Paralympic medallist Edith Wolf-Hunkeler and ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer take a ride on the first disabled and child-friendly chairlift at the Madrisa resort near Davos on Dec. 18, 2016. (Xinhua)
DAVOS, Switzerland, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A chairlift with new technology now can allow children and the disabled people to reach the mountain top independently at ski resorts.
The Klosters-Madrisa ski resort in Swiss Alps adopted the ABB technology on Sunday when Swiss wheelchair racer and eight-time Paralympic medallist Edith Wolf-Hunkeler and ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer took a ride on the first disabled and child-friendly chairlift at the Madrisa resort near Davos, where the World Economic Forum takes place.
This lift uses a size recognition control system that ensures small children and monoskiers waiting for the lift are raised to the correct seat height to easily load onto the chair.
A special automatic closing and opening of the locking clip allows all the skiers to use the chair lift by themselves.
In the new Madrisa chairlift, which is over 1,890m long, ABB's AC motors and traction converters ensured energy efficiency and low maintenance needs.
Spiesshofer said that this special chairlift, which uses the lift model CS10B, has been designed to provide more safety, security and comfort for small children and physically disabled individuals.
Already known as a ski resort specializing on families, kids, and the disabled, Madrisa, which opened in 1967, now can handle 2000 people at peak time and strives to provide physically disabled people a new experience on the mountain, aiming to become a mecca in Switzerland for physically restricted snow sports.