Ski lift

"Cat skiing" redirects here and is not to be confused with Cattski.

A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald.^[1]

Chairlift mechanism in the resort of Val Cenis Vanoise, France

Types

A chairlift at the ski resort of Vuokatti in Sotkamo, Kainuu, Finland in 2006

• Aerial lifts transport skiers while suspended off the ground.^[2] Aerial lifts are often bicable ropeways, the "bi-" prefix meaning that the cables have two different functions (carrying and pulling).^[3]
  • Aerial tramways
  • Chairlifts and detachable chairlifts
  • Funifors
  • Funitels
  • Gondola lifts
  • Hybrid lifts
• Surface lifts, including T-bars, magic carpets, and rope tows.
• Cable railways, including funiculars
• Helicopters are used for heliskiing and snowcats for snowcat skiing. This is backcountry skiing or boarding accessed by a snowcat or helicopter instead of a lift, or by hiking. Cat skiing is less than half the cost of heliskiing, more expensive than a lift ticket but is easier than ski touring. Cat skiing is guided.^[4] Skiing at select, extreme resorts, like Silverton Mountain, is also guided, even when skiing just off the lift.^[5]

Locations

Map of world ski resorts

Ski lifts are built in many parts of the world. Extreme locations of outdoor ski lifts:

• The northernmost is near Tromsø, Norway
• The southernmost is near Ushuaia, Argentina
• The closest to the equator in the northern hemisphere is near Liang, China
• The closest to the equator in the southern hemisphere is near Mahlasela, Lesotho