Chairway Hauls Skiers a Mile up Mountain (Mar, 1941)
Chairway Hauls Skiers a Mile up Mountain
Up an avenue cut through the trees on the slopes of Mount Mansfield, Vt., runs a cableway more than a mile long, carrying skiers past the treetops to the summit. The eighty-six-chair tramway, new this season, cost $80,000 and is the longest of its kind, stretching over 6,330 feet.
Instead of a long, tough trek up the snow-covered trails, the skiers sit down for a leisurely twelve-minute trip through the winter fairyland. Lest they freeze up en route, the passengers are provided with heavy canvas aprons that serve as wind breakers, snapping around the neck and covering the legs. Skis can be worn during the ride or held upright on the foot rest connected with the waist bar which keeps the rider in his chair. The chairway takes the skier to an elevation of 4,397 feet above sea level in a rise of 2,030 feet. It accommodates about 200 skiers per hour. At the summit there is a ski house with non-fogging, double plate-glass windows and a circular fireplace in the middle.