Meet the American who created the chairlift, James Curran, railroad engineer lifted skiing to new heights
Fox News
Meet the American who sparked the global ski craze. James Curran was an engineer for Union Pacific Railroad tasked with finding a new way to get skiers to the summit of Sun Valley Resort in Idaho.
"He set the stage for the sport to become a global phenomenon." "We wanted to offer these people … new opportunities for healthful recreation." "If we can lift bananas onto a boat without bruising them, we can certainly lift people safely up a mountain." "A tramway engineer who reviewed Jim Curran’s notes and drawings for chairlifts found that the calculations … are virtually the same methods used today." Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
Curran's remarkable American innovation enjoyed its world debut in Dec. 1936 at Sun Valley Resort in Ketchum, Idaho.
It instantly made mountains smaller, adventure easier and downhill skiing accessible to even the most casual athletes.
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