Like skiing the backcountry but hate putting any effort whatsoever to get to the top? Are you the world’s laziest uphill guru? Want to spend even more money on skiing? If you said yes to any of these questions, Then I’ve got the product for you! The dolaGon is an autonomous “ski lift vehicle” that will bring skiers and snowboarders from the bottom of the mountain to the top. When the riders disembark, the vehicle will supposedly return to the bottom with the use of GPS and sensors, eliminating the need for someone to actually drive the thing. Currently, the vehicle is in its prototype phase.
I’m a bit mixed on this. On the one hand, it opens up the backcountry to even more people. On the other hand, I think seeing once peaceful mountains covered in these glorified ATVs would break my heart. Furthermore, it seems like it would invite a lot of heavily inexperienced individuals into areas with serious avalanche concerns. I do think it’s pretty darn cool though…
Image Credit: dolaGon on YouTube