Backyard Ski Lift (Rope Tow) 

uncle terry, everyone say hi terry and thank you for gifting him the engine

Thanks uncle terry

Guy: builds a ski lift which he puts a lot of effort into Snow: doesn’t come all year

*a wild Canadian in his natural habitat*

You know its cold when the skiis sound like that

i know this is 2 years old but this is beyond impressive with the stopper in the middle for some DIY backyard shit

You are awesome! I'm going to make something like this for this winter but have been stuck thinking about how to make a safety trip. You have by far the easiest and least expensive way of accomplishing this, thank you!

Man, I love this! This is not that different from Dave McCoy's beginning in Mono County, California. [Near Crowly Lake.] It was a decline in snowfall that drove him farther up the Sierras to what became Mammoth Mountain. His "bad luck" made him rich and gave us a huge, wonderful resulting ski area. In my family we have all been taught to ski as soon as we could walk. So we relate very well to this. Through the years all 6 of us have worked and ski'd at many ski areas. So we are cheering you on.

When he said “motor” I had my suspicions. But once he said “garage” I knew

The safety bar was a nice touch. Nobody looses fingers in the pulley!

This is genius!!! I am really impressed with the safety bar thing.

What a backyard you have! 😍 Love all the safety thoughts you have. 👍 The rope, however, looks a bit slippery to me. 😙 Great work! Thanks for sharing!

i was thinking how to build one, and i couldn't get past my 4yo's hand getting sucked into the drive wheel. simple and elegant solution!

My dad made one for us kids , he used an old rambler car , rope went around the rear rim at the rear end , put the car in gear and off it would go . Used car rims on there spindle and bolted them to the trees as rope guides . Would pull any amount of people who got got on up the hill . Everyone in the neighborhood learned how to ski at our house . Great memories.

Awesome, but to avoid pulling some limbs in half you should probably put a pulley in the middle of the return side so it can hold the rope out and keep that side ouf of the way of the rider. Worked alot on an actual anchor ski lift system and I might be a bit situationally afraid but every once in a while some dude throws the anchor and it snags an anchor on the return line. This often tears the wire of the rollers and are a part of the > 5 minute stops due to some climbing needed :-) Not really the same thing but I instantly though "whoa, you never go close to both sides of a wire feed system". I am just imagining a kid falling, snaging any side of the rope and then scoops up the other line which starts burning and while flailing some worse shit or death happens :-D Sorry :-D Awesome anyways!

Mercury switch was brilliant. Why a kid would hold on to long and get hurt is ridiculous but they definitely would.

Amazing. One brief idea might be to put a small roof over with a light under the small roof. For various reasons to help with the safety of it in undesirable weather. Or for others that might want to build one

Very nice, especially the kill switch. My old school could have taken a safety lesson from you. Their bus engine-powered rope tow tore up a 5th grade girl's hand to the tune of a half dozen surgeries.

Was that a diamond hill? Where's the ski Lodge

Alright, thanks for the info. I appreciate you replying so quickly.

Very cool ! Maybe another safety trip switch down by the snowmobile wired in series with existing safety switch 😎

That's awesome! I always wanted to do that, but never had a yard big enough!

Awesome video, this is the first time I've seen an electric rope tow

The safety gate is a nice touch.

You over complicated it with all that safety business haha. This is incredible! It’s pretty fast considering. Nice job.

1 hp / person seems like a pretty good rule of thumb.

So jealous you have snow let alone your own ski field in your backyard!!! 😩

The video is pretty old so it won't probably matter anymore I guess but I would suggest you protect or somehow cover the end of the rope that runs towards the pulley. I mean the one below, next to the anchor so no kid grabs it by mistake and runs the hand towards the pulley. Pretty ingenious I love recycling old stuff. When I was a kid my father built me a hovercraft with an old vacumm cleaner's engine.

*Best backyard in history*

So the mercury switch is for the safety gate I'm guessing. Very nice. I'm trying to design one for a bike. It hooks up with a rope attached to a peice of canvass on the end. They wrap the rope back around the seatpost and then sit on the canvass tag to lock it in. if they fall or stand up it releases. It will need a spring reel on it like a t bar to give someone time to hook up. Thanks for the great video, it's a bit crude but it does the job. I love low tech.

Epic. I'm sure it would be sick pulling the GT up too. Non stop laps.

Respect the lift.....respect the sled......RESPECT THE LINE SKIS!!

