It’s not often you get the chance to own a piece of Australian snow sports history but come Opening Weekend of the 2024 ski season you can bid on your own Mt Perisher double chairlift original chair.
The Mt Perisher Double Chair has been decommissioned to make way for a new high speed six seater for the 2025 season.
Now a handful of the chairlift’s original chairs are available to bid on with both a live and online auction on the Opening Weekend of the 2024 ski season.
The Mt. Perisher Double Chair was Perisher’s first ever chairlift, a two-seater, fixed-grip chairlift that first opened to skiers in 1961.
In the winter of 1960, potential ski areas in the lee of Mt. Perisher and Back Perisher Mountain were surveyed to identify the degree of skiing difficulty and snow depth. It was Mt. Perisher which received the go ahead to build the two-seater chairlift which would go on to service the area for over 60 seasons.
That’s a lot of skiing and a lot of skiers.
In 2016, one year after Vail Resort’s acquisition of Perisher and after 55 seasons of loyal service, the Mt. P Double’s original chairs were replaced. The Lift’s original chairs were stored and kept by Perisher, awaiting the day their legacy could live on in the homes of Perisher enthusiasts.
And now that time has come.
Around 70 of the original chairs will be auctioned across two days. Saturday 8 June: Live auction at a Perisher Valley venue to be announced and on Sunday 9 June (open for one week or until sold) via online auction.
All proceeds from the sale of the chairs will go to organisations that make a difference in the community, for the environment, and for youth.
*photo credit: Perisher/National Archives of Australia
