain, two miles (3 km) east of the more famous Bald Mountain , the primary ski mountain of Sun Valley resort since 1939. One of the chairlifts still remains on Ruud Mountain, named for Thomas Ruud a famous Norwegian ski racer. The chairlift has been preserved with its ski jump and original single chairs as it was during WWII. The chairlift was developed by James Curran of Union Pacific's engineering department in Omaha during

6561-491: Was modified to house the bullwheel machinery inside the main terminal structure itself, eliminating the need to run the cable through the terminal. Poma was also slower at introducing tire contours over chains, and it wasn't until 1992 that tire contours were used by the company with the introduction of the Challenger terminal. This terminal would undergo changes with the windows before officially retired in 1998. At that time,

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