Yan Double Chairlift History

Product Page: Yan Double Chairlift

The Yan double chairlift, a true unicorn in both ski aesthetics and history, is the most notable product within the 20th-century Yan Lift collection. Yan Lifts was born from the depths of Lake Tahoe by way of the eclectic Janek Kunczynski, a former chairlift engineer for the legendary Poma (Leitner-Poma of America’s parent company) in France. 

Janek’s official double chairlift debut was installed in 1968 as part of an expansion for Tahoe-based resort Squaw Valley, now known as Palisades Tahoe. At a verified top speed of 2.0 meters per second, Squaw Valleys ‘Belmont’ and ‘Links’ lifts both originally operated at less than 40% of the speed of a modern-day high-speed quad.

Installations for the Yan double were largely concentrated in the Western region of the United States, as seen below.

As dotted in yellow, Ski Lift Designs' Yan double is sourced directly from Lutsen Mountain, Minnesota. Lutsen’s installation of the double chair ‘Caribou’ in 1986 coincided with the height of Yan operations, moving at a volume and velocity still felt today. Out of business for nearly 30 years, Yan still lays claim to producing over 8% of aerial lifts in the entirety of U.S. ski history.

At Yan’s height, its value proposition as an aesthetic and simple lift made it a staple of small resort skiing in the Western states. Ultimately, Yan Lift was a critical piece to the U.S. aerial chairlift puzzle, yet has been largely removed from the infrastructure of modern skiing.

Ultimately, Yan Lifts was marked by failure in their attempts to transition to a high-speed, detachable world. In 1996, after several devastating malfunctions in the early ‘90s regarding his high-speed quad cable grips, Janek filed for bankruptcy. Survived by the safer, more popular Yan double, not a single original high-speed Yan quad has been in operation for several years.

Today, only 3 original-hand double lifts remain, notably including Steamboat Springs’s iconic ‘Bar UE’, affectionately referred to as “the lift for lovers”. Celebrating its 48th birthday this ski season, ‘Bar UE’ is one of the last remaining reminders of simpler times; when the ride up was as cherished as the ride down.

Interested in preserving the ride up? Take a look at our Yan double chairlift.

Want a comprehensive list of all documented Yan doubles in U.S. ski history? You've come to the perfect place. Find your go-to resort in our alphabetically sorted table below.