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

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 Today, many installations of this type have been replaced by chairlifts. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox 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 ...