normal magazin nummer23 winter

Die Eröffnung des Skilifts Trübsee-Jochpass am 18. Dezem- ber 1943. Der Kaminfeger als erster Fahrgast soll der Anlage Glück bringen (Bild: Karl Meuser, Stiftsarchiv Engelberg). The Trübsee-Joch Pass surface lift opened on 18 December 1943. The first “passenger” was a chimney sweep, to bring good luck. (Image: Karl Meuser, Stiftsarchiv Engelberg)

Seit siebzig Jahren werden in Engelberg die Bergbahnen kirchlich eingesegnet. Pater Anselm Fellmann (in der Mitte), ein Verwandter von Walter Kuster, nimmt anlässlich der Eröffnung des Jochpasslifts die Einsegnung vor (Bild: Karl Meuser, Stiftsarchiv Engelberg). For 70 years, the cableways in Engelberg have been blessed by a priest. Here, Father Anselm Fellmann (centre), who was a relative of Walter Kuster, can be seen blessing the Joch Pass lift at its inauguration. (Image: Karl Meuser, Stiftsarchiv Engelberg)

In the first half of the 20th century, skiing as a fun pastime spread rapidly throughout the Alps – and across North America as well. To make it easier for skiers to get to the top of the slopes, some existing rack railways were upgraded to operate in winter too. In Engelberg, the funicu- lar railway from the village up to the Gerschni- alp (1,300 metres above sea level) was built in 1913, the valley’s first mode of transport espe- cially for skiers. Railways were not the idea l way to get skiers up snowy slopes. Aeria l cable cars seemed a more promising was expensive, and construc tion was therefore slow. In response, during the 1930s numerous bof f ins worked to develop a less expensive way of taking skiers up to the top of the hill. In 1934 , the world ’s f irst T-bar lif t opened in Davos, developed by Zurich engineer Ernst Constam, while the f irst chairlif t went into operation in Sun Va lley, Idaho in 1936. The lat ter was invented by James M. Curran f rom Omaha. In autumn 1934 , shor tly before the lif t in Davos opened, Ernst Constam of fered to build a lif t f rom Trübsee to the Joch Pass, 2,200 metres a.s.l. The time was not yet ripe for that, but the idea of continuing the route up to the Joch Pass was not forgot ten. It was a young photographer, f ilmmaker and ski-jumper f rom Engelberg ca lled Wa lter Kuster who caused the lif t to be built. He persuaded severa l nationa l trade unions to invest in the idea. Thanks to them, a lif t was f ina lly put in place during the Second World War. In the meantime, Constam had relocated to Denver, Colorado, so his suc- proposition, which is why the route was continued f rom the Gerschnia lp to Trübsee (1,800 metres a.s.l.) as an aeria l cableway in 1926/27. But insta lling this kind of system

cessor Henri Sameli-Huber was responsible for erec ting the facility. The opening ceremony was on 18 December 1943. Sad ly, its initiator Wa lter Kuster did not live to see the cu lmina- tion of his ef for ts: he died four weeks prev i- ously as the resu lt of a ski-jumping accident. A lready during the planning phase, the idea was put forward to run the lif t as a chairlif t in the summer time. But for years Switzerland ’s nationa l transpor t of f ice had opposed the construc tion of such lif ts. So when the summer season began on 14 Ju ly 1944 ,

Die Talstation des Skilifts Trübsee-Jochpass mit dem Hahnen im Hintergrund (Bild: Emil Goetz, Staatsarchiv Nidwalden). The valley station of the Trübsee- Joch Pass lift with the Hahnen in the background (Image: Emil Goetz, Staatsarchiv Nidwalden)

there was still on ly a sur face lif t with T-bars, which hik- ers cou ld hold onto to help them get up the slope. The Nidwa lden cantona l govern- ment wasn’ t happy with that situation and decided

In winter the Joch Pass lift was a surface lift, in the summer a chairlift.

to at tend to the mat ter, authorising the lif t to be used as a chairlif t in the summer. From 1 August that year, 16 single-seater chairs were running on the line. And so the Joch Pass lif t became the f irst chairlif t in Switzerland! It was an immediate hit. That month, the chairlif t was used 6,266 times, while the sur face lif t was used on ly 283 times. A ll that while, there was lega l wrangling between the cantona l government and the nationa l government over who had the right to author- ise chairlif ts in Switzerland. Ultimately, the nationa l government won that f ight, but it was forced into the position of hav ing to approve the new system. By summer 1945, another 50 or so single-seater chairs were running. From then on, the facility was used as a sur face lif t in the winter and as a chairlif t in the summer. It paved the way for chairlif t construc tion in Switzerland, which has been the standard way for skiers to get up the slopes ever since.

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