Outstanding upcycling...bloody well done from a jealous Englishman. 👏👏👍

Thanks Terry! What a awesome idea!!! Thanks for making this video!

That is awesome! Always wanted to do that to hill we sled on had almost the same idea however considering we only get a decent snow once every few yrs. Just walk it or give rides back to the top with a utv.

car rims work good for rope guides.

I think you did a great job for what your using it for. 👍🏻⛷❄️❄️

will a 96 Polaris Indy work?

That's pretty great. The safety bar is awesome, too.

This reminded me the time when I was young. All the ski places in my country were run by dudes like you and had only a tiny bit more serious setups. But they ran steel cables. Visitors would have to come with their own hooks. like it this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TQWq9gxaaow.html Rider would come to the cable and hook oneself up. There is a piece of wood attached to the rope forming a T to sit on. Often somebody would fall while riding up, get that rope-seat thing wrapped around the leg and get dragged all the way up until he triggers the safety endswitch. Abrupt stop of the cable would release everyone hooked to it because lever is held on only by tension and everyone on the cable fell backwards. Also the place where cables frayed ends were fastened together would tear out a piece of your hip(or head, if you are a kid) if you were inattentive... Fun times.

Yes... Clap Clap Clap.. I have a hill on my farm... Must do this here in Canada also..

Max Goldman 'pretty damn slick' Gustafson

Nice setup. One thing I'd be concerned of is if a kid grabbed the wrong rope too close to the bottom pulley.

Safety gate was a smart touch.

Here before this thing blows up

Thanks from Norway uncle Terry

Wish I could do that in my backyard...

even had a safety shut off! im impressed sign me up

Is the rubber pulley/wheel part of the Boat Lift Motor?

So cool good idea with safety gate

It looks like it beats the snot out of repeatedly walking up the hill. Regardless of the low powered motor. ;)

Thanks Uncle Terry

There's a not so small safety issue remaining - especially for kids: If they grap the wrong rope at the bottom of the hill there fingers got get into the pulley...

good one on resourcefulness, using what you have, great idea

I love this! I’m gonna build one similar to this!

Better than a $135 lift ticket.

dang it, took about one mowter, one garaj, and one uncle terry to know this guy was canadian

Sick

Perfect for kids could be a good sled run as well

Hi u can also use 3KW electric motor with 48V Battery

thanks Terry 👍

I wish I could ski in my backyard

Thats wild! Great job

Well done!

Same idea was used for years at ski areas. You’re problem is possible electrical shock.

Nice recycling!

Good old Uncle Terry

back away from the fireworks terry

This is very cool, thanks for sharing👍🏻

It looks like motor that uncle Terry took out of the garage and gave you

Pretty cool

Well done man!!

Pretty dam cool honestly

The way you say “garage” is so canadian lol

Thumbs up for terry!

Where did you get the pulley that is attached to the motor?

That's pretty cool! But as an electrician, the mounting and wiring pains me XD

Ont avaient le même remonte pente dans les années 80 à 90 , le seul problème sa te brise un paire de gants ou mitaines

Where's your snow making system? lol

Cool, I like it. Well done.

A tow rope would be a lot safer than a higher elevation ski lift. People fall out of those things all the time. Great thinking. I foresee that some resort will steal this from you in the near future.😎

U need to seal all of ur electrical connections and switch. That switch box doesnt look outdoor rated either. Motor will last longer if u put a cover over it also. Pretty cool though.

‘ so thanks terry ‘

Nicely done

Awesome. I can get all the lift parts. But, where did you get the hill?

Total genius

you lucky to still have snow

I can see a terrain park going in next

Nice work!

i too like skiing for 10 seconds and then getting pulled back to the top

Why wasn't the rope moving when you were at the bottom? You pulled the rope, and all the sudden you were moving. Had the motor stalled or something, and you just had to give it a kickstart?

Looks like no avalanche control is needed at your personal ski area. :)

Looks like some lineman rigging.

thank u uncle terry

I’m amazed 😲

Very cool. If I’m seeing that correctly the rope doesn’t move until you add friction? Does it “burn” in place where it spins on the pulley?

Next show us how to use a pressure washer as a snow maker.

Cool to build you’re own ski area. A couple suggestions. - just about any other rope would be better than that yellow polypropylene crap. It’s slippery It will fray if bent - you’re wiring...let’s just say, I doubt it meets code. - are you running all the power (8-10A) through that mercury switch?

Is anyone else not botheres by the squeezing of the ice??

Brilliant, thank you!