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74-604: The Snowy Mountains , known informally as " The Snowies ", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales , Australia , and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia , being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system. It makes up the northeastern half of the Australian Alps (the other half being the Victorian Alps ) and contains Australia's five tallest peaks , all of which are above 2,100 m (6,890 ft), including

148-435: 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

222-499: A climate which favoured the formation of glaciers , evidence of which can still be seen today. Cirques moraines , tarn lakes , roche moutonnées and other glacial features can all be seen in the area. Lake Cootapatamba , which was formed by an ice spilling from Mount Kosciuszko's southern flank, is the highest lake on the Australian mainland. Lake Albina, Club Lake, Blue Lake , and Hedley Tarn also have glacial origins. There

296-570: A documentary involving 26 people from the Snowy Mountains to talk about their experiences. The interviewees included farmers, school children, volunteers and employees from the NSW Rural Fire Service and National Park Snowy Hydro. Again in 2020, there was a large bushfire in the Snowy Mountains. Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia ( IBRA )

370-474: A drought that ranks as one of the worst in 103 years of official Australian weather records. Fires are a natural feature of the park's ecosystem. In November 2004, a committee "The Snowy Mountains Bushfire Recovery Taskforce" was set up by the NSW State Premier's Department to help residents in the region recover from the fires. The Taskforce commissioned Louise Darmody from Sound Memories to produce

444-407: 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

518-535: A major part of the Australasia biogeographic realm, as developed by the World Wide Fund for Nature . Based on this system, the world is also split into 14 terrestrial habitats , of which eight are shared by Australia. The Australian land mass is divided into 89 bioregions and 419 subregions. Each region is a land area made up of a group of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in similar form across

592-578: A major skifield in NSW came with the development of Mount Blue Cow in the 1980s. In 1987 the Swiss designed Skitube Alpine Railway opened to deliver skiers from Bullocks Flat , on the Alpine Way , to Perisher Valley and to Blue Cow, which also opened in 1987. The operators of Blue Cow purchased Guthega in 1991, and the new combined resort later merged with Perisher-Smiggins to become the largest ski resort in

666-404: 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

740-772: 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

814-404: 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

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888-401: Is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities . It was developed for use as a planning tool, for example for the establishment of a national reserve system . The first version of IBRA was developed in 1993–94 and published in 1995. Within the broadest scale, Australia is

962-400: 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

1036-399: 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

1110-408: Is endemic to the alpine region, and covers a mere 300,000 square metres (3,200,000 sq ft). Many rare or threatened plant and animal species live within the Snowy Mountains. The Kosciuszko National Park is home to one of Australia's most threatened species (the corroboree frog ), the endangered mountain pygmy possum and the more common dusky antechinus are located in the high country of

1184-468: 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

1258-457: 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

1332-450: Is now little realised. The Australian Alpine Club was founded in 1950 by Charles Anton . Huts were constructed in the "Backcountry" close to Mount Kosciuszko, including Kunama Hut , which opened for the 1953 season. A rope tow was installed on Mount Northcote at the site and opened in 1954. The site proved excellent for speed skiing, but the hut was destroyed in an avalanche , which also killed one person, in 1956. Anton also recognised

1406-418: Is some disagreement as to exactly how widespread Pleistocene glaciation was on the main range, and little or no evidence from earlier glacial periods exists. The 'David Moraine', a one kilometre long ridge running across Spencers Creek valley seems to indicate a larger glacier existed in this area at some time, however the glacial origin of this feature is disputed. There is evidence of periglacial activity in

1480-748: Is unusual on mainland Australia. Generally, only areas above 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) are subject to a consistent heavy winter snowpack . Snow normally falls to around 600 metres (2,000 ft) most winters, and can occur as low as 300 metres (980 ft) on the windward west side of the Snowies (on the South West Slopes ); and on a few occasions has even fallen in Albury only 165 metres (541 ft) above sea level. The weather station at Charlotte Pass recorded Australia's lowest temperature of −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F) on 28 June 1994. Part of

1554-437: 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

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1628-579: 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,

