Australian ski tow directory

From WikiSki

This article lists all of the roughly 350 Australian ski lifts that have operated, including a few dozen 'ski' lifts away from the snowfields. The dates cited are the ski seasons a lift operated (or if a particular lift didn't run in poor snow seasons, the seasons it was available to operate). Also included are a few planned lifts where details have been published (rather than just the fantasies of posters in chat rooms).

Only the "Big Five" resorts (Buller, Falls, Hotham, Perisher and Thredbo) have quad chairs, the smaller resorts have a combination of drag tows, double chairs and triple chairs. It's worth noting that the big Victorian resorts tend to replace their lifts far more often than their NSW counterparts. In the last 60 years there have been 16 lifts built to serve Bourke Street on Mt Buller. By contrast the Mt Perisher double chair is close to it's 50th birthday and many other lifts at Perisher (and to a lesser extent Thredbo) are not much younger.

Ski lifts outside resorts. Generally the clubs that operate lifts on Mt St Bernard, the Bogong High Plains and at Cabramurra don't permit non members to use their lifts, as their liability insurance doesn't cover outsiders. But if you know someone or even just smile sweetly, you may be able to use their tows. For more detailed information see the separate article non resort ski tows. The pre-war ski resort at Donna Buang had at least four ski lodges, cleared ski runs and wooden ski jumps, but it never had ski tows. Likewise both the Feathertop Bungalow and Mt St Bernard Hospice were very popular commercial ski lodges before they were burnt in the 1939 fires, but no lifts were built at either location until the 1950's when a couple of tows were installed on St Bernard. The present cross country ski resorts at Lake Mountain and Mt Stirling have never had lifts either, a system of chairlifts was proposed for Stirling in the 1990's, but they were not built.

Finally, this sort of research takes time! In particular the Buffalo and Perisher sections need more work. There will be a few more corrections as more accurate information is tracked down. If you notice any errors or omissions, please correct them yourself or email the information to sisson.dave at yahoo.com.au --© David Sisson 01:05, 5 July 2007 (EST)

Contents 1 Links 2 Types of ski lifts 3 Australian Capital Territory 4 Ben Lomond 5 Charlotte Pass 6 Falls Creek 7 Mt Baw Baw 8 Mt Buffalo, Draft 9 Mt Buller 10 Mt Hotham 11 Mt Mawson 12 New South Wales, outside resorts 13 Perisher Blue 14 Selwyn Snowfields 15 Thredbo 16 Victoria, outside resorts 17 Ski lifts away from the snowfields

Links

• A useful illustrated glossary of ski lift terms. It's American, so some terms may be a little different.

Ski lift directories.

• A directory of North American ski lifts.

• A directory of Swiss ski lifts. Despite a basic English interface, much of the text is in German.

• Lift World includes lifts in most countries, but there are lots of omissions and only two Australian resorts have (incomplete) entries.

Ski lift manufacturers.

• BMF (Bartholet Maschinenbau AG). A new Swiss entrant in the market. They haven't installed a lift in Australia or New Zealand yet.
• . . . . BMF website. BMF ropeways publicity book (big download).

• Doppelmayr: all areas.

• . . . . Poma: Europe.

• Leitner: Europe.

• Leitner - Poma: North America.

• Wikipedia list of former manufacturers. Incomplete and excludes some companies such as Yac that have installed lifts in Australia.

Types of ski lifts

Chairlifts can seat one, two, three, four, six or eight people per chair. Most chairlifts are fixed grip, with chairs directly attached to the lift cable. Detachable chairlifts remove the chair from the cable at the top and bottom stations, allowing passengers to get on and off a slow moving chair (around 1 metre per second). This means the main cable can move at a much faster speed, around 5 metres per second, compared to an average of 2.3 for fixed grip chairlifts. However they are much more expensive to build and maintain, so the more economical, but slower fixed grip lifts are still being at built at major resorts around the world.

Australia's first single chairlift was built at Falls Creek by Bob Hymans in 1957. The first double chair was Thredbo's Crackenback in 1958. Triple chairs appeared in 1979 when Grimus at Buller and the Mt Perisher Triple were built. 1984 saw the advent of the quad chair with Big D at Hotham and Blue Bullets 1 and 2 at Buller. Australia's only eight seat chairlift is Perisher's Village built in 2003 and the only 'six pack' in the country is Holden which opened at Buller in 2008. Buller's Blue Bullets were also notable for being the first detachable chairlifts in the country.

Chairlift capacity is determined by the speed of the cable, the number of people per chair and the spacing of chairs. The highest capacity for a quad is 3000 per hour, which would mean a fairly quick 4.8 second chair interval. However most 4CF's have a nominal capacity of around 2400. The real number moved is usually lower due to stoppages and the lift not running at full speed. Some lifts also have 'generously' spaced towers, meaning that chairs have to be spaced further apart to keep the weight on the cable down.

Gondolas. A gondola is an enclosed cabin where passengers walk in and sit down facing each other. There are usually racks on the outside for skis and snowboards. At overseas ski fields and in Australian tourist areas, gondolas are a separate type of lift. While there are no dedicated gondolas in Australian ski fields, Buller's Horse Hill chairlift and Thredbo's Kosciusko Express chairlift have gondola cabins which can be attached to the cable between chairs.

Surface lifts. All resorts started out with surface lifts (also called drag tows). They are much cheaper to build and maintain than chairlifts and are not as vulnerable to high winds. However they are not as 'beginner friendly', and they usually have a much lower capacity. They also need a consistent uphill slope. Sadly, surface lifts have been phased out by most major resorts except for areas high above the treeline that are exposed to strong winds. However at Perisher and the smaller resorts, they continue to play an important role.

Carpets. A carpet lift is simply a short conveyor belt. They are used exclusively for beginners on gentle slopes as they do not require any technique to ride them other than the ability to stand up.

T-bars. T-bars consist of several parts. The first is a stick with a bar across the bottom which looks a little like an inverted T shape. Skiers and boarders sit on this bar, holding on to the central stick. This is connected to a retractable cord running from a spring box which is permanently attached to the main lift cable. Because they are fixed grip, T-bars tend to run at fairly modest speeds.

J-Bars. Essentially they are single T-bars. A few were built in the early days of ski lifts, but none have been built in Australia for half a century because they cost the same to build and run as T-bars, but only transport half as many people. However after snowboarders experienced difficulties riding the platters at Ben Lomond, some J-bars were added to lifts at that resort for the 2009 season.

Platters. Platter lifts look a bit like Pomas because the skiers are hauled uphill by a button between their legs, but they are fixed grip and the platter has a retractable cord connected to a spring box, so they operate like single seat T-bars.

Pomas. Pomas are the only detachable grip surface lift. Sticks are stored in a rack at the bottom of the lift. Passengers move to the front of the lift queue, grab the stick and put the button between their legs. At the same time, the grip at the top end of the stick attaches to a moving overhead cable. This can either by manually activated by a liftie or automatically by the skiers tripping a switch as they move past. Because they are detachable, Pomas are by far the fastest drag lift, the legendary International Poma at Falls Creek had a speed of 4.2 metres per second until a new and slower motor was installed. Pomas are the only drag tow found at resorts where self loading works in practice (although this is standard procedure for nutcracker tows at club fields). There have been experiments with self loading T-bars and platters, but skiers and boarders don't seem to be able to cope with them.

Nutcrackers. Some modern skiers who don't venture beyond the main resorts are unfamiliar with nutcracker tows. Most resorts in Australia and New Zealand began with them. While they have been replaced at the big resorts, nutcrackers can still be found at 'club fields'. A nutcracker is a device attached to a belt worn by a skier that clamps onto a moving rope at waist level, allowing the skier to be towed uphill. The height of the rope and the pulleys that support it is adjusted according to snow levels. While it may not be necessary to use a nutcracker on short, gently graded rope tows, it is impossible for skiers to hold onto a rope with their hands on steeper tow lines or where the rope passes over a pulley. Nutcrackers explained

Handle tows. Short portable ski lifts with plastic handles permanently attached to a waist high cable. To move uphill, a skier just grabs one of the handles and holds on!

