Some nostalgic thoughts about ski lifts in Switzerland

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T-Bar Ski Lift - Courtesy of skiliftfotos.ch

Having recently spent a day skiing in the Swiss Alps, it occurred to me how drastically technology has changed since my childhood.

Most traditional ski lifts have now been replaced by high-speed chairlifts with a throughput of as many as 4000 passengers per hour.

T-bar ski lift nostalgia

I wanted to reflect on this observation and travel back in time with you. Did you know that the world's first ski lift was built in Davos? In 1934, a Zurich engineer devised the world's first ski lift. For the price of 50 Rappen, this ski lift by Gustav Constam would tow skiers some 270 meters uphill.

While this sounds like a revolution at the time, not everyone was equally amused. Religious-minded people regarded T-bar ski lifts as "flirting aids", an existential threat to monogamy. But T-bar ski lifts were a boost for winter tourism, often being used as a USP for hotels nearby a lift.

I still remember how the ski lift operator would hand me the T-bar, holding a cigar in his other hand. And how the "Ländler" folk music would blare from a radio nearby. I remember the small conversations with my grandfather, or with random strangers, on the way to the top. And sometimes, the lift would stop halfway because of teenagers horsing around and falling off their T-bars...

For the most part, this is history now. The latest chairlifts feature ~~six~~ eight seats, go at insane speeds, and are plastered with advertisements for local hotels and bars. Privacy is pretty much a thing of the past, as you have to share your ride with all these strangers eavesdropping on your conversations.

I wonder how much longer it will take for the iLift, a Google-powered touchscreen informing about slope conditions while delivering ads for sunscreen! Maybe it helps to get over the drawbacks and accept these technological marvels for what they are, as your butt is now being kept nice and toasty on the way to the top...