Surface lift
Surface lifts have some disadvantages compared to aerial lifts: they require more passenger skill and may be difficult for some beginners (especially snowboarders, whose boards point at an angle different than the direction of travel) and children; sometimes they lack a suitable route back to the piste; the snow surface must be continuous; they can get in the way of skiable terrain; they are relatively slow in speed and have lower capacity.
The first surface lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald, Germany, and started operations February 14, 1908.
[3] The first skier-specific tow in North America was apparently installed in 1933 by Alec Foster at Shawbridge in the Laurentians outside Montreal, Quebec.
[4] The Shawbridge tow was quickly copied at Woodstock, Vermont, in New England, in 1934 by Bob and Betty Royce, proprietors of the White Cupboard Inn.
Their tow was driven by the rear wheel of a Ford Model A. Wallace "Bunny" Bertram took it over for the second season, improved the operation, renamed it from Ski-Way to Ski Tow,[5] and eventually moved it to what became the eastern fringe of Vermont's major southern ski areas, a regional resort still operating as Saskadena Six.
Their relative simplicity made tows widespread and contributed to an explosion of the sport in the United States and Europe.
The grade of this style of tow is limited by passenger grip strength and the fact that sheaves (pulleys that support the rope above the ground) cannot be used.
J-bar, T-bar, and platter lifts are employed for low-capacity slopes in large resorts and small local areas.
The modern J-bar and T-bar mechanism was invented in 1934 by the Swiss engineer Ernst Constam,[10][11] with the first lift installed in Davos, Switzerland.
An earlier T-bar was installed at Rib Mountain (now Granite Peak Ski Area), Wisconsin, in 1937.
Some operators have combined T-bar and platter lifts, attaching both types of hanger to the cable, giving skiers and snowboarders a choice.