1702-649: 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

1776-947: The Southern Hemisphere . In 2022, Perisher had 48 lifts covering 1,245 hectares and four village base areas: Perisher Valley, Blue Cow, Smiggin Holes and Guthega. The Snowy Mountains also feed the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers from the Tooma River , Whites River and Yarrangobilly River . The range is perhaps best known for the Snowy Mountains Scheme , a project to dam the Snowy River, providing both water for irrigation and hydroelectricity . The project began in 1949 employing 100,000 men, two-thirds of whom came from thirty other countries during

1850-499: The snow cover usually melting by November (although it can occasionally persist through high summer and the next autumn). It is considered to be one of the centres of the Australian ski industry during the winter months, with all four snow resorts in New South Wales being located in the region. The range is host to the mountain plum-pine , a low-lying type of conifer . The Alpine Way and Snowy Mountains Highway are

1924-442: 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

1998-507: The 1860s and experienced a boom in the 20th century following the commencement of the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme between 1949 and 1976 which brought many European workers to the district and opened up access to the ranges. The discovery of gold at Kiandra (elevation 1,400 m or 4,600 ft), in 1859, briefly enticed a population of thousands above the snowline and saw

2072-544: The Snowy Mountains for grazing during the summer months. Banjo Paterson 's famous poem The Man From Snowy River recalls this era. The cattle graziers have left a legacy of mountain huts scattered across the area. Today these huts are maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service or volunteer organisations like the Kosciuszko Huts Association . In the 19th century gold was mined on

2146-575: The area. Solifluction appears to have created terraces on the north west flank of Mount Northcote. Frost heave is also a significant agent of soil erosion in the Kosciuszko Area. The Snowy Mountains cover a variety of climatic regions which support several distinct ecosystems . The alpine area above the tree line is one of the most fragile and covers the smallest area. This area is a patchwork of alpine heaths , herbfields , feldmarks , bogs and fens . The windswept feldmark ecotope

2220-410: 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

2294-467: 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

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2368-446: 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

2442-402: 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

2516-403: 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,

2590-443: 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,

2664-419: 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

2738-401: 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

2812-644: 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

2886-639: The economy of Cooma has been sustained by the Scheme. Townships at Adaminaby , Jindabyne and Talbingo were inundated by the construction of Lakes Eucumbene , Jindabyne and Talbingo . Improved vehicular access to the High Country enabled ski-resort villages to be constructed at Thredbo and Guthega in the 1950s by ex-Snowy Scheme workers, who realised the potential for expansion of the Australian ski industry. By 1974, 145 km (90 mi) of tunnels and 80 km (50 mi) of aqueducts connected

2960-488: The facility. At 1,760 m (5,774 ft), Charlotte Pass has the highest village base elevation of any Australia ski resort and can only be accessed via over-snow transport in winter. The growing number of ski enthusiasts heading to Charlotte Pass led to the establishment of a cafe at Smiggin Holes around 1939, where horse-drawn sleighs would deliver skiers to begin the arduous ski to the Kosciuszko Chalet. It

3034-404: 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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3108-700: The high plains near Kiandra . At its height this community had a population of about 4,000 people, and ran 14 hotels. Since the last resident left in 1974, Kiandra has become a ghost town of ruins and abandoned diggings. The Kosciuszko National Park came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on 5 December 1906. In 1944 this became the Kosciuszko State Park and the Kosciuszko National Park in 1967. Recreational skiing began at Kiandra in

3182-420: The introduction of recreational skiing to the Snowy Mountains around 1861. The Kiandra Goldrush was short-lived, but the township remained a service centre for recreational and survival skiing for over a century. Australia's first T-bar lift was installed at Kiandra in 1957, but the ski facilities were finally shifted up the hill to Selwyn Snowfields in 1978. Steeper slopes and more reliable snows lie further to

3256-474: The landscape. IBRA is updated periodically based on new data, mapping improvements, and review of the existing scheme. The most recent version is IBRA7, developed during 2012, which replaced IBRA6.1. This is a list of region and subregions under IBRA7. Region codes are given in parentheses, followed by area, where known. Images of regions are from IBRA6.1, pending creation of maps for IBRA7. Chairlift Depending on carrier size and loading efficiency,