Rope tows. This term is often used to include nutcrackers and handle tows, but a pure rope tow is one where the skier or boarder simply grasps the rope in their hands. They are only practical for short and very gently graded slopes. Typical examples are the Canyon tows at Buller which assist skiers over slight bumps on a mostly downhill access trail.

Australian Capital Territory

Location	Owner	Operated	Name	Notes
Mt Franklin	Canberra Alpine Club	1957 - late 60's	Brumby Tow	Operated on Little Ginini, Slalom Run, Nursery Run
Mt Franklin	Canberra Alpine Club	1965 only	Austin A40 Tow	Operated on Slalom Run
Little Ginini	John Dowling	1959 - 1960	-	Moved to Mt Selwyn
Mt Ginini	RMC Ski Club	1957 - mid 60's	-	-
Corin Forest	Corin Forest	1980's & 90's	-	May have been upgraded to a Poma, but details are vague.

All A.C.T. ski tows were rope tows, although the Corin Forest tow may have been upgraded to a Poma at some stage. For more detailed information see the non resort tows article. --© David Sisson 01:31, 23 July 2007 (EST)

Ben Lomond

. .

Lift name	Type	Manufacturer	Operated	Location	Notes
Thirty Second	Rope tow	-	1963 - 1984	Above current Bass tow	NTAC. Extended at base 1973, at top 1975
Big Ben	Rope tow	-	1967 - 1984	B/w Fanny's & Bill's	NTAC. Used parts from Mt Buller's Bourke St rope tow
Summit	Platter	Yac	1973 - 1991	-	Alpine Enterprises. 370 m long, 80 m rise
Fanny's	Platter	Yac	1973 - 1978	-	Alpine Enterprises. 300 m long, 73 m rise
Beginners / Village	Platter	Yac	1973 - present	-	A.E. 300 m long, 35 m rise. Renamed in 1980's
Giblin	Platter	Yac	1976 - present	-	AE. Closed 09, PWS refused maint access to tower by vehicle or heli
Fanny's	T-bar	Doppelmayr	1979 - present	-	Alpine Enterprises
Creek Run	Platter	Yac	1979 - present	-	Relocated Fanny's platter
Bill's	T-bar	Doppelmayr	1985 - present	-	Alpine Enterprises
Thirty Second	Poma	Pomagalski	1985 - 2002?	Above current Bass tow	NTAC. Formerly on Mt Buller Summit
Big Ben	Poma	Pomagalski	1985 - 2002?	B/w Fanny's & Bill's	NTAC. Formerly on Mt Buller Summit
Summit	T-bar	Doppelmayr	1992 - present	-	Alpine Enterprises
Bass	Poma?	-	? - present	-	Built on lower section of 30 Sec, used some of its parts
Planned lifts	.
Creek Inn-base of Bill's	2-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	c.1990	Thirty Second	TSL. Formerly Mt Buller's Bourke St chair. See note below
Village - Thirty Second	T-bar	Doppelmayr	2009	-	Relocate & extend Fannys. Base of Vil - top of Fannys
Big Ben slope	Platter	Yac	2009	-	Relocated Village Platter

In common with Mt Buller and Mt Baw Baw, for a time Ben Lomond's ski tows were run by two companies. Alpine Enterprises (AE) was established in 1973 by Eryl Williams, Brian Hill and Arvids Endelmanis. The Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club's (NTAC) first tow was built by Eddie Hausegger and Bill Mitchell in 1963. In 1990 the lifts were split off from the club to become Tasmanian Ski Lifts (TSL).

Installation of the chairlift was repeatedly delayed by bureaucracy, eventually TSL simply gave up trying to get around the new barriers that were constantly put in the way of installing the lift and abandoned the project. Early this century the chairlift was still stored on a nearby farm, but apparently the drive terminal was then sold to a horse breeder to be used for training purposes while the rest was sold as scrap metal. :(

Some years after the chairlift fiasco, TSL was refused permission to operate their Pomas by the former Ben Lomond Skifield Management Authority and told to remove their lifts. Eventually AE was given salvage rights to them and Thirty Second and Big Ben were removed.

Current trail map. A 3D map showing the former routes of Thirty Second and Big Ben (as black dotted lines).

More on Ben Lomond history.

David M. Harvey. The Ben Lomond Story. The author, 2000.

Thanks to "Ben Lomond Brad" and "Bulldozer" for help with this list. --© David Sisson 20:10, 4 August 2007 (EST)

Charlotte Pass

. .

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
Ski Hoist, aka. The Meat Hook	J-bar	1938 - 1952	Pulpit Rock	2nd ski tow in Australia. Replaced by rope tow
Sponar's	Rope tow	1952?	Wood Run	Was to operate in '53, but Sponar ill with T.B.
Pulpit Rock	Rope tow	1953 - 1963	-	Replaced The Hoist
Woodrum	Rope tow	1958 - 1963	Chalet Dam-Lit Stillwell	600 metres long, replaced by the double chair
Thredbo Valley-Stillwell Restaurant	Double chair	1964 - 1965	-	Abandoned due to strong winds & derailing -
Stillwell Restaurant-Charlotte Pass	Double chair	1964 - 1965	-	- Combined length = 5 km. Cost £1,200,000!
Pulpit	Poma	1964 - 1966	-	Replaced by a T-bar. Poma moved to Basin
Rope Tow	Portable rope	19?? - 2008?	-	Usually operated between Basin and Kangaroo
Guthries	Poma	1964 - present	-	Occasionally spelt 'Gutheries' on trail maps
Basin	Poma	1967 - present	-	Moved from Pulpit
Pulpit	T-bar	1967 - present	-	Replaced a Poma. May have been duplex T-bar in 1970's
Kangaroo Ridge/Kosciusko	Triple chair	1980 - present	-	Name changed 2009?
Kosci Carpet	Carpet	2009?- present	B/w Basin & Kosci triple	-

Information on the 1960's Pulpit lifts is a bit ambiguous. Sponar's tow had previously run at St Christoph, Austria in 1949, it was the first tow at that resort. Woodrum may have been demolished at the end of the 1962 winter rather than after the 1963 season. Current trail map.

The former Thredbo Valley - Charlotte Pass chairlifts have their own WikiSki page here. Components have been reassembled at Wollongong where the lift still operates. See Section 15 Ski lifts away from snowfields at the bottom of this page.

More on Charlotte Pass history.

Rick Walkom. Skiing off the roof: the Kosciusko Chalet at Charlotte Pass and its place in the history of the Australian snowfields. Arlberg Press, 1991. Reprinted by Tabletop Press, 2000. --© David Sisson 15:22, 16 July 2007 (EST)

1963 map of Charlotte Pass and Guthega showing the ski lifts of the day and the proposed Kosciusko hydro reservoir and power station which were never built. Click to enlarge.	The mid station of the ill fated chairlift between Thredbo Valley and Charlotte Pass
Views of Australia's second ski lift, the Charlotte Pass ski hoist or Meathook J-bar built in 1938	Another view of the CP "Meathook". Click to enlarge

Falls Creek

. . . .

