Draw of the hills

FURTHER to your feature on the White Lady Chairlift’s anniversary (20 December), a ski tow even earlier than William Blackwood’s in Cairn Gorm was the one set up on the lower slopes of Ben Lawers by one of the local farmers.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Dec 2011, 02:16 BST

It consisted of a few hundred yards of rope bent round a pulley at the bottom and the take-off drive of a tractor at the top to form a continuous tow. If I remember correctly, it cost sixpence a go. A thick pair of gloves were also a necessity for grabbing the rope as it passed. A similar contraption appeared at least once on the hills behind Eaglesham too.

Jack Kilpatrick

Lairhills Road

East Kilbride, Lanarkshire