A new six-seat chairlift is under construction at Klosters in Switzerland. The lift is part of a CH25m (£18.3m), five year investment programme which will also see new mountain restaurants, snowmaking and a stadium for ski racing fans at the famous resort.
The new “Schaffürggli” chairlift in the Madrisa ski area, which the resort shares with neighbouring Davos, will include a feature unique in Switzerland – the seat height of the chair will be controlled depending on the size of the skier.
A laser will scan passengers and determines whether they are adults or children. A hydraulic control will the adjust the seat height perfectly so that even the smallest passengers can safely get onto the chairlift.
The new chairlift has a price tag of CH11m (£8m) and will be 1,860 metres long, climbs 510 vertical metres over a seven minute journey time at a speed of 5 m/s and will be able to transport up to 2,600 people per hour.
In addition, a rising safety bar will ensure that smaller children cannot slide out and finally a hood lowers automatically to protect skiers from the cold and bad weather.
In addition the Schaffürggli chairlift will have heated seats and sit-skis for wheelchair users can also be transported.
