As of: February 7, 2024, 3:16 p.m
By: Sina Alonso Garcia
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The roots of skiing as we practice it today are deeply rooted in the Black Forest.
The era of the world's first ski lift began here - a groundbreaking invention for alpine skiing.
Schollach – Skiing has a long tradition in Baden-Württemberg.
The oldest ski club in Germany was founded in the Ländle in 1891.
Almost 20 years later, another groundbreaking milestone followed: On February 14, 1908,
Robert Winterhalde
, the innkeeper of the “Schneckenhof” in
Schollach
near
Eisenbach
, a picturesque town in the Upper Black Forest, built the world's first ski lift.
Revolutionary: The world's first ski lift was built in the Black Forest.
© Community of Eisenbach (Hochschwarzwald)
The means of transport, which carried passengers effortlessly up the mountain, was a real sensation at the time.
An approximately 280 meter long pull rope, powered by water power using a mill wheel, carried winter sports enthusiasts over a height of 32 meters.
Winterhalde called his invention “transportation device for enabling uphill travel with sledges and snowshoes” and patented it in the same year.
The construction of the first ski lift was a technical masterpiece
Robert Winterhalde was not only an innkeeper, but also a visionary who recognized and met the needs of his guests.
His inventive spirit was driven by the desire to make winter sports more attractive and accessible.
Thanks to Winterhalde's commitment and creativity, skiing became accessible to a broader segment of the population.
An approximately 280 meter long pull rope carried winter sports enthusiasts up the mountain in Schollach more than 130 years ago.
© Community of Eisenbach (Hochschwarzwald)
The construction of the first ski lift was a technical masterpiece.
Despite limited resources and technology at the time, Winterhalde managed to develop a robust and reliable system.
The challenge of constructing and maintaining such a system was enormous, but Winterhalde mastered it with flying colors.
Despite the revolutionary invention, people back then showed little interest in skiing
Despite the groundbreaking nature of his invention, Robert Winterhalter did not become rich - which was less due to the quality of his invention and more due to the circumstances of the time.
People had other priorities and showed little interest in a convenient way to ski up a slope.
Therefore, no investors were found and Winterhalter was forced to sell his patent.
Others would later make significant profits from this invention.
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The first patent for a lift for winter sports enthusiasts from Robert Winterhalde from the Black Forest (CH44626).
© www.insidebw.de
Although Winterhalter's invention was revolutionary, he did not achieve much fame.
The outbreak of the First World War led to the dismantling of its lift.
The mill, the heart of the complex, still exists today, but the lift itself was lost in the turbulent times and was almost forgotten.
Further development of an idea: The origin of today's ski lifts
In Switzerland, Ernst Gustav Constam took up this idea and developed it further.
In 1930 he registered a patent for a “tow cable car with rope suspension for skiers”.
Four years later, financed by the hotelier Leonhard Fopp, the first T-bar lift was built in Davos.
This lift, 270 meters long and covering a height difference of 60 meters, was another milestone: the first T-bar lift in the world, powered by a 24 hp electric motor.
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After the successful launch, ski instructor Jack Ettinger suggested an improvement: the J-shaped bars should be replaced by T- or anchor-shaped bars to transport two people at the same time.
Constam implemented this idea and the shape of the T-bar lift that is common today was created.
During his career he built more than 80 lifts in the USA and had a significant influence on the design of modern ski lifts.
He also developed the principle of the ski chair lift, which has largely remained the same to this day.
Idea from the Black Forest fundamentally changed winter sports
Today, in a time when chairlifts dominate the landscape of ski resorts, drag lifts are becoming less common.
They can usually only be found on practice slopes or as short connecting lifts.
Nevertheless, for many, the experience of learning to ski on a tow remains an unforgettable part of their ski career - a tradition that has its origins in the inventions of the Black Forest and Switzerland.
Skiing as we know it today has its roots deep in the Black Forest.
© Community of Eisenbach (Hochschwarzwald)
This fascinating story shows how a small idea from the Black Forest changed winter sports forever.
From the arduous climb to the effortless glide to the summit, the ski lift is a symbol of human ingenuity and the love of winter sports - a legacy that came from the heart of the Black Forest and conquered the world.