1936 Olympic skiing and chairlifts

[Wyatt Jones]

I’ve been going down a rabbit hole of ski history lately, but unfortunately I’ve only been able to find anything about skiing in America. I was reading about the history of downhill skiing in the Olympics and noticed that the sport first appeared in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, the same year the first chairlift was invented. I haven’t found much information about the specifics of the event, but I am curious how the skiers got up the mountain. Did all 100 athletes have to hike up the 3000 foot mountain, was there a series of rope tows, or did they ride a snowcat?

 

[scott43]

Trams were around in those days. The Jennerbahn in Berchtesgaden was built in the late 40's or early 50's I think. And Garmisch is home to the tallest mountain in Germany..the Zubspitze..so in all likelihood they had a bahn to the top. Either tram or train.