Swiss invention: 90-year anniversary of first T-bar ski lift

Traditional T-bar ski lifts still account for 44% of Switzerland's 1,650 lift installations. Keystone-SDA

On Monday it will be 90 years since the world’s first T-bar ski lift went into service in Davos, in eastern Switzerland. This Swiss invention was an instant success. Today, many installations of this type have been replaced by chairlifts.

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The crossbow or T-bar ski lift was invented by Zurich engineer Ernst Gustav Constam. It first went into service on December 23, 1934.

Initially, the crossbow was shaped like a “J”, which was placed under the buttocks and could only pull one person at a time. The first ski lift of this type, 270 meters long on the Bolgen slope in Davos, recorded 70,000 lifts in its first season of operation.

The ‘T’ replaces the ‘J’

Early in the winter of 1935, Davos ski instructor Jack Ettinger had the idea of replacing the “J”-shaped crossbow with a “T”-shaped one that could pull two people. This doubled the capacity of the lift and making it possible for people to flirt on their way up the slope.

With the advent of chairlifts, the flirting factor faded. Some think it even disappeared. On modern six-seater chairlifts, most people keep quiet. Ski instructors, on the other hand, swear by the T-bar lift, as it prolongs the time spent on skis and trains coordination.

You have to learn to tug

Using the T-bar takes practice. Beginners often find it challenging. For children, the hardest part is getting rid of the crossbow at the finish line. For ski instructors, learning how to use the T-bar by beginners is the source of endless anecdotes. Falls are plentiful. It’s not uncommon for half a class to fall during the ascent.

For snowboarders, the lift is a challenge. They have to take one foot off the bindings and find themselves almost at right angles. When the lift is long, the crossbow ends up causing thigh pain.

More and more chairlifts

As more and more snowboarders took to the slopes in the 1990s, ski resorts replaced many crossbow lifts with chairlifts. The long haulers have almost completely disappeared from major ski areas. Chairlifts are faster and offer greater capacity.

Nevertheless, traditional T-bar ski lifts still account for 44% of Switzerland’s 1,650 lift installations. Most of these are in low-altitude resorts, where it’s not worth investing in a chairlift because of the uncertainty of snow cover.

Translated from French by DeepL/jdp

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