The first Tannenboden Chrüz ski lift still had wooden masts. The mechanics were very simple. Guests had to put on a belt and the tow rope was manually hooked into the running tow rope. If the tow rope was no longer taut, it fell off the tow rope. You had to bring it back to the valley station and then you got a free ride.

Expansion of the ski facilities in the 60s

There was a detachable 2-seater chairlift from Chrüz to Maschgenkamm. There was a simple square concrete building on the Maschgenkamm. The basement was the top station of the chairlift, which was operated by a local. One flight of stairs up was the cozy mountain restaurant with five tables and a canapé, a buffet with coffee and Veltliner.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the new lifts, the Chrüz, Obersäss and Arven lifts, and the gondola lift were built. TAMAG was founded at the same time. At a TAMAG company party, the employees were asked if anyone would like to say something about the history. Sepp, a local from the Maschgenkamm chairlift, spoke up: "Before TAMAG was me."

Avalanche blasting for safe descents

After snowy days, the Terza descent from Maschgenkamm to Oberterzen and possibly Unterterzen was opened. Before opening, a snowdrift at the Tritt (above the Seeben-Alphütte) had to be blown up. We were given sticks of dynamite, capsules, fuse and a red avalanche cord for our safety. The explosive charge was assembled at a table in the Maschgenkamm restaurant. The guests were drinking at the tables next door. The capsule was connected to the fuse, inserted into the stick of dynamite, wrapped in newspaper and tied with string to achieve compression. Then it was off to the snowdrift. We carefully felt our way towards the snowdrift. The red avalanche cord was pulled up as a safety measure so that we could follow the avalanche cord in the event of an accident and find ourselves under the weight of the snow. The explosive charge was set, the fuse lit and we withdrew from the danger zones.

Elaborate rescue operations

From Maschgenkamm to Oberterzen, all skiers had to pass the SOS telephone via the step towards Heusee. There was no road from Seebenalp Hotel to Maschgenkamm. There was no path from Tritt to the hotel. Injured persons on the Terza descent all had to be brought to Oberterzen by rescue sledge. The injured were loaded into a private car in Oberterzen and accompanied to the hospital in Walenstadt for x-rays. The hospital only had one ambulance, which was busy on the Flumserberg. The orderly at the reception desk was not in a very good mood on a Sunday evening, as he had already transferred 32 patients since Friday. Mostly broken legs, from Malbun, Pizol and the Flumserberg.

A special ski day for the Quarten elementary school

The LUTA was put into operation in 1955. The Quarten elementary school organized a ski day in Flumserberg. The boys who did not have skis and all the girls had a sledging day on Tannenboden. The boys with skis were to run from Tannenboden to the Maschgenkamm. As none of us had skins, we had to bring our skis to school, where we were taught how to make temporary skins with a braided cord. The next day was the start of the ski day, for which we had to bring 50 centimes for the cable car. The children were proud of the skins they had made themselves. The way to the Maschgenkamm was very arduous, as some had to keep repairing damage to their equipment and so had to give up before reaching the summit.

This article was first published in the Gemeindeachrichten Quarten 01/2024.

Discover our ski areas now

The Flumserberg mountain railroads and the Pizolbahnen keep you up to date about the open lifts, offers and catering areas on their website:

Flumserberg : flumserberg.ch

Pizol : pizol.com