The crossbow ski lift is an invention of the Zurich engineer Ernst Gustav Constam. At first, the crossbow had the shape of a “J” which was placed under the buttocks and which could only shoot 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 during its first season of activity.
The “T” replaces the “J”
In the early winter of 1935, Davos ski instructor Jack Ettinger came up with the idea of replacing the “J”-shaped crossbow with a “T”-shaped one that could shoot two people. The capacity of the buttocks puller has thus been doubled, also giving it a romantic aspect with the possibility of flirting while going up the slope.
With the arrival of chairlifts, the flirt factor faded. Some think he even disappeared. On modern six-seater chairlifts, people are silent most of the time. Ski instructors swear by the ski lift because it extends the time spent on skis and improves coordination.
The buttock puller can be learned
Using the buttocks puller can be learned. Beginners often find themselves in difficulty. For children, the hardest part is getting rid of the crossbow upon arrival. For ski instructors, beginners learning the butt lift is a source of inexhaustible anecdotes. There are many falls. It is not uncommon for half of a class to fall during the climb.
For snowboarders, the ski lift is a challenge. They have to remove one foot from the bindings and are almost at a right angle to the buttocks puller. When the ski lift is long, the crossbow ends up causing pain in the thighs.
More and more chairlifts
With the arrival of an increasing number of snowboarders on the slopes in the 1990s, ski resorts replaced many crossbow lifts with chairlifts. Long butt lifts have almost completely disappeared from large ski areas. The chairlifts are faster and provide greater capacity.
Traditional ski lifts still represent 44% of the 1,650 ski lift installations in Switzerland. Most of them are found in the Pre-Alps. In these low altitude resorts, it is not worth investing in a chairlift due to the uncertainties linked to snow conditions.
