Ski Lifts

The chairlift began as a banana loader. James Curran, a Union Pacific bridge engineer, had worked on conveyors that carried fruit on hooks onto ships in Honduras; he put chairs where the hooks had been, and prototypes were tested in the railroad's Omaha shops in the summer of 1936. The preserved Proctor Mountain lift the sign points to was still intact when it went on the National Register in 1980. It has since come down, and parts of its base and a plaque stand beside the Proctor Mountain trail.

What the plaque says

Ski Lifts When Sun Valley Lodge was built in 1936, Union Pacific engineers developed chair lifts to transport skiers uphill. Starting with two modest ski slopes on Dollar Mountain and Proctor Mountain, chair lifts were used for all Sun Valley ski runs. Far superior to tow ropes and similar devices employed before 1936, they quickly became popular at ski resorts everywhere. New designs were adopted for additional Sun Valley ski runs, but one 1936 style chair lift still is preserved 4 miles up Trail Creek from here. 329 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Galena Summit Overlook — 21 mi
  The Salmon River's first miles, seen from an overlook named for the couple who helped keep a mine out of the view.

More markers nearby

• Wood River Mines — 17 mi
• Galena — 18 mi
• Alexander Ross — 20 mi
• Salmon River — 22 mi