3330-406: 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

3404-537: The major roads through the Snowy Mountains region. The mountain range is thought to have had Aboriginal occupation for 20,000 years. Large gatherings were held in the High Country during summer for collective feasting on the Bogong moth . The area was first explored by Europeans in 1835, and in 1840, Edmund Strzelecki ascended Mount Kosciuszko and named it after the Polish patriot. High country stockmen followed who used

3478-420: 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

3552-411: 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

3626-417: 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

3700-608: The mountains known as Main Range contains mainland Australia's five glacial lakes . The largest of these lakes is Blue Lake , one of the headwaters of the Snowy River . The other four glacial lakes are Lake Albina , Lake Cootapatamba , Club Lake and Headley Tarn. During the last ice age , which peaked about 20,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch , the highest peaks of the main range near Mount Kosciuszko experienced

3774-486: The park. By 2008, wild horse numbers in the National Park had reached 1,700 with that figure growing by up to 300 each year, resulting in park authorities coordinating their culling and relocation. The high country is dominated by alpine woodlands, characterised by the snow gum . Montane and wet sclerophyll forests also occur across the ranges, supporting large stands of alpine ash and mountain gum . In

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3848-414: 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

3922-512: The post-World War II years. Socially this project symbolises a period during which Australia became an ethnic "melting pot" of the twentieth century but which also changed Australia's character and increased its appreciation for a wide range of cultural diversity. The Scheme built several temporary towns for its construction workers, several of which have become permanent: Cabramurra (the highest town in Australia); and Khancoban . Additionally,

3996-533: The potential of the Thredbo Valley for construction of a major resort and village, with good vertical terrain. Construction began in 1957. Today, Thredbo has 14 ski-lifts and possesses Australia's longest ski resort run, the 5.9 km from Karel's T-Bar to Friday Flat ; Australia's greatest vertical drop of 672 m; and the highest lifted point in Australia at 2037 m. The last establishment of

4070-713: 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

4144-542: 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

4218-403: 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

4292-410: 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

4366-421: 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

4440-447: 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

4514-469: The sixteen dams, seven power stations (two underground), and one pumping station. The American Society of Civil Engineers has rated the Snowy Scheme as "a world-class civil engineering project". The principal lakes created by the scheme include: Lake Eucumbene , Blowering Dam , Talbingo Dam , Lake Jindabyne and Tantangara Dam . The higher regions of the park experience an alpine climate which

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4588-578: The south and in the 20th century, the focus of recreational skiing in New South Wales shifted southward, to the Mount Kosciuszko region. The Kosciuszko Chalet was built at Charlotte Pass in 1930, giving relatively comfortable access to Australia's highest terrain. In 1964, Australia briefly boasted the "World's Longest Chairlift ", designed to carry skiers from the Thredbo Valley to Charlotte Pass, but technical difficulties soon closed

4662-587: The southern Byadbo wilderness area, dry sclerophyll and wattle forests predominate. Amongst the many different native trees in the park, the large Chinese elm has become naturalised. In Summer 2003, the Australian Alps experienced their largest bushfires for over 60 years with an estimated 1.73 million hectares burning. The bushfires burnt across Victoria, New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) during

4736-455: 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

4810-464: 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

4884-417: 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

4958-403: The tallest Mount Kosciuszko , which reaches to a height of 2,228 m (7,310 ft) above sea level . The offshore Tasmanian highlands makes up the only other major alpine region present in the whole of Australia. The Snowy Mountains experience large natural snowfalls for several months of the year; with significant accumulation during May, June, July, August, September and October with

5032-418: 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

5106-415: 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

5180-515: 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

5254-608: 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,

5328-638: 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,

5402-521: 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

5476-483: Was the construction of the vast Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme from 1949 that really opened up the Snowy Mountains for large scale development of a ski industry and led to the establishment of Thredbo and Perisher as leading Australian resorts. The Construction of Guthega Dam brought skiers to the isolated Guthega district and a rope tow was installed there in 1957. Skifields up by Kosciuszko's side were also established during this period, though their existence

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