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
Nissen	Rope tow Hamilton	1951 - 1960	Summit	Toni St Elmo. Capacity 5. 6/- day in 1951
Myrtleford Ski Club lift	Rope tow	1951 - ?	?	Designed and built by Gordon Mulder
Hymans Skyline	Rope tow	1950's	-	Bob Hymans
Hymans Chair	1-Chair-F	1957 - 1960?	Near Grand Couer run.	1st chairlift in Aust. 40 chairs, 375 metres
Village	Rope tow	1958 - 1960	Lower Village run	Jock Wilson & co
Collis (?)	Rope tow	1958 - 1960	Left of Nissen, Summit area	Marsh Collis and others
Summit	T-bar	1961 - 1991	-	Alpine Developments run by Bill Bridgeford
Village / Spur	T-bar	1961 - 1999	-	Replaced and extended Village rope tow
Gully	2-Chair-F	1964 - 1981	-	456 m long, 76 m vertical
Nursery / Baby	Poma	1964 -2001?	Near current Tube lift	Still in operation 1998
Sun Valley	T-bar	1967 - 1988	-	Replaced by Scott quad chair
International	Poma	1969 - present	-	1,216 m long, 278 m vertical
Saddle / Link Lift	T-bar	1969 - 2000?	-	Still operating '98, towers still standing '08
Nursery (baby) duplicate	Poma	1972 - 2000?	-	-
Ruined Castle	Poma	1973 - 1994	-	-
Mighty Mite	Portable handle tow	1970's	Various.	Unsure of precise name and dates
Lakeside	Poma	1976 - present	-	-
Dogpatch	Poma	1979 - 1992?	B/w Nursery and Summit	-
Panorama	Poma	1979 - 2003?	-	-
Playground / Monkey Bar	Poma	1980 - present	-	Slightly repositioned & renamed in 2006
Eagle	Triple chair	1980 - present	-	-
Headwater	Poma	1980 - 2003?	B/w Summit & Ruined Cas	Still operating in 1998
Towers	Twin T-bar	1981 - 1998	-	-
Gully	3-Chair-F	1982 - present	-	Replaced Gully double chairlift
Big Dipper	Twin T-bar	1983 - 1999?	South west of Ruined Castle	Possibly gone by 1998
Playground duplicate	Poma	1984 - 2005?	Between Scott & Lakeside.	-
Tom Thumb	Poma	1986 - 2005	Present Mouse Trap site	-
Halleys Comet/ Bilia/ Express	4-Chair-D	1986 - present	-	Bilia Bullet '02?-'04, Falls Express '06 -
Scott	Quad chair	1989 - present	-	Replaced Sun Valley T-bar
Summit	Quad chair	1992 - present	-	Replaced Summit T-bar
Ruined Castle	Quad chair	1995 - present	-	Replaced Ruined Castle Poma
Towers	Quad chair	1999 - present	-	Replaced Towers twin T-bar
Boardwalk	Carpet lift	2004 - present	-	-
The Tube	Carpet lift	2004 - present	Site of Nursery Poma	-
Drover's Dream	Quad chair	2004 - present	-	Replaced Panorama Poma
Mouse Trap	Enclosed carpet	2006 - present	Site of Tom Thumb Poma	Replaced Tom Thumb poma
Planned tows	.
Rocky Knolls	"Chairlift"	???	Beyond old Big Dipper T-bar	Approved circa 2004, 587 m long
Damsite	"Surface lift"	???	West of Rocky Knolls	Approved circa 2004, 750 m long.
Mt McKay lifts	Chairlift system	"Before 2012"	-	Mentioned in E.E.S. for above in 2002

The removal of the Big Dipper, Headwaters and Village lifts has greatly reduced the amount of easily accessible lifted terrain compared to the 1990's. Recent trail map.

It appears it was intended to build Damsite from components of Big Dipper that were in storage. The storage shed was burnt in the 2003 fires and since then the rumour has been that if Damsite is ever built, it will be a chairlift.

International Poma. The 'Inter' is a unique lift and even has it's own fan page on Facebook. The International Poma was built in 1969 and was equipped with a V12 diesel engine. It could have sticks attached every 6 metres along it's 1216 metre length and run at up to 4.2 metres a second, making it the fastest drag tow in the southern hemisphere. Kids could get serious air time going around the corner... whee!

The combination of high speed and loading punters close together gave the Inter a similar capacity to duplex T-bars such as Towers and Big Dipper. Now the (single speed) electric drive only powers the tow at 2.4 metres per second, so it's much slower and slightly less fun. But it remains the longest cornered Poma this side of the equator and even with a much lower speed, it's lifting capacity still matches that of some chairlifts, which is probably why it hasn't been replaced despite it's extreme age.

More on Falls Creek history:

Julian Newton Brown. Falls Creek: how it came to be. Janby Productions, 2005.

Bob Howe. Melting tracks: history and memories of Albury Ski Club and early Falls Creek. The author, 2004. --© David Sisson 14:17, 9 July 2007 (EST)

Bob Hymans' single chair at Falls Creek in the late 1950's.

Another view of Bob Hyman's chairlift. Click to enlarge.

Mt Baw Baw

. .

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
Hut	Rope tow	1955 - 1976	-	Baw Baw Ski Club. Cost £200. Replaced by a platter.
Painted Run	Rope tow	Early 60's - ?	-	Baw Baw Ski Club. East of T-bar that replaced it. Later duplicated
Access	2-Chair-F	1970 - 1999	-	Gippsland Chairlift Co. Access to village from carpark, also for skiing
Maltese Cross	T-bar	1971,2 or 3-present	-	Dartos Ltd.
Hut Run	Platter	1975 or 77-present	-	Baw Baw Ski Tows. (formerly Baw Baw Ski Club).
Beginners?	Rope tow	1977 - >1981	B/w Hut & Maltese	BBST. Short tow from Base of Hut Run Platter towards Old Hut Run
Summit	T-bar	1979 - present	-	Baw Baw Ski Tows
Big Hill	Platter	1980 - c.2002	-	Dartos Ltd.
Big Hill Access	Poma	78><86 - present	-	Dartos. Used as tubing lift from 2002? until 2007. Now for skiers
Tank Hill	Platter	1983 - present	-	-
Painted Run	T-bar	1985 - present	-	B.B.S.T. Now nicknamed Fawlty Towers due to chronic unreliability
Magic Carpet	Carpet	2004 - present	Behind Skiosk	-

From 1971 - 1980 skiers had to choose between two lift companies. The chairlift merged with the combined tow company in 1988. In the dates operated field "78><86" indicates that the lift was installed at some time between 1978 and 1986.

The Access chairlift is still in storage at Drouin, but a chair from the lift is on display on the veranda of Kelly's Cafe. The latest gossip is that it may have been sold to Charlotte Pass, although what they would want to do with a 40 year old double chair is anyone's guess!

Current trail map. Thanks to Ray Chapman, "HiLo", "sooty68" and Andrew Graham for help. --© David Sisson 12:15, 22 July 2007 (EST)

Mt Buffalo, Draft

. .

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
Cresta area	.
Cresta	Rope tow	1937 - 1938	-	1937 = 108 m, ext to 180 m in '38. built from old train tracks, burnt Jan '39
?	Double chair	196? - ?	Cresta Saddle	Part of Ollie Polasek’s Tatra development
?	T-bar	196? - <1984	-	Part of Ollie Polasek’s Tatra development
?	Poma	196? - ?	-	Part of Ollie Polasek’s Tatra development
?	Double chair	>1984 - ?	-	Cost $200,000, many teething problems
Operating in '06	.
Cresta	Poma	? - 2006	-	Some of these are original 1960's Tatra tows
Gully	Poma	? - 2006	-	Some of these are original 1960's Tatra tows
Cresta Valley	Double chair	? - 2006	-	Some of these are original 1960's Tatra tows
Valley	Double chair	? - 2006	-	Some of these are original 1960's Tatra tows
Novice	Poma	? - 2006	-	Some of these are original 1960's Tatra tows
Dingo Dell area	.
The Nutcracker	Rope tow	1949 - >1962	-	£300. Built by Canadians Herb Hall & Paul Heikkila. 6d ride, 10/- week
?	Poma?	196? - ?	-	Cost $20,000

Dingo Dell’s last season was probably 1988, at the time there was a rope tow and two Pomas there. Cresta’s last season was 2006 when five lifts remained. It is unlikely they will ever run again. Final (2006) map for the Cresta area before it closed for ever.

