World’s First Chairlift Prototype

YES!!!  We have SNOW!!!  This week’s precipitation has been a boon for our state, as we are finally beginning to receive the snow we need to restore our watershed – and cover our ski areas with the great white stuff!  Which prompts me to choose the following item for this week’s FUN FACT FRIDAY! 

DID YOU KNOW?  In 1936, Sun Valley, Idaho opened and became the first destination ski town to operate a chairlift in the world!  To read more about the finding and founding of Sun Valley, check out the story here, on SunValley.com:  https://www.sunvalley.com/about/

^2nd FUN FACT:  The chairlift was invented and fabricated by the Engineering Department of the Union Pacific Railroad!  Read their story on the Union Pacific Track Record site, here:  https://www.up.com/customers/track-record/tr071719-ski-lift.htm#:~:text=In%20December%20of%201936%2C%20Union,sport%20of%20snow%20skiing%20forever.

We are happy to note that the chairlift has continued to evolve into much better and safer iterations, and Sun Valley Resort has remained a very popular ski destination!  In addition, over the years, Idaho has added many more ski areas throughout our beautiful state – so now we have 19 total!  For a full list of Idaho Skiing/Snowboarding facilities, you can visit the Idaho Department of Commerce Tourism Development site here:  https://visitidaho.org/things-to-do/alpine-skiing-snowboarding/

Thank you for reading this week’s blog post!  Perhaps in your après-ski moments this month you can make a toast to the Union Pacific Railroad; its past Chairman who had the brilliant idea for a winter resort served by UP (Averell Harriman); the one who scouted for, found, and helped build Sun Valley (Count Felix Schaffgotsch); and the chairlift’s inventor (Jim Curran) for their wonderful contributions toward creating the modern ski resort!  CHEERS!

Bald Mountain in the Winter

Sun Valley Village in Winter