14 replies to this topic

[garthd]

I know a guy who just got back from skiing in New Zealand and he said at some smaller areas, they have these lifts called "Nutcrackers." Apparently the deal is you get a climbing-style harness to put on and you have a small runner with something that sounds like a rope grab or climbing ascender and you have to grab the rope and attach your grip to it! Then, as the lift is going along you have to watch your hand placement, lest your fingers get crushed when the grip goes over the sheave trains! Whoa! Does anyone know anything about these?

Garth

[spunkyskier01]

i remeber a few years back on a adventure show on the discovery channel, they had one of these lifts that the people had to use. it looked like a cross between a rope tow and a tbar but the sheves were hand level and just like u said they had to move their hand before they hit the sheave. it was pretty hairy looking

[mikest2]

garthd, on Oct 2 2006, 06:40 AM, said:

I know a guy who just got back from skiing in New Zealand and he said at some smaller areas, they have these lifts called "Nutcrackers." Apparently the deal is you get a climbing-style harness to put on and you have a small runner with something that sounds like a rope grab or climbing ascender and you have to grab the rope and attach your grip to it! Then, as the lift is going along you have to watch your hand placement, lest your fingers get crushed when the grip goes over the sheave trains! Whoa! Does anyone know anything about these?

Garth

Here's a couple of nutcracker sites:

http://www.invincible.co.nz/tow.html

http://www.chillout..../nutcracker.asp

[hyak.net]

The Nutcracker is not the lift or tow, its the item you use to attach yourself to the rope tow. It resembles a nutcracker which is where it got its name. I belive there are only a couple places left in the USA that still allow them and one is Meany Ski Hut in WA.

http://www.meanylodg...romhere.php?nut

[Callao]

So does the nutcracker just ride on the rope, even over the the pulleys and wheels?

[hyak.net]

Callao, on Oct 3 2006, 08:59 AM, said:

So does the nutcracker just ride on the rope, even over the the pulleys and wheels?

The nutcracker grips the rope and the rope is attached around your waste. Once you let go your free.. Its a pretty cool concept. I'd imagine it saves alot on glove wear.

[garthd]

The guy I talked to said that they gave out these little leather pads to put on the tips of your fingers when you first grab the haul rope so you don't damage your handwear. Thanks for the info.

[Callao]

I want to know if there are any of these "nutcracker" lifts in North America. I saw the Meany Lodge website, but it doesn't show much about their "tow". If anybody can give me any information on this, it would be helpful.

I want to know if this would be an effective way (and a cheaper alternative than using a ski lift) to haul people up a mountain in a small operation. Do you think these things would work going up a 45-degree incline?

For those who want to look at Meany's site:
Meany Lodge

[aug]

don't get to fired up about theses types of lifts . they are just rope tows. In the NW there were many tows that utilized a "rope grip" to assist the rider . (Take a look at some different style of rope grips in the government camp skiing museum) when the ansi code came about and the insurance companys started having a vested interest in the ski areas these sort of lifts went the way of the dodo bird.

[Callao]

Do you suppose that liability was the killer, or was there a comfort issue involved? I've never seen one before.

[aug]

Back in the thirties Mt. hood Ski bowl had a long , very steep rope tow that ascended the Upper bowl. You had to hike the Lower Bowl to get to the tow. If you brought a gallon of gas with you to fuel the engine for the tow you got to ride for free that day . You also had to have an "approved" rope grip to have any chance of making the entire ride up the tow. There were a few styles that I have seen and one of them utilized a harness.

Some ten years ago there was a proto type tow called " Mr. Ski" it used a 7 hp honda motor for power and 5/16 polyester / polypropelene rope for the haul rope . it also used a modified rescue pulley for the idler terminal , there was also some very highly machined grips that resembled pliers that were attatched to a simple harness with a small wire rope lanyard. Setting this tow up was pretty easy if you know how to do a long splice on a three strand rope. I have seen this set up with with over a thousand feet of rope out on the hill . One of the draw backs was you could only have one rider at a time on the line. It idled at 200 fpm and when the engine sensed the load it the speed ramped up to 800 fpm. About ten units were built that I know of they were only to be used in the private sector as they could not meet the ansi req. for rope twist . An optional wireless safety gate was also available bit was plaqued with many false stops.

