There are plenty of bizarre chairlifts out there, from scary surface lifts to weird gondolas and trams. You might have ridden some of them, or at least seen them in person. But there aren’t many who can claim to have encountered this “swivel” chairlift in person.
This fascinating chairlift is called a Ringer Chairlift, named after its creator Karl Ringer. It was invented in the 1950s and made its way onto a few slopes, including Mt. Rose – Ski Tahoe (it was still Reno Ski Bowl at the time).
Skiers load and ride the chair the same way they would a standard chairlift. The main difference comes at unloading. Rather than standing up and skiing away from the lift, the chair opens up and swivels around the riders, allowing them to just stand right up.
The chair in the video above is located at the Hörnlebahn in Bad Kohlgrub, Germany. They offers skiing, tobogganing, hiking, and more throughout the year.