None of the histories of Mt Buffalo pay much attention to the precise dates, location or names of ski tows, so the information in this table is rather vague. Any accurate information would be appreciated. Please email sisson.dave at yahoo.com.au

In December 2006, The Buffalo Lodge (Tatra Inn) burnt down and the lessees relinquished their lease of the Buffalo Chalet in January 2007. The Chalet still stands. At the moment it is still fairly structurally sound, but it is unlikely to operate again, as the state government is unwilling to grant a lease long enough to justify the huge expenditure required to make it attractive to guests. Unless the Chalet is occupied and maintained, it is only a matter of time until a storm or fire damages it irreparably. It all makes a sad end to Victoria’s first ski resort, Australia's oldest surviving ski lodge and the site of Australia's first ski tow.

Thanks to "Wangaratta_bloke" for info on Dingo Dell. --© David Sisson 14:17, 3 August 2007 (EST)

Mt Buller

. . . .

Lift name	Type	Manufacturer	Operated	Length/Vert	Location	Notes
Bourke St	Rope tow	Home made	1949 - 1958	270 / 180	-	Ski Club of Victoria.
Bull Run	Nutcracker	-	1953 - 1954	-	-	Blue. Relocated to Mt St Bernard, still operates
Bull Run	Nutcracker	-	1955 - 1961	-	-	Blue (John Hilton-Wood)
Baldy	Portable rope tow	-	1957 - 1961	-	-	Blue (Ernest & Aurel Forras, John Hilton-Wood)
Tyrol / Little Baldy	Rope tow	-	1957 - 1962	c.300/???	Tyrol	Maurice Selle
Skyline / Little Collins St	Rope tow	-	1959 - 1961	-	Skyline	Blue Lifts (then named Bull Run Enterprises)
Koflers / Transportation	Nutcracker	-	1959 - 1963	-	-	Orange (then named Ski Lifts Mt Buller)
Bourke St	T-bar	Locally made	1959 - 1968	-	Bourke St	Orange. Parts later used at either Guthega or Ben Lomond
Federation	T-bar	-	1959 - 1980	-	Federation	Orange Lifts
Bourke St	Double rope tow	-	1961 - 1963	-	Bourke St	Orange Lifts
Chamois	Rope tow	-	1961 - 1963	-	-	Konrad Koch, bought by Blue and replaced with a Poma
Bull Run	T-bar	-	1962 - 1984	638 / 240	Bull Run	Blue Lifts
Skyline	T-bar	-	1963 -present	480 / 90	-	Blue Lifts
Shaky Knees/Swanston St	T-bar	-	1963 - 2004	-	-	Orange. Replaced by Northside/Emirates quad chair
Bourke St	2-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	1964 - 1983	-	Bourke St	Blue Lifts. First Doppelmayr double chair in the world
Summit	Poma	Pomagalski	1964 - 1983	-	-	Orange, rebuilt at Ben Lomond as 30 Sec & Big Ben
Summit Access/Howqua	Poma	Pomagalski	1964 - 1983	-	-	Orange. Loaded at both ends. Replaced Koflers / Transportation
Chamois	Poma	Pomagalski	1965 - 1987	-	-	Blue Lifts, extended in 1968
Boggy Creek	T-bar	-	1967 -present	-	-	Orange Lifts.
Summit duplicate	Poma	Pomagalski	1968 - 1983	-	-	Orange, rebuilt at Ben Lomond as 30 Sec & Big Ben
Whittaker	Poma	Pomagalski	1969 - 1981	-	near Village run	Blue. Replaced by Village T-bar
Baldy	Duplex Poma	-	1969 - 1985	-	Heli Flat-Baldy	Orange Lifts
Tyrol / Tirol	T-bar	-	1972 -present	-	Orig to Baldy	Orange. Shortened in '87. Spelling change c.2004
Beginners / Ski School	T-bar	-	1974 - 2003	-	Mid Bourke St	Orange. Replaced by Carpet
Baldy	2-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	1974 - 1983	-	-	Blue Lifts.
Beginners	Carousel	-	1976 - 1977	-	Helicopter Flat	Orange Lifts
Koflers	T-bar	-	1977 -present	-	-	Orange Lifts
Enzian	Poma	Pomagalski	1979 - 1996	-	Upper Chamois	Blue Lifts
Grimus	3-Chair-F	-	1979 -present	800 / 192	-	Orange Lifts
Burnt Hut Spur	3-Chair-F	-	1980 -present	310 / 105	-	Orange Lifts
Sun Valley	Poma	Pomagalski	1980 - 1985	-	B/w Bull & Fed	Blue Lifts
Federation	3-Chair-F	-	1981 -present	1000/ 332	-	Orange Lifts. Replaced & extended T-bar
Horse Hill	3-Chair-F	-	1982 - 1985	-	-	Orange Lifts. Moved to Helicopter Flat in 1986
Village	T-bar	-	1982 - 2003	-	-	Blue Lifts. Replaced & extended Whittaker Poma
Playground	Poma	Pomagalski	1983 - 1991	-	West of Skyline	Blue Lifts
Blue Bullet 1	4-Chair-D	Doppelmayr	1984 -present	-	Lowr Bourke St	Not oldest remaining detach quad operating, some Euro '83 lifts still
Blue Bullet 2	4-Chair-D	Doppelmayr	1984 - 2007	-	Baldy	Blue Lifts.
Summit	4-Chair-F	-	1984 -present	-	-	Orange Lifts
Howqua	4-Chair-F	-	1984 -present	-	-	Orange. Eng, twr heads & bullwheels are for triple, other parts are quad
Spurs / Trainer	T-bar	-	1984 -present	-	-	Orange Lifts
Bull Run	4-Chair-F	-	1985 -present	-	-	Blue Lifts
Horse Hill	4/4-Chair/Gond-D	Doppelmayr	1986 -present	-	-	106 chairs, 20 gondolas. First ski gondola in Australia
Helicopter Flat / ABOM	3-Chair-F	-	1986 - 2007	-	-	Replaced Baldy, moved from Horse Hill. Renamed 03. Sold to Selwyn
Dam	Rope tow	-	1987 -present	-	Near Spurs	-
Southside	4-Chair-F	-	1990 -present	-	Federation area	-
Ski Kindy No. 1	Rope tow	-	1991 -present	-	-	_
Wombat	4-Chair-F	-	1993 -present	-	-	-
Chamois	2-Chair-F	-	1993 -present	-	-	-
Canyon Rope Tows	Two rope tows	-	1997 -present	-	S of bus station	Very gentle grade, link between Chamois & Bull
Tube Park	Rope tow	-	1998 -present	-	-	-
Bluff View	Rope tow	-	2001 -present	-	-	-
Cattleman's 1 & 2	Carpets	-	2003 -present	-	-	-
Bourke St Carpet	Carpet	-	2004 -present	-	-	-
Northside / Emirates	4-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	2005 -present	633 / 151	-	2.3 m/s. Replaced Shakey Knees. Renamed 2006
Holden	6-Chair-D	Doppelmayr	2008 -present	997 / 127	Heli Flat - Baldy	Speed 5.0 m/s. Replaced BB2 & Heli/ABOM Initial press release

In common with Ben Lomond and Mt Baw Baw, Mt Buller had two lift companies for many years. They issued a joint ticket in 1984 and merged in 1985 when Bull Run Enterprises (Blue Lifts) took over Ski Lifts Mt Buller (Orange Lifts). The company is now called Buller Ski Lifts. Current trail maps for northern slopes and southern slopes.

At least seven old ski lifts from Mt Buller were relocated to other Australian mountains. Buller seems to be the only Australian resort with a strong record of selling its discarded lifts.

• Ben Lomond bought several lifts including the Bourke St rope tow, both summit Pomas and the Bourke St double chairlift.

• The original 1953 Bull Run nutcracker tow still operates on Mt St Bernard and is one of the oldest ski lifts still operating in the world.

• Guthega bought a T-bar from Orange Lifts in the mid 1970's, (possibly the Bourke St T-bar, as both had arch type frames).

• Most recently, the Helicopter / ABOM triple chair was sold to Selwyn Snowfields.

More on Buller history:

Jim Darby. Mt Buller: the story of a mountain. tSm Publishing, 2008.

