Double Tension
This rope-tow tension system, designed by Dennis Evinrude, GM at Ausblick Ski Area, Wisc., was designed to answer the urgent question: What do we do if the rope breaks mid season and we need to do a resplice? Ropes do break sometimes, such as when they freeze up with ice, when a groomer operator forgets his night vision goggles, or, sadly, when vandals sever the rope.
With Evinrude’s double wrap system, however, the rope can be rereeved to bypass one of the two tension sheaves, thereby providing an extra 40-plus feet of rope to use for resplicing. Another advantage with this tension system is that the 4:1 ratio greatly reduces the distance the counter weight has to travel.
All materials for this project are off the shelf items—the four dolly wheels originate from a snowmobile trailer and the rope sheaves are standard junkyard auto hubs. The frame is made of tubular steel that is cross-braced for support.
Summer Sled Project
As a ski area’s workhorse, the snowmobile has done an admirable job of getting employees around the hill. However, most snowmobiles have very little extra room for transporting equipment. Gary Derbin from Alpine Valley, Ohio, found a solution in this homemade utility trailer. The trailer is made of recycled material including front skis from a Yamaha snowmobile.
The trailer is 2.5 feet wide and 4 feet long with axles made from recycled parts from a snowgun carriage. The frame is 2.5-inch C channel, the trailer floor stained and varnished plywood, and the rebar side rails are leftovers from another project at the ski area.
No snow? No problem! The trailer converts easily to summer operation mode by replacing the skis with wheels from an old VW.
Alpine Slide Repair
John Floyd and his alpine slide maintenance crew at Howelsen Hill Ski Area, Colo., had a difficult job—they were forced to make all slide repairs at night when the slide was out of service, and they had no way to transport their equipment. Power tools are needed for this job as well as floodlights.
Acquiring a portable 120-volt gasoline generator solved the first part of the problem. Mounted on a regular alpine sled, it proved to be very top heavy, though, and the sled did not provide room for all the equipment. So, the Howelsen crew solved the problem thanks to a donated Stokes Litter, which is normally used to transport injured skiers off the hill.
The litter follows perfectly the curvature of the slide track, and nylon runners, like the ones on alpine sleds, were installed on the litter bottom. The generator, secured in the center, leaves plenty of room for power tools and a cooler for midnight snacks.
