HOW SKI LIFTS WORK

Boxes, poles, chairs and belts combine to carry skiers to the top of snowy mountains

- AILSA HARVEY

Skiing would be far more exerting if it weren't for ski lifts. These practical inventions allow skiers to sit, relax and absorb dramatic views as they're transported up a mountainside to altitudes thousands of metres above sea level, with their skis dangling above blanketed pistes. This saves hours of hard, uphill graft. Behind the peaceful ride, steel cables and giant wheels work nonstop inside powerful machines.

The type of ski lift you ride can vary drastically based on the ski resort or the piste terrain. Aerial lifts are suspended in the air and include chairlifts, gondolas, basket lifts and cable cars. Chairlifts are the most common type of all ski lifts, working as a conveyor of chairs attached to a continuously moving motor-driven cable. At the bottom of the chairlift, skiers stand in a line, and as the chair moves behind them, it scoops them up for a voyage up the mountain. When seated, skiers need to pull down a safety bar from above their heads to prevent them falling mid-journey.

Gondolas use a similar system but are larger, enclosed carriages that a few people can step into at a time. These usually have buckets attached to the outside for skis and snowboards to be carried outside the vehicle. Basket lifts are enclosed from the waist down and carry a couple of people, who stand in a basket-shaped container. One of the largest lift types are cable cars. Usually, only two of these operate, with one car moving upwards and one downwards at any one time. Cable cars can carry anywhere from 10 to 120 people depending on their size.