Ann Crawford. A proud achievement: 50 years of YHA on Mt Buller 1947 - 1997. YHA, 1997. 58 page booklet.

David Joss. Mt Buller: a history. Alpine Resorts Commission, n.d. (1995?). 36 page booklet.

Ernest Forras, Jan Henderson. Ernest escapades, or seriously for fun only: the autobiography of Ernest Forras. Ernest Forras, 1994.

--© David Sisson 13:28, 10 July 2007 (EST)

Mt Hotham

. . . .

Lift name	Type	Manufacturer	Operated	Length/Vert	Location	Notes
Blue Ribbon	Nutcracker	Hamilton	1952 -72, 3 or 4?	560 / 235	-	Cost £3000, capacity 12 at a time
Higginbotham	Rope tow	-	1958? - >1965	-	Davenport	Probably owned by Ski Tows Ltd.
Basin	Rope tow	-	1959 - ?	-	Basin Run	Ski Tows Ltd. Replaced by a Poma
Jack Hedley's	Rope tow	-	1962? - ?	-	?	-
Jack's Tow	J-bar	-	1965?-1968?	-	Sun Run	-
Basin	Poma	-	1964 - 1970	-	Today's Basin Run	Ski Tows Ltd. Moved to Davenport
Pole Line / Summit	Poma	-	1966 - 1987	790 / 95	Summit	Ski Tows Ltd.
Playground	2-Chair-F	Poma	1969 - present	614 / 199	-	Orig planned for Aust Drift. Shortened c.1992? 1000 p/hr
Davenport	Poma	-	1971 - 1983	-	-	Moved from Basin, replaced by a quad chair
Brockhoff	Poma	-	1973 - 1986	820 / 245	North of Heavenly Valley	-
Basin	Platter	-	1974 - 1992	-	-	Moved to Koala Park?
Sun Run	T-bar	-	1977 - 1994	-	Nth side of present Sun Run	-
Summit	T-bar	-	1979 - 1994	-	-	Moved to Australia Drift
Blue Ribbon	3-Chair-F	-	1981 - present	710 / 271	-	Capacity 1600 per hour
Plains of Heaven	Platter	-	1981 - 1983	-	Lower Blue Ribbon	Moved to Dinner Plain
Big D	4-Chair-F	-	1984 - present	396 / 64	Davenport	Replaced a Poma. Capacity 2400 per hr
Heavenly Valley	4-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	1987 - present	845/314or395?	-	Replaced Brockoff Poma. Capacity 2400 per hr
Summit	4-Chair-F	-	1988 - present	595 / 98	-	Capacity 2400 per hour
Village	4-Chair-F	-	1993 - present	800 / 275	-	Capacity 2400 per hour
Koala Park	Platter	-	1993 - 1997	-	B/w Zirky's & White Crystal	Moved to summit. Renamed Summit Trainer
Road Runner	4-Chair-F	-	1995 - present	671 / 153	-	Capacity 2400 per hour
Australia Drift	T-bar	-	1995 - present	370 / 88	-	Moved from Summit. Capacity 1285 per hr
Gotcha	4-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	1997 - present	472 / 140	-	Capacity 2400 per hour
Keogh's	4-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	1997 - present	383 / 188	-	Capacity 2400 per hr
Orchard	4-Chair-F	Doppelmayr	1997 - present	573 / 154	-	Capacity 2400 per hour
Summit Trainer	Platter	-	1998 - present	132 / 22	-	Formerly at Koala Park. Capacity 500 per hour
Big D Trainer	Rope tow	-	1999 - present	-	-	-
Pups Playground	Carpet	-	? - present	17 / ?	Davenport	-
Harry's Hideaway	Carpet	-	? - present	50 / ?	Davenport	-

Ski Tows Limited was operated on a cost recovery basis by members of the University Ski Club and the Alpine Club of Victoria. It never paid a dividend. It's lack of capital hampered further development of the mountain. After the 1965 season it was sold to Desmond Schuman who later built the Playground double chair. --© David Sisson 14:49, 19 July 2007 (EST)

Recent trail map.

More on Hotham history:

Donald Bennett. Hotham horizon: the Alpine Club of Victoria. The author, 1987.

Jennifer McLennan. Not below 5000: a history of the Ski Club of East Gippsland. S.C.E.G., 2001.

Lynette Sheridan. University Ski Club: 1929 - 1979. U.S.C., 1988.

Ticket prices in 1965. A 7 day ticket for all tows cost £7. Blue Ribbon nutcracker cost 30 shillings for 10 rides or 5/- for a single ride. Basin Poma and Higginbotham rope tow: 30/- for 40 rides or 1/- for a single ride.

A few details on the Blue Ribbon nutcracker tow.

Hamilton 'Type B' rope tow. Cost of purchase and construction £3,000. 1836 feet (560 metres) long, vertical lift 770' (235 m.), average slope 25 degrees. Powered by a 28 horsepower (21 kilowatt) Bedford Truck engine which was housed in a hut at the top of the tow near the road. The tow rope was 1 inch ( 2.54 cm) sisal. It was supported on 9 poles with waist height pulleys that could be raised or lowered according to the depth of snow. Capacity 12 at a time. The trip took four minutes at a speed of 6.8 miles per hour (11 kph) compared to a 40 minute walk up the slope. A canteen was added to the tow hut in 1957.

Building the Blue Ribbon nutcracker tow. An extract from: Donald Bennett. Hotham horizon: the Alpine Club of Victoria: reminiscence. Pages 95 - 97.

The first ski tow on Hotham was a major development. This too was conceived and brought about by the joint efforts of the University Ski Club and the Alpine Club of Victoria...

... The subject of tows was first raised during a... meeting on 22nd June 1950. The minutes... state, 'George Chisholm opened the subject of a ski tow for Mt. Hotham and produced detailed information of the Hamilton tow widely used in New Zealand. A meeting of a group of interested people was arranged for Monday, 3rd July 1950, to discuss the type of tow and the financing of the project'.

George Chisholm had visited New Zealand in 1949 as Captain of the Australian Inter Dominion Team. He had been most impressed by the Hamilton rope tow manufacturers at Littleton near Christchurch. This rope tow was used at Coronet Peak and gave George ample opportunity to assess the practicability of the device.

A company, rejoicing in the name of Ski Tows Ltd., was formed in 1950 with four U.S.C. and three Alpine members earlier mentioned as directors. We determined to purchase a Hamilton Tow and, as usual, the immediate problem was finance. This elusive commodity was acquired by our joint contributions and the practice of a polite species of highway robbery, brow beating and moral suasion on our unfortunate friends. In all there were over fifty shareholders of touching faith.

Nobody ever expected that the company would pay a dividend. Their expectations were absolutely correct.

The Hamilton tow consisted of an endless one inch diameter sisal rope passing over pulleys, mounted on brackets adjustable in height to cope with varying snow depths. The pulley brackets were attached to nine inch steel pipes some 20 feet high, set at appropriate intervals down the slope. A 'nut cracker' attached to a waist belt, clipped onto the moving rope. These waist belts were fabricated from old war time aircraft belts. Power was derived from a 28 Horsepower, 6 cylinder, Bedford Truck motor, located in an engine house just below the road. The engine house also provided accommodation for the tow operator in separate living quarters.

A certain skill was required whilst stationary and awaiting uphill transport to clip the nut cracker onto the moving rope. Failure to adequately connect, or careless ski orientation, resulted in undignified collapse or being dragged up the slope on your posterior. Another hazard was the possibility of loose clothing being wrapped up in the moving rope. On its upward journey the rope sometimes revolved slowly compounded with forward motion. Legend has it that a lady of superb physical charms became thus caught up. First the parka was shed, then the pullover and finally the shirt. The tow operator, a man of rigid moral principles, is alleged to have stopped the tow some distance from the expectant uphill onlookers. This allowed the deprived damsel to fade gracefully into the bushes. Topless skiers were rare in those days.

