Collins Chair

During 1938 and very early in 1939, the Alta Ski Lifts Company built its first chair lift – the Collins Lift, the first in the Utah, the fifth in the United States, and probably the fifth in the world. It was named for an early prospector and miner of Alta, Charles H. Collins. The Collins Lift first carried paying skiers up Collins Gulch on January 15th, 1939.  A single ride cost 25 cents, and an all-day pass cost $1.50.
One of the original chairs from the Collins Lift is on display in the Museum lobby. It was constructed of timbers that had once braced Alta’s mine shafts.  Vintage photos from the original chairlift, the steel tower replacement construction from 1949, and the Collins upgrade to a detachable quad high-speed lift are also presented here.