[BellHollowSkiBowl]

aug, on Dec 3 2007, 04:19 PM, said:

Back in the thirties Mt. hood Ski bowl had a long , very steep rope tow that ascended the Upper bowl. You had to hike the Lower Bowl to get to the tow. If you brought a gallon of gas with you to fuel the engine for the tow you got to ride for free that day . You also had to have an "approved" rope grip to have any chance of making the entire ride up the tow. There were a few styles that I have seen and one of them utilized a harness.

Some ten years ago there was a proto type tow called " Mr. Ski" it used a 7 hp honda motor for power and 5/16 polyester / polypropelene rope for the haul rope . it also used a modified rescue pulley for the idler terminal , there was also some very highly machined grips that resembled pliers that were attatched to a simple harness with a small wire rope lanyard. Setting this tow up was pretty easy if you know how to do a long splice on a three strand rope. I have seen this set up with with over a thousand feet of rope out on the hill . One of the draw backs was you could only have one rider at a time on the line. It idled at 200 fpm and when the engine sensed the load it the speed ramped up to 800 fpm. About ten units were built that I know of they were only to be used in the private sector as they could not meet the ansi req. for rope twist . An optional wireless safety gate was also available bit was plaqued with many false stops.

This is great information -- thanks for sharing...I'm currently using something similar to grip 3/8" wire rope -- it looks similar only it has rubber inside the grip & clamps onto the wire -- the wire is too small to grip and too steep to really hold on -- I attached a picture for you... I still have some problems with my hand-made grip... check out my entries for rope tow -- there is some detail there....

Attached File(s)

•  nutcrackercrop.jpg (9.72K)
  Number of downloads: 69

[aug]

BellHollowSkiBowl, on Jan 17 2008, 03:26 PM, said:

This is great information -- thanks for sharing...I'm currently using something similar to grip 3/8" wire rope -- it looks similar only it has rubber inside the grip & clamps onto the wire -- the wire is too small to grip and too steep to really hold on -- I attached a picture for you... I still have some problems with my hand-made grip... check out my entries for rope tow -- there is some detail there....

Is that your dog's foot in the grip???

[Bogong]

There are at least two nutcracker tows remaining in the United States, Mount Greylock Ski Club in Massachusetts and Meany Lodge in the Pacific north west.

Nutcrackers tows are cheap and easy to build. They can also go up insanely steep slopes (the Rodway Tow in Tasmania, Australia is mostly over 40 degrees), try doing that holding on with your gloves!

Instructions on how to ride a nutcracker tow from a New Zealand website.

Here is an extract from the Australian ski lift directory on WikiSki.

Rope tows (Nutcrackers). Some modern skiers who don't venture beyond the main resorts are unfamiliar with nutcracker rope tows. Most resorts in Australia and New Zealand began with nutcracker tows. While they have been replaced at the big resorts, nutcrackers can still be found at 'club fields'. Nutcracker tows are not T-bars, Pomas or platters. A nutcracker is a device attached to a belt worn by a skier that clamps onto a moving rope at waist level, allowing the skier to be towed uphill. The height of the rope and the pulleys that support it is adjusted according to snow levels. While a nutcracker may not be necessary on short, gently graded beginner tows, it is impossible for skiers to hold onto a rope with their hands on steeper tow lines or where the rope passes over a pulley.

This post has been edited by Bogong: 24 March 2009 - 01:22 AM

[Petz]

Some pictures from a nutcracker situated in Böllstein (Germany) can be seen here too:
http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic....=45&t=15439