Despite these hazards the ascent out of the Drag was reduced from 40 minutes on climbing skins to about 4 minutes over 770 vertical feet, the rope tow carrying ten skiers upwards at a time. Initially, there was much debate amongst the directors on a suitable location. After all, the tow was to be the longest in Australia at that time and the first at Hotham. The chosen site was on a slope now occupied by the Blue Ribbon chair lift and effectively serviced the Drag, Blue Ribbon and the Wood Run downhill descents. The final location was surveyed and cleared during the weekend of 16th and 17th February 1952.

An alternative site was considered near the later situation of the Brockhoff Tow. This was ruled out partly because of doubts if a rope tow and passengers could negotiate a bend in the tow line, obviously needed at this location because of the terrain. It is of interest to note that during our explorations in the valley around this area we discovered a small grass grown flat on which could still be seen the outline of a log cabin. The outline was nothing more than moss lines with cross-over points at four corners. We surmised that it had once been an overseer's quarters when the water race to Brandy Creek Mine was under construction in the sixties of the last [19th] century. Today, of course, the water race, partly dug into the hillside and partly supported by stone escarpments, is a convenient track for skiers passing between runs off Loch Spur.

The company was unique in that the Directors were also the installation engineers, fabricators and general labourers. A shop steward of the Builders Labourers Federation would have been completely non-plussed. A major labour was pole erection, much of it over a rock scree slope. In some locations base holes had to be blasted out of the rocky soil. Hamish Pearson was O/C gelignite and he developed a playful habit of letting off a charge with scant warning. If one was working down the pole line the drill, on hearing the explosion, was to immediately cease all activities and gaze intently at the blue sky. Thus the observer skipped nimbly aside to avoid falling rocks descending out of the heavens.

To assist in correct installation, we imported a New Zealander, one Snowy Hansen, to supervise the project. Snowy was a man of iron nerve, having been in a Bomb Disposal unit at the Middle East Front during the 1939-1945 war. However, like many New Zealanders, he had somewhat of a complex about snakes - New Zealand is free from these reptiles. On arriving at Melbourne Airport his anxious queries concerning snakes at Hotham were soothed by soft and oblique answers. Even we did not then know that the Blue Ribbon scree slope housed a significant number of tiger snakes and copperheads.

Snowy was installed at Hotham and all was peace and joy until one day he noticed various directors at work down the scree slope suddenly leaping downward or sideways for no apparent reason. Naturally he queried this eccentric behaviour and, perforce, we had to tell him about the snakes. His immediate reaction was to arm himself with a pale blue broom handle as a defensive weapon. This never left his side and rumour has it that he even took the broom handle to bed with him! Our duplicity pained him and he sorrowfully stated that 'if he had known he would not have left New Zealand'. Fortunately nobody was bitten and it is probable Hamish Pearson's mighty gelignite blasts dispersed the snakes to more peaceful quarters.

The tow commenced operation in the winter of 1952 and gave many years of service until 1965. Subsequently Ski Tows Ltd. was disposed of to Desmond Schuman. It was the forerunner of the network of chairlifts, pomas and T-bars now reticulating over Hotham slopes.

Mt Mawson

. .

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
Cuming	Rope tow	1958 - 1959	-	Harold Cuming. Burnt January 1960
Mawson	Rope tow	1963 - present	-	Extended in 1982. Most southern tow in Aust
University	Rope tow	1968 - present	-	-
Rodway	Rope tow	1973 - present	-	Reputedly the steepest tow in Australia.
Beginners	Rope tow	19?? - present	-	-

Unlike Ben Lomond in northern Tasmania, Mt Mawson never developed into a full scale ski resort. It is the last 'club field' in Australia that is still open to the public, (although there are still three private, club run, nutcracker rope tows in Victoria, a club owned Poma and rope tow at Cabramurra in NSW and plenty of club fields in New Zealand).

The tows are operated by volunteers drawn from the seven clubs with lodges on the mountain. In recent years the lifts have only operated on weekends and midweek during school holidays. The Rodway Tow is the steepest in Australia, but due to a shortage of volunteers, it often doesn't operate even when other lifts are open. --© David Sisson 14:39, 25 July 2007 (EST)

Click for "resort" map showing the day shelters, four lifts and seven club lodges.

New South Wales, outside resorts

Location	Owner	Operated	Name	Notes
Main Range	Ski Tourers Assoc.	1953 - 1956	Northcote Tow	Burnt, parts used in Crackenback rope tow
Diggers Creek	Hotel Kosciusko	Late 1940's?-51?	-	Dates uncertain, near Hotel Kosciusko
Diggers Creek	Tony Sponar	Early 1960's	Poma	Dates uncertain, near Sponar's Lakeside Inn
Kiandra	Wally Reed	c1950 - 1957?	-	Township Hill
Kiandra	Colin Myers	1958-late 70's	T-bar	Two locations, moved to Selwyn
Kiandra	Colin Myers	?60's-late 70's	Rope tow	-
Kiandra	Colin Myers	?60's -late 70's	Rope tow	-
4 km SW of Kiandra	Tumut Ski Club	c.1960 - c.1970	-	-
Kings Cross	?	? - < 1973	Rope tow	Half way between Kiandra & Selwyn
Cabramurra	SMHEA (Snowy Hydro)	1956 - ?	-	-
Cabramurra	Cabramurra School?	1960's - present	Rope tow	Now operated by Cabramurra Ski Club
Cabramurra	Cabramurra Ski Club	? - present	Poma	-
Round Mountain	Corryong Ski Club?	1960's? - 1970's?	-	Some poles remain
Tooma Dam: Montagues Hut	?	1960's? - 1970's?	-	Pulleys attached to trees, dismantled each year

All non resort tows in NSW are/were nutcracker rope tows except Sponar's Poma, the Cabramurra Poma and the Kiandra T-bar. Thanks to Craig Doubleday for his reports on sites near Selwyn Snowfields and the Northcote Tow. For more detailed information see the non resort tows article. --© David Sisson 14:52, 24 July 2007 (EST)

Perisher Blue

. . . .

