Make Your Own Ski Lift That Will Work

Caveman.

Active member
My dad was telling me that back before Teton Village opened on Teton Pass, above Jackson Hole Wyoming, they had a ski area with a ropetow powered by an old World War 2 Jeep. The Jeep was not modified at all, just jacked up on a platform with a small slit in a back tire to act as a pulley for the rope. In fact during the off season, the Jeep was driven around town. This could still be done all you would need would be a rear wheel drive car with a manual transmission, some jacks, a pulley, and some long rope.
 
You take a jeep. Point it up the hill. Raise the back end. make a groove in one of the back tires. attack a rope that connects at the bottom of the hill to a pulley. Hang onto the rope, but the jeep in drive and you're off. That simple.
 
how much would gas be though? driving for atleast 4 hours a day is gunna cost you like atleast 10 bucks but i guess if you and some friends through down u could session ur own private run which would be pretty sick fusho
 
First lift in the country to my knowledge was at Mt. Tom in Woodstock VT run by a old Ford engine. It was able to take a few people up via rope tow.

Would cost like under $1000 to build, but the gas, specially today, would be VERY costly.
 
It would still be cheaper than a lift ticket. I dont think it would cost that much either, just go to a junkyard and pick up an old lawnmower engine or something. It cant cost $1000.
 
Mammoth mountain started as a rope tow powered by an old Harley Davidson motorcycle motor.
 
sounds pretty sick and simple, just have someone always at the bottom to get you up and take turns to get them up. Save that gas
 
shut it holson you live in pomfret and i know where mt tom is yah im claming id iv drivin buy it. its someone pivate litle hill now no more lift
 
ya my dad had that when he was a kid too, some place out side ottawa had one. Though if you wanna make one i would recomend warring bad gloves casue the rope supposadly owns ur gloves
 
No dude, SNow King (Jackson Hole's original resort) had a single lift with log towers before sun valley. they just had the first double chair.
 
unless your half strong and can hold onto the rope and not slip all other the place. its really not that hard, i've seen 6 year olds do it.
 
if you owned your own hill it would be sick, it wouldnt use much gas cause the engine would be idling. most cars only have one drive wheel so youd have to know which one it was.

it would be a surface lift, but how would you make your own looped rope that was like 1000 feet?
 
that would be sweet if you had your own hill! I would use a motorcycle engine though...they get better gas mileage lol
 
if u had the time to do it and the resources then im sure someone wouod make it happen. it would be sick to like own some land in a western starte like clorodao or utah or montan or wyoming somewhere like that and clear a narrow little trail up a mtn and have like a 1000' vertical foot run in ur backyard. and it was all private and powder
 
yea i remember that, i dont think it was hooked up to an actual car, but i know it was powered by some old engine.
 
-As far as the engine and drive wheel, Im just getting another tire and slitting it so a rope can sit in it, there will be no other modifications of the vehicle.

-for the hill, my friend has a small hill where we built a little gap last year. He also has a tractor to move snow around.

-for the gloves, most ropetows are slow and you dont slip around on but i have seen some fast ones where you have to slip on or you will fall
 
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