Ortisei - the Coffin Lift

Yesterday's thrills are today's yawns. To get the adrenalin pumping today, we had to venture further up the big mountain... to face the ultimate challenge... the Coffin Lift.

The Coffin Lift is so named... not because of its accident record... but because the lift compartment is shaped like a coffin. I suspect the design either came out of the USSR or China (circa 1950). The internal space of the coffin is just about right for a double internment... if two people want to be buried in the same coffin... not for me... I want my personal space for when they lay me down for eternity. So there is enough room for two people to stand up... it starts to swing a bit if someone changes his/her weight from one foot to the other... we figured it was not a good idea to lean on the door... I found most comfort putting my hand out the window and securing my position by holding onto the roof. The advantages of the design are primarily in wind management... the wind can be whistling past but the coffin doesn't swing very much because it is so small. Also, the wire pulling it along, can be as thin as string... because the coffins weigh so little.

Getting on and off the coffin can be a bit tricky. Unlike other chairlifts, the coffin doesn't slow down at the points of entry and exit... and for reasons unexplained, the passengers make a rear entry into the coffin. So, you let the coffin go past you... then you run like the clappers to catch up... then jump on board. That's OK for the first passenger to board. The second passenger has a higher degree of difficulty... he/she starts their run only after the first passenger has boarded... and has to make the dash knowing that either the coffin is taking off the ground... or worse for the return journey, is about to leap over the precipice into the void. The poor old attendant has an even higher degree of difficulty. Once the second passenger is on board, the attendant has to dash after the coffin... close the door and lock the latch. Getting off the coffin needs to be thought through. On both my exits, I made the mistake of facing the exit door. Of course, being smarter than me, you would realise the safer mode of exit is to step out backwards... nobody told us that... on both occasions, I found myself having to run backwards to retain balance.

The big attraction motivating you to get onto the coffin is the chance to reach Furcela Sassolungo Langkofel Scharte (2681 metres)... a saddle in the mountain range just next to the peak that reaches 3181 metres. The views are breathtaking in all directions... and the coffin lifts you up 530 metres... without any sweat. The coffin passed over a dozen trekkers slogging up a trail through lose scree... I admired their tenacity.