Objects Database

Skiliffino Ski Tow (portable)

Accession Number

1406.2017.1

Object Name

Skiliffino Ski Tow (portable)

Created

20/09/2017

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

20/09/2017

Brief Description

A portable Skiliffino Ski Tow consisting of:-
1 Briggs & Stratton engine
1 Drum of metal cable
1 Empty Skiliffino cable drum
4 Bags of ski tow legs and supports for the cable
2 Cardboard boxes containing drag lines for attaching to cable for dragging skiers uphill.
1 Bundle of legs, supports etc.

Materials

metal

Number Of Objects

10

Inscription Description

"SKILIFFINO"

Maker

Skiliffino

Object Production Place

Italy

Provenance

Not the sort of thing you carry around in your rucksack, but an important milestone in the evolution of Scottish skiing. Early skiers got up and down the mountains without any mechanical aids, but eventually the idea of getting a 'lift' up the hill and skiing back down began to grow.The huge ski resorts of Europe and the somewhat lesser ones of Scotland didn't exist in the 1950's so portable tows that could go wherever there was snow seemed to be a good idea.
Skiliffino of Italy were just about the only commercial producers of portable tows in Europe and it seems a guy called Donnaie Mackenzie bought one to use in his wee enterprise which he called Mobile Ski Tows Ltd. We don't know much about Donnaie's enterprise but we do know that the new 'ski resorts' of Glencoe, Glenshee and Cairngorm made mobile ski tows redundant in the 1960's. Donnaie died in 2017 and his family kindly donated the tow.

Acquisition Method

Donated by the family of Donnaie Mackenzie

Acquisition Date

20/09/2017

Condition Check Date

20/09/2017

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

20/09/2017

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