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
Perisher Valley	.
Village	Rope tow	1956 - ?	?	Johnny Abbotsmith, moved from Smiggins
?	Rope tow	1958 - ?	North Perisher	Svere Kaaten
?	T-bar	1959 - ?	Below Sundeck Hotel	Ken Murray’s “Murray Publishers”
No. 2	T-bar	1960 - ?	-	Either Lawson or Blaxland, see note on numbering system
Mt Perisher Double	2-Chair-F	1961 - present	-	Aust's highest & oldest chairlift. Top 2034 m high
Lawson	T-bar	1963 - present	-	-
Blaxland	Duplex T-bar	1963 - present	-	Duplex with Wentworth
Sturt	T-bar	1964 - present	-	-
Flat	T-bar	? - c.1975	Perisher Creek	Used to access North Perisher
North Perisher	T-bar	1968 - present	-	-
Mitchell	T-bar	1968 - present	-	-
Sun Valley	T-bar	1969 - present	-	-
Wentworth	Duplex T-bar	1969 - present	-	Duplex with Blaxland
Olympic	T-bar	1973 - present	Above Sun Valley	Curved T-Bar, accessing some of the hardest terrain
Eyre	T-bar	1974 - present	On Mt Perisher	The furthest west lift in Perisher
Flinders	Duplex T-bar	<1976 - 2002	-	Duplex with Bass, replaced by Village 8
Bass	Duplex T-bar	<1976 - 2002	-	Duplex with Flinders, replaced by Village 8
Leichhardt	T-bar	1976 - present	-	Called The Self Loader by older folk who recall when it was
International	T-bar	1977 - present	Mt P b/w Eyre & Mt P double	-
Tom Thumb	J-bar	1977 - present	-	-
Pretty Valley	2-Chair-F	1978 - present	-	-
Mt Perisher Triple	3-Chair-F	1979 - present	On Mt Perisher	-
Happy Valley	T-bar	1979 - present	-	-
Home	Rope Tow	1982 - present	-	-
Telemark	Poma	? (pre 1981)	-	-
Telemark	T-bar	1982 - present	-	-
Piper	T-bar	1982 - present	-	There may have been a Poma on this site
Perisher / Freelander / Forester	4-Chair-D	1986 - present	-	Changes names according to sponsorship
Interceptor	4-Chair-F	1995 - present	-	-
Village 8	8-Chair-D	2003 - present	-	Replaced Flinders and Bass T-bars
Ski Carpet	Carpet	? - present	-	-
Ski School	Rope Tow	? - present	-	-
Kids Carpet 1	Carpet	? - present	-	-
Kids Carpet 2	Carpet	? - present	-	-
Smiggin Holes	.
?	Rope tow	1953 - 55?	?	Johnny Abbotsmith, moved to Back Perisher
Link	T-bar	1964 - present	-	610 m long, 130 m vertical
Hume	T-bar	1964 - present	-	520 m long, 80 m vertical
Burke	Duplex T-bar	1968 - present	-	Duplex with Wills
Wills	Duplex T-bar	1969 - present	-	Duplex with Burke
Scott	J-bar	1973 - present	-	Converted from a Poma. 280m, 35 m vertical
Captain Cook	J-bar	1975 - present	-	Converted from a Poma. 275m, 35 m vertical
Kaaten	3-Chair-F	1979 - present	-	-
Ski School	?	? - ?	-	-
Harry’s	Rope tow	? - 2007	-	-
Herman’s	Rope tow	? - 2007	-	-
Zappy’s	Rope tow	? - present	-	-
Zoe’s	Carpet	? - present	-	-
Harry's & Herman's	Carpet	2008 - present	-	-
Guthega	.
SMA Tow	Rope tow	1957 - 1965	Mt Tate East Ridge	Island Bend Ski Club. Burnt 1965. 213m long
Beginners Tow	Rope Tow	1961 - 1975	Above Walter's Hut	YMCA S.C. then Walter Spanring. Short
Blue Calf	T-bar	1965 - 1980?	Western Blue Calf slopes	Poma brand T-bar. Walter Spanring
Powder Valley?	Rope tow	1976 - 1981	Near Cow Pastures	Bruckschloegl Austrian tow
Blue Cow	T-bar	1976 - 1980	Mt Blue Cow	Ex Mt Buller. Replaced in 1981
Blue Cow	T-bar	1981 - present	Mt Blue Cow	Doppelmayr. Replaced the 1976 T-bar
Cow Pastures	J-bar	1981 - present	Cowpastures basin	Doppelmayr J-Bar
Blue Calf	T-bar	1981 - present	-	Built as a duplex T-bar
Beginners	Rope tow	1982 - ?	Top of chair (Saddle area)	Cowpastures tow relocated after J-Bar built
Carpark	2-Chair-F	1982 - present	Carpark-base Mt Blue Cow	Doppelmayr chairlift
Rope Tow 1	-	<1992 - 1993?	-	-
Rope Tow 2	-	<1992 - 1993?	-	-
Blue Cow	.
Ridge	4-Chair-F	1987 - present	-	-
Summit	4-Chair-F	1987 - present	-	-
Early Starter	2-Chair-F	1987 - present	-	-
Terminal	4-Chair-F	1987 - present	-	-
Pleasant Valley	4-Chair-D	1987 - present	-	-
Brumby	T-bar	88><92 - present	-	Moved from Guthega - formerly ½ of Blue Calf Duplex
Pony Ride 1	Rope tow	88><92 - present	-	-
Pony Ride 2	Rope tow	>92 - present	-	Previously named Ski School?
Donkey Ride	?	>92 - ?	-	-

This still needs more work, an early tow or two may be missing.

Perisher Valley Unlike many resorts that have replaced lifts on the same location several times, Perisher has mostly stuck with the original lifts and some of them are approaching 50 years old. By 1964 Perisher had 12 lifts and by 1972 there were 14 lifts. Ken Murray sold the resort to Australian Consolidated Press after the 1972 ski season. Originally, the Perisher T-bars on Front and Centre Valleys were not named. Number 1 was Wentworth on Front Valley, and they were numbered consecutively westward to what is now Leichhardt. The Mt Perisher T-bars, Sun Valley, International, Olympic and Eyre have always had those names. Current Perisher trail maps.

Guthega. For an updated history of Guthega and its ski lifts, go to Guthega History. Current Guthega trail map.

Mergers. Perisher and Smiggins merged after the 1972 ski season. Blue Cow and Guthega merged in 1991. Both these combined companies merged to become Perisher Blue in 1995. The resort later changed name to Perisher in 2009.

Perisher. Thanks to "VSG", "Ian S" and especially the anonymous person who supplied many of the dates.

Guthega. thanks to "Atlantisau" for contributions that helped to untangle the confusion of hearsay and conflicting information. --© David Sisson 14:00, 20 August 2007 (EST)

Selwyn Snowfields

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
?	Rope tow	1961? - ?	-	John and Helen Dowling, tow formerly ran in the A.C.T.
The Quarry	Rope tow	1966 - ?	Township run	Colin Myers.
Township 1	T-bar	1972 - 2008	-	Moved from Perisher. Replaced by Township chair in 2009
Township 2	T-bar	1978 - 2008	-	Moved from Kiandra. Replaced by Township chair in 2009
Racecourse	T-bar	<1984 - present	-	-
Ski School	Rope tow	<1984 - present	-	-
New Chum	Double chair	1988 - present	-	-
Powerline	Poma	? - present	-	Was to be replaced by triple chair, but still intact
Homerun	Poma	? - present	-	-
Boomerang	Platter	? - present	-	-
Home Run	Poma	<1984 - present	-	-
Snowflake	Snowtube	19 - present	-	-
Wombat	T-bar	<1984 - present	-	Converted to snowtube circa 2003, back to T-bar 2009
Gentle Annie	Carpet	? - present	-	-
unknown	?	<1998 - ?	B/w Ski Sch & Home Run	-
Township	3-Chair-F	2009 - present	Township	Buller's Helicopter Flat/ABOM chair relocated. 709 metres

Either Powerline or Homerun Poma was moved from Smiggins. There may be a couple of rope tows that aren't on this list yet. Colin Myers and his family have built and operated all tows on Mt Selwyn since 1966. More information on dates of lift construction would be appreciated. Current trail map.

In the past there were 11 other lifts nearby at: Kiandra (4), Tumut Ski Club (1) Kings Cross (1), Cabramurra (3), Round Mountain (1) and Tooma Dam (1). All were removed long ago except the Poma and a handle tow at Cabramurra which still operate. For details see the article non resort ski tows. --© David Sisson 15:41, 12 August 2007 (EST)

Thredbo

. . . .

Lift name	Type	Operated	Location	Notes
Crackenback	Rope tow	1957 only	Mid half of Kosci Express	Cost £1870, used parts of Northcote Tow. 270 m rise
Gam Tow	T-bar	1957 - ?	Below C/back rope tow	Light & underpowered. Probably 1957 only
Crackenback	2-Chair-F	1958 - 1989	Same as Kosci Express	Originally to Kareela, lengthened 1962
?	Rope tow	1958 - 1963	Kareela - Upper C/back	Relocated 1957 Crackenback rope tow
Middle	T-bar	1962 - 1967	Middle Snowgums	Later moved to Merrits, renamed 'Ski School'
?	Rope tow	1963?	Upper Snowgums	Original Crackenback rope tow moved again
Basin	T-bar	1963 - present	In Basin, top of mountain	650 metres long x 145 metre rise
Ramshead	2-Chair-F	1963 - present	Base to bottom of Basin	2nd oldest chairlift operating in Aust. 1770x480
?	Rope tow	1964 - 1967	B/w Kosi Exp & Ramshead	4th location for 1957 Crackenback rope tow
Merritts	2-Chair-F	1968 - present	Base area to Merritts	1350 metres long x 299 metre rise
Merritts Duplex	T-bars	1968 - 1994	Merritts, Walkabout run	Replaced by Cruiser Chair
Ski School / Easy Rider	T-bar	1968 - present	Merritts Spur	Shortened & renamed in 1995. Now 275m x 65
Anton's	T-bar	1977 - present	Central Spur area	Originally self-loading (chaos). 800 x 230
Harusch?	Rope tow	1978 - 1995	Merritts Spur	Located under the Merritts Chair top station
Harusch?	Rope tow	1978 - 1995	Valley Terminal	-
Harusch 500?	Rope tow	<1982>	Top C/back - top of Basin	-
Harusch 1000?	Rope tow	<1982>	Beyond Harusch 500	-
Mitey Mite	Rope tow	<1982>	Merritts Spur	-
Karel's	T-bar	1979 - present	-	Highest remaining ski tow in Aust. 464 x 83
Sponar's	T-bar	1979 - present	Central Spur area	942 metres long x 260 metre rise
Snowgums	2-Chair-F	1980 - present	Parallels Kosci Express	Fastest chair in Aust when opened 1735 x 472
Gunbarrel Express	4-Chair-D	1988 - present	-	1679 metres long x 560 metre rise
Easy Does It	4-Chair-D	1988 - present	-	448 metres long x 49 metre rise
Crackenback/Kosciusko Exp	4/4-Chair/Gond-D	1990 - present	-	Replaced Crackenback, renamed 2001. 1860 x 560
Cruiser	4-Chair-D	1994 - present	Merritts Spur	Superseded Merrits duplex T Bar. 1000 x 214
Snowrunner 1	Carpet	2000 - present	Friday Flat	80 metres long x 13 metre rise
Snowrunner 2	Carpet	2000 - present	Friday Flat	85 metres long x 10 metre rise
Planned tows	.
Twin Valleys	?	Planned 1983	Nth east of Friday Flat	-
High Noon	Sextuple chair	Recent plan	Upper slopes	-
Golf Course Bowl	Chairlift	Recent plan	Upper slopes	c.1820 - c.2030 metres
Lower Golf Course	Chairlift	Recent plan	9th hole-mid Ramshd Chair	-
Golf Course Beginners	?	Recent plan	-	-
Fiveways	T-bar	Recent plan	500 m west of Sponars	-
New Kosciusko Express	Sextuple chair	Recent plan	-	Replace & extend current quad

See the Charlotte Pass entry for details of the two chairlifts that operated between Thredbo Valley and Charlotte Pass in 1964 and 1965.

A few things are still incomplete. Names are missing for some Thredbo rope tows and dates for a few lifts on the same sites overlap, so they may be a year out. Current trail map. Thanks to "Ian S" for help.

More on Thredbo history.

Jim Darby. Thredbo 50: 1957 to 2007. tSm Publishing, 2006.

Helen Swinbourne. Accordions in the snow gums: Thredbo's early years. Thredbo Historical Society Inc., 2006.

Geoffrey Hughes. Starting Thredbo. The author, 2008. pp. 28 - 33.

. --© David Sisson 15:29, 31 July 2007 (EST)

Readers comment. The changes in lift names and locations reveal a lot about how long someone has been skiing a resort, and their familiarity with it. This contributor knows people who call Merrits, 'Falls' (and it is probably called something else now) at Thredbo Merritts (no Falls), because that is what it was called before the Merrits Chair was put in. And there is Little Merrits. I call what is now called 'Meadows' at Thredbo, the 'Middle Slopes', because that is what they were called when the old Crackenback Double had a middle station. And I still call the quad chair Crackenback. In the same way, at Perisher, the people who have been skiing the place forever always call the T bars by the numbers, not the explorer names.

Victoria, outside resorts

Location	Owner	Operated	Name	Notes
Mt St Bernard	Wangaratta Ski Club	1955 - present	Mt St Bernard	Tow was originally at Bull Run on Mt Buller
Mt St Bernard	Wangaratta Ski Club	1958 - present	Nursery Tow	-
Bogong High Plains	Rover Scouts	1968 - present	-	Langford West Aqueduct. Didn't operate 2003 - 2005
Mt Wills	Tallangatta Ski Club	1950's - c.2000	-	2 km north of summit near the lodge
Dinner Plain	Dinner Plain	1985? - present	Cobungra Platter	175 m, 18 m rise. Capacity 731 p/h. Formerly at Plains of Heaven, Hotham
Mt St Gwinear	Resort	2009 - present	Portable	Australia's newest ski lift! (Well probably, installation not confirmed)

All lifts are nutcracker tows except the Cobungra Platter at Dinner Plain and the St Gwinear tow. For more detailed information see the non resort tows article. --© David Sisson 10:55, 30 July 2007 (EST)

Ski lifts away from the snowfields

Area	Name	Type of lift	Dates	Notes
New South Wales				.
Sydney	Taronga Zoo	Gondola	2000?-present	Sky Safari Cableway. Web page. Photo gallery on Poma website.
Sydney	Former showgrounds	Gondola	?	Reinstalled at Wonderland.
Sydney	Former showgrounds	Double? chair	?	-
Sydney	Wonderland	Gondola	1999 - 2002	Ex showgrounds, renamed Skyrider.
Sydney	Moore Park grass ski	Rope tow	?	-
Kurrajong	Grass ski & cart	Drag tow?	? - present	Now only carting. link
Port Macquarie	Grass ski	Drag tow?	?	-
Katoomba	Skyway	Cable car	1958 - 2004	Amusement park directory.
Katoomba	Skyway	Cable car	2004 - present	Web page. Amusement park directory.
Katoomba	Cableway	Cableway	2000 - present	Web page. Amusement park listing.
Wollongong	Jamberoo Action Park	Double chair	1980 - present	Ex Thredbo-Charlotte Pass. Lift history & Amusement park directory
Victoria				.
Melbourne	Showgrounds	Double chair	19?? - 200?	-
Montrose	Fox's Point Scenic Railway	Funicular r/way	1950's	3 rail with passing loop, powered by 1927 Oldsmobile, 110' vertical
Dromana	Arthur's Seat	Double chair	1960 - 2006	The website is still available.
Portsea	Back Beach	Double chair	1960's - ?	Photo.
Scoresby	Carribean Gardens	Double chair	? - present	-
Torquay	Grass ski area	Handle tow?	1980's	-
South of Moe	Grass ski area	Rope tow?	1970's	-
Tasmania				.
Hobart	Showgrounds	Double chair	? - present	-
Launceston	Cataract Gorge	Double chair	1972 - present	Claims to have longest chairlift span in world Web page.
Stanley	The Nut	Double chair	? - present	Web page.
South Australia				.
Adelaide	Mt Thebarton	Conveyor/carpet	1980's-90's?	Indoor ski slope
Adelaide	Showgrounds	Double chair	1980's-?	-
Adelaide	2 x grass ski parks	Drag tows?	1980's?	Unconfirmed
Victor Harbour	Granite Island	Double chair	? - present	-
Western Australia				.
Perth	Showgrounds	Double chair	? - present	-
Perth	Adventure World	Double chair	1993 - present	Sky Lift. Amusement park directory.
Queensland				.
Brisbane	Showgrounds	Double chair	? - 2008	-
Brisbane	Samford grass ski	?	1984 - 1993	link.
Gold Coast	Magic Mountain	Double chair	1962 - 1987	Reinstalled at Dreamworld
Gold Coast	Dreamworld	Double chair	1989 - 2005	Skylink ex Magic Mountain Web page.
Gold Coast	Seaworld	Open gondola	1989 - present	Sky High Skyway. Web page.
Cairns - Kuranda	Skyrail	6 seat gondola	1995 - present	2 separate cableways, total 114 cars, capacity 700 hour. website.

Thanks to these posters from forums.ski.com.au for help: SnowAndrew, ians 158, HiLo, jt-ski, Heinz, Dive, BLB, cashie, SAL, Claude Cat, pigface, Rowdy, PolePlant, K10.

In addition to these passenger lifts, there were dozens of aerial freight cableways and hundreds of tracked steep cable haulages built for dam construction, timber harvesting, mining, hydro electricity, etc.