The IMPOSSIBLE skilift that actually exists
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- Traditional skilifts cannot turn in all four directions due to the way they are built. And yet there is one to defeat this limitation with a surprisingly simple invention. Discover the Hohstock skilift, built in 1982 and the very last of its kind located in Switzerland.
Technical data:
Location: Belalp (Naters VS), Switzerland
Length: 1815m
Altitute: 2654-3113m over sea level
Producers: Borer, Küpfer, Kissling
Further links (in German, use a translation service):
- Technical data: www.seilbahninventar.ch/objek...
- History (Belalp): www.belalp.ch/belalpbahnen/ge...
- Skilift technologies: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurvens...
- Liftworld (overview): seilbahntechnik.net/de/lifts/...
- Gondelbahn Monde (video of full ride): • Hohstock
00:00 Intro
00:27 Mighty ropeways
00:55 Skilift basics
01:28 The clamp
02:23 (Im)possible directions for turns
03:17 Partial solution 1: pushing the limits (Skilift at Bürchen)
03:47 Partial solution 2: turn until it fits (Skilift at Chäserrugg)
04:57 The impossible skilift (Hohstock, Belalp)
06:04 The solution that makes it possible anyway
07:35 More awesomeness - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
They really pulled out all the stops for that ski lift! It's like the designers were just having fun when they decided to make the last support float!
I haven't went skiing since 2014, and only on a small hill, but the engineering of this ski lift sounds fascinating. :) One of the many reasons I enjoy science and technology, and traveling.
It's only a counter balance to hold the lines tight !
Am always amazed when people use technology which could potentially be harmful to them if it broke and thinking that its all "fun" !!!
@@team3383 So you mean literally almost every piece of technology? Are you afraid of planes, cars and elevators too?
@@GowGows I'm afraid of people who think that technology which is there to protect them is a bit of fun !
The suspended reinforced concrete block is suspended to tighten the cables and be mobile thus leaving some wiggle room for the cable which is not taught as tight as a violin string FOR A REASON. Not for fun.
Try reading correctly next time.
@eblman Wow. Did I ever say I was afraid of handrails, airplanes, Cars or anything for that matter ???
Again you do not read the English language correctly.
Do you think - as the Author suggests - that an engineer had FUN (not the general public having fun sliding down them) designing and implementing a handrail up/down a staircase ?.
Cheers.
I've been riding the Hohstock lift for more than 10 years but I have never noticed the geniusnes of it until this random video popped up on my YT-frontpage. Have to pay more attention next time I'm there to actually appreciate the technical beauty of the lift!
Absolutely amazing, I’ve been skiing my entire life and I’ve always thought it was impossible for ski lifts to make large turns like that.
No idea how I ended up here, I don't even Ski, but this kind of observation and questioning mechanical solutions or just "how things work" is right down my slope. Interesting and very well explained, thanks!
See what you did there😂
They have one of those wierd turns at a T-bar lift in Åre, Sweden. Since seeing it for the first time I've been fascinated by it
Yes! I believe you refer to the Hamre lift in Duved (adjacent to and within the Åre skiresort area)?
@@christopherjeverud8543 Yeah, that's the one!
@@alfredsaalo1441 there is one in Finland too!
There's one at keystone too I think
There are multiple ones like that apart from Duved. For example in Björnen there are about 4 of those. And there are more in the "rör kullen" area.
Someday I'd love to ski in the Alps. The extent of the terrain blows my mind.
It is truly amazing
Put some money aside. Our skiable domain is vaste but it's also quite expensive. Not only to ride, but for hotels and food too.
@@thierryfaquet7405 It doesn't have to be that expensive. If you're from the USA, sure, but it's very common for Czech families to go skiing to the Alps in the winter. I'm talking about regular middle-class families.
@@westboy52 I’m swiss buddy. Swiss alps are expensive… And the average income of Czechs is way lower than the USA
@@thierryfaquet7405 Oh, Swiss Alps definitely are. Everything is ridiculously expensive for the average Czech in Switzerland. But Austria is alright. Also when I said "when you're from the USA" I had the flight ticket on my mind, which is a good chunk of money. Probably almost equal to a whole week of skiing in Austria.
The Hohstock is actually extremely fast and some years ago, you even went without ground contact for a second (they now filled the part in summer, so you don’t lift up).
Hi sorry what exactly is ground contact?
You mean since it’s a Tbar it would lift you while you are trying to hang on?
@@Svenshine That's what I'm wondering too
Do you mean air time when traversing a hill? That fast?
@@Svenshine probably just going so fast that you do a small jump when you go over a hill
You should see the Pomagalaski/Tatrapoma button lifts. They can do as many turns as you can imagine having just one rope, in addition, they are detachable. All this is due to a special, but very simple attachment to the rope. Old but beautiful pieces of engineering! They can be seen for example in CZ, SK, or FRA.
Pristine snow, gorgeous vistas and elegant engineering - these are a few of my favourite things.
Lovely exposition - thank you.
Great Video 🎥 Thank for explaining. 👍🏼
I've seen a button lift that can turn both ways through a mechanism resembling a middle station only there was no actual building. The bar would seamlessly detach from the rope and reattach to a new rope going at an angle, forming two loops. Some bars would dettach but others would remain and head back down following a logic I couldn't figure out. The real fun part began after the switch where the terrain would go downhill. So much so that your skis would start to outpace the lift itself, making it impossible to hold on to the bar. It caught me so unprepared that I had to do a couple of early dropouts to realize I needed to do a snowplow to get past that stretch.
sounds quite rough for snowboarders xD
That sounds like an interesting mechanism as well. I knew those existed for gondulas, but I haven't seen those for tow Lifts yet. I wonder which would be more expensive to build, the two ropes or the middle station.
@@dextrodus I doubt there's a significant difference. Drag lifts are relatively cheep installations that have a very long life expectancy. A reliability track record comparison could be interesting though.
@@gvaley POMA made a few detachable platter lifts back in the 1970s or 80s. They have a "magazine" of sorts that holds the detached bars at the bottom. There is a stoplight and when it turns green it releases the hanger onto the cable. There is one in Åre, Sweden (Vargenliften) and in Hemsedal in Norway. From what I have heard its absolute hell to maintain them compared to a normal platter or T bar lift.
@@maxcalabrese5962 Yup, that's the one I'm referring to. They still run, considering they were built in the 70s or 80s, so I guess they are not hard to maintain. But I've only seen one making a turn.
Holy cow! They have one with a turn in Breckenridge, too, and they do that whole dipsy-doo that you describe before getting to the Hohstock. I always wondered what the heck they were smoking when they designed it but now it makes perfect sense! The inside turn problem. Can't wait to quiz my ski buddies. ;)
Nice! Your revelation is exactly what I was hoping to provoke when I had the idea for this video. Thanks for sharing your reaction :-)
do you mean beckenried?
@@philippkaufmann8 I meant Breckenridge, CO USA. The Snowflake lift.
@@cswalker21 ohhh thanks for the info! Will be there next week and hope to check it out
Snowflake lift came to my mind first!
This is my absolute favourite type of videos to watch! Thank you so much for making it, the explanation you give makes this video so pleasant. I came here after watching your other skilift video btw ;)
Bro soo coool. Thank you for taking the time to make this video
Super cool video. Thanks for making it and giving me a tour of some resorts that I may never ski at.
Detachable ski lifts can turn in every directions since the fixation is around the cable. When the cable need to pass over a wheel, there is a guide to push the fixation to either side needed
This is definitely more cost effective, and a detachable station is limited in the angle it can turn
This is not true, to perform a turn the grip would have to detach from the cable with the use of a mid station, search "transarc tcd" on Google and you will see what I mean
@@caiwilkie6453 exactly
@@caiwilkie6453 thats how most of the bigger lifts works where i ski. theres a mid station where the lift detaches from the cable, then moved slowly with normal rubber wheels and lifted on the second cable after the turn. Its for 8 or 10 seaters usually.
An advantage of detaching is also that you can go faster since people can be gently accelerated up to the rope speed.
Gotta say, a kid who could come up with that solution is going to be a genius..
My family and I always went to Blatten-Belalp, I learned skiing there! How nice to find out 20 years later that this lift there is really special. And I love the tunnel, that black piste was my favorite even as a little boy.
That's actually pretty nice. Thanks for the vid. :)
So clever, and so simple. Great video - thank you.
This has been one of my favorite videos to watch :)
I knew this lift on Belalp. Now I understand why it has this two ropes. Thank you for this video!
Wow, that is really cool. What a simple and elegant solution!
My initial reaction to the question of how to turn both directions was to use detectable chairs at turn stations, but I have to admit this is a pretty unique solution I did not think of. I am not sure it would work safely for chairs and gondolas though, which is probably why you only see it for ground lifts.
Most of the ground lifts around here have been replaced. Still a few fixed grip chairs but even they are getting rare, short or less used lifts mostly.
Look up the Snowflake Lift at Breckenridge. It's a chairlift that makes a 45 degree turn
@@darrenleary5534 I found this video th-cam.com/video/0dysuh-0qJY/w-d-xo.html which doesn't really go into it but it looks like it uses 2 outside turns to make the inside turn on the way down like the first ground lift in this video. Pretty cool but I imagine no downloading.
@@darrenleary5534 I skiid by that last month and thought it was super wierd looking. Ive now gone full circle
It's so sad that most ground lifts are being replaced in most places...
This is awesome, thanks for creating.
Wow, awesome video, thanks for producing it
Thank you for this video. Appreciate it.
You just sent me down a rabbit hole. I remembered that back when I was really young, I knew a ski lift with two turns. It took me an hour to find out more details since it was replaced by a chairlift in 2001. Turns out it was "only" a Viereckslift, but it cleared a height difference of 500m in a total length of 1800m, much of it going through the middle of nowhere. As a kid, this was solid nightmare fuel. I still get flashbacks of the anxiety that hit me whenever one of the turns came up, because I was always expecting not to make it. I'm just glad I didn't start snowboarding until way later, because that thing probably would have ripped out my leg on the long run.
Highly informative. Thanks for sharing!
Well made video, thank you Kalsan! :)
great video, man!
Very cool vid, thanks!
Cool stuff my man thank you!
Tolle Aufnahmen, schön vorgetragen, gut erklärt!
My Step dad designed the first heated ski lift. He said this was a great challenge.
Wonderful video and commentary. Fascinating. Thankyou and best wishes from England
this video made me so happy hahah. Sehr schön erchlärt!
great video and explanation, there is more to a skilift than meets the eye
This is the best video on TH-cam. People must stop trying to beat it
im not a snowsportsman but i am an engineer and the setup to the problem and explanation to the solution was absolutely beautiful
Such a cool video, thank you!
Great video. Thanks for posting this. Have a nice day.
Pretty amazing, thanks for sharing!
very nice video! Easy and slowly explained! Thanks!
I just used those lift my whole life without thinking about how they work in detail. Amazing to see!
The parallel rope solution is incredibly satisfying, such a good idea!
Really well made video, you explained everything in a very entertaining way
This was actually interesting. Thanks
That was absolutely brilliant and very well explained, thank you very much!!
That is exceptionally satisfying!
Awesome info that I really never thought about on my ski trips. :D
Amazing video!
I've been skiing for 50 years and only now am I finally learning how ski lifts work....
Very cool video!
I'm actually amazed by such ingenuity and apparent simplicity !
LMAO when I clicked on this video, I did not expect to see that "weird lift" i spent almost every winter of my childhood.
Thank you for sharing this interesting solution
that is a perfect definition of a genius solution. Just
Bravo
This was amazing. I'm gonna have to go and check this out. (Fortunately I live in Vaud, Switzerland).
The side by side cables and T mount idea was a good one. I believe it would make for a much safer lift over all, not just on the turns and supports. Nice video. Thanks.
Nice video. Interesting stuff!
Cool, fascinating video! Have seen a lot of ski lifts but nothing like this! Thanks for documenting....very well done!
Thank you for your lovely comments on multiple videos! I read every comment and even though I cannot reply to all of them, they motivate my to do similar videos in the future, when I have some time.
As an engineer and a skier, this is the coolest video I’ve seen on TH-cam
Wow, what an awesome video! First it's very well explained, and I never saw the final solution despite being a ropeway enthusiast myself. It's pretty clever!
As other solutions, there is the triangluar shape, where the descending side is not parallel to the ascending one ; or that Poma lift in an indoor ski slope with a bull wheel featuring a notch ; or on a bigger ropeway, that awesome "wave" where they used the principle described at 3:43 to the extreme, basically adding those tamer curves one after the other.
Huh. Funny you’re here. I swear, you pop up in the most in-roller coaster related content I can think of.
What it looks like when you have a mission but unlimited budged unlocked... Truly amazing
Nice video thanks. :)
Beautiful
Brings back memories, I spent many years in Belalp riding that lift.
Tatra poma solved that issue by using springs and protectors on big wheels. From my experience it was a little bit prone to accidents and the rope fell if someone dropped at the right time. So when we fell we know we have to release before or after that big support wheel.
fantastic!
That is some unique, yet simple engineering. Wow the views are spectacular.
Love the mechanical genius solutions like this!
Wonderful!
It's pure genius, it's got to be the most amazing skilift i have ever seen... I have always had a preference for surface lifts over aerial ones as well.
That is really kewl!
I made a skitour with friends around this skilift and admired its unique way of dealing with curves. At this time, it was not yet in function, as the main season had not begun, but now, it is running again and I might go there skiing, just to see this amazing piece of engineering in function later this winter.
I saw in the Verkehrshaus Luzern that this is the VonRoll patent lift. They had even chair lifts with two ropes. Great video!
From the title I thought this was clickbait but it's actually a cool vid. Well done!
When I was a child I used to attempt to build chairlifts using mechano. I was always fascinated with machines and engineering involved.
So far the Flaschen Gondelbahn is my favourite. It has a certain character. Great video, thanks.
Expected a lift that makes one turn and thought of the crossover solution (seen those before, quite fun indeed).
Wasn't disappointed by the actual impossible lift. Nice solution :)
ingenious design!
Nice, I could have never thought of that.
Rächt genial, das hett ich nöd erwartet! Ausserdem ein super cooles Video!
So clever, so simple!
Love it!
As a Yank I'm surprised to see people loading themselves on a T-Bar and on a fixed grip. Here in the states, we have too many lawyers and too many idiots to just trust people to safely board a lift without someone there to help them
In the 1970s Doppelmayr did a big sell of self loading T-bars to ski resorts in Australia. Needless to say people couldn't load onto them properly and after a couple of years of carnage, every one of those self loaders got a liftie to place the T under skiers bums.
In Romania all the T-Bars I've seen had a liftie. BUT. If you think you can't handle putting a T-Bar under your ass, you'll have to wait for the liftie to finish their cigarette, and you better let everyone else in front of you until then.
I'm exaggerating a bit of course, but yeah, there's a liftie, who sometimes help, but they're mostly there to press the stop button if someone manages to get tangled, legs up, face in snow.
there's always that one guy who hates safety.
Well sometimes you have to do it yourself, and in my opinion and I hope most of my swiss and Austrian friends agree, when you are not capable to lift urself on a tbar u should not be allowed to ski alone in such a terrain. And thank god you could not sue someone because you are to retadet to use a infrastructure given to you by someone else.
Cool stuff
Very good Fritz
Thanks for sharing this knowledge. I will never look at a skilift the same again 😁
Clever! I wish more of these double-rope T-bars were built.
WOW. I had no idea how little I knew about ski lifts.
Awesome video, very well put togehter and with a nice progression. I always thought that whatever happen, a lift could only turn left or right. That system is genius !
Great video. I knew about Käserrugg, taken it many times, but forgot it only turns in one direction.
Truly awesome! The only chairlift, which makes turns, that I have ridden is at Chaika resort on the Black sea coast in Bulgaria. It was built back in the 80s and connects the hotels up the hill with the beach down, making a 90 degrees turn in the middle. Since it is a standard fixed grip chairlift, it uses the "two sharp left turns, to make it go right" concept for the outward turn.
I've grown up with the Hohwald Skilift in Beatenberg, Switzerland, which does a nearly 80° left turn. As Kids we would sit beside the turn and laugh people and tourists from outside, falling from the T-bars around the corner, as we of course knew the trick how to do it :)
This is a very well done video. It's interesting to see how different and unique this t-bar is.
It's not really unique. There's a chairlift in Colorado that does it too.
A nice video. TH-cam was suggesting it to me for a couple of weeks but I was ignoring it because I thought it must have been some non-sense. But now I'm glad I clicked on it after all :-) The turns must be difficult for snowboard beginners.
amazing engineering!
You have a very pleasant way of presenting; your voice is very calming and soothing. Audiobooks about astrophysics and philosophy would sound very therapeutic
Awesome!