A skier swooshes down a slalom course on the east side of Alta Vista, a hill above Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park. A rope tow on Alta Vista (installed by Tacoma’s Jim Parker and Chauncey Griggs) hauled about 250 skiers per hour up about 300 feet. Skiers paid 10 cents per ride or $1 for the day. The lift (powered by a car engine) was removed each spring. By 1962, the park and many others stopped allowing lifts. Today only two national parks - Yosemite and Olympic - still have lift-serviced skiing.
