Talking about the hoist looking thing. Is it a hoist? Is that a common item for houses on mountainsides?

Maybe it's for hauling construction materials up and down the hill? What are the car tires that are tied onto it used for?

Just curious. Thanks for your help.

The tyres are likely there to stop whatever is being hauled up from damage on the concrete block.

Probably a hoist-type rig to bring supplies up from the valley.

So they can lower drunk grandma's up and down the hill, the tires are to prevent her from bumping her head to hard.

All Swiss homes need to have a bomb shelter. Thats some building regulation from the cold war era. Most city blocks simply have some reinforcements in their basements and you will hardly ever notice them (except that there is an unusually heavy door in your washing machine room or the like). In the mountains, this is a bit of a more difficult and expensive regulation, so many villages have communal shelters instead. However, if you live up a hill is it very difficult to get to the shelter within the 2.45 mins that are mandated by law. A lot of houses on the hills therefore have these sort of evacuation zip lines… so yes, its a common sight.

Correct. A small cable car for hauling up goods.
Sometimes stupid people sit in them which result in the expected disaster as they are not as regulated or periodically checked as cable cars which are approved for person transport.

https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/schwe...chen-131800286

https://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/ae...id8565967.html

https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/schwe...eren-127006030

Also in Austria:
https://tirol.orf.at/news/stories/2871541/

__________________
“That’s the second biggest monkey head I’ve ever seen!”

In VS and VD they are used extensively in the vineyards (typically on very steep hills) to carry large buckets of grapes either up or down to the closest cross-road so they can be loaded onto a truck and taken to the processing centre.

More and more helicopters are being used these days as they can often carry the whole load of grapes from one zone in just one trip and drop it off at the processing centre. It seems to make economic sense.

Helicopters rarely make economic sense !

Winch.
At last the word I learned years ago is getting used!

Actually they do quite often when there is a one time (periodical but rare) transport. E.g. a heavy installation. In such cases a heli is cheaper (5 minutes for the lifting + 2x5 mins flight time to and from the sitex ) than having a crane installed.

Not to be confused with "Wench".

I've gone to work by helicopter a couple times (paid for by the customer), as have some other people I know.

Tom

Thanks for all of your replies! I'm beginning to see ropeways more often in my virtual sightseeing tour.




This one even has a passenger compartment:




I have not seen any evidence of electric motors or power lines. Are there areas in the Alps that do not rely on electricity? If that is so, do they use gasoline motors to operate the ropeways?

Again, thanks for all your help.

Most locals dont use petrol engines, but rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle...

We have two generators and a large battery with an inverter.

Only use the generators for when we need more than 300W (lawnmower, etc), or need to charge the battery and am too lazy to take it home to charge.

Tom

Many power lines are in the ground. Less ugly and better protected from avalanches and falling trees. And why would you see the motor? First, with such small cable cