Backyard Ski Lift

Do you like snowboarding and have a hill in your backyard? If so then this backyard ski lift is something that you may find some interest in. Being able to snowboard at home is a great way to improve without having to go all the way to a ski hill. You'll need quite a few things to make this but most of it can be bought relatively easily. You will need a side by side or lawn tractor and ideally a tree or something to anchor your lift to at the top.

4 12 foot lengths of 2x4

1 8 foot length of 2x8

a small 3 to ten horsepower engine

a 10 to 14 tooth 420 sprocket

a 50 to 60 tooth 420 sprocket

420 chain

a 420 idler sprocket

four pillow block bearings

a ¾ inch shaft with a keyway in it

large pulley

a small pulley

some key stock the size of the keyway in the bar

a strip of metal to hold the idler pulley

a ⅝ bolt and nuts to hold the idler pulley

a welder

Drill

and screws with something to screw them with

You will also need some weights to hold the lift down

You will also need a side by side or lawn tractor.

Ideally, you want to create this in the fall when the ground is still soft. it will be very hard to shovel when it is frozen .The first thing you need to do is to create a frame for the engine and pulleys to sit on. You want to make it so that the rope will be about waist height so cut the legs about ten inches longer than what your waist height is. The extra 10 inches will be buried in the ground to anchor the lift. The size of the frame does not really matter as long as it's tall enough for you and can easily fit the engine and pulley. I made the frame about 2 and a half feet wide with a length of 3 and a half feet. It was also about three feet tall for me. You’ll want to connect the top of the legs with the three and a half and two and a half foot boards you just cut. You also should put some horizontal boards about 2/5 the way up the legs from where they will be in the ground. Once you have the frame built, put boards going diagonally from the low horizontal boards to the top boards on every side. Finally you should put two 2x8 boards that are the same width as your frame on the top and put them both about the same distance from each other; they should be about a foot from each other in the middle.

Once you have the frame built, put boards going diagonally from the low horizontal boards to the top boards on every side. Finally you should put two 2x8 boards that are the same width as your frame on the top and put them both about the same distance from each other; they should be about a foot from each other in the middle.

Next you need to build a tensioner to tension the rope. I made a tensioner out of metal that goes into the hitch of my side by side. It was made out of 2x2 metal in an L shape. At the top of the L you need to put two pieces of metal side by side, put two pillow blocks on those pieces of metal then stick a pulley in between them with a metal shaft.

Once the frame is built and you're done your tensioner, drill the bolt pattern on th bottom of the engine into one of the 2x8s. Bolt the engine in and build a little box on the next 2x8. Make the walls of this box out of 2x4 then add a 2x8 as the top. Once that is built assemble the sprocket with the shaft and the pillow blocks. Put the chain on the two sprockets and pull them tight while drilling the holes for the pillow blocks. Once you have the holes drilled, bolt the shaft and sprocket in. Put the pulley on the shaft.

Bring everything to your hill then anchor your frame to a tree or vehicle. Put the rope on the pulley on the top and the pulley on your tensioner on the bottom. Once the rope is on both pulleys drive your vehicle forward until the rope is taut. Once all this is done you're finished and can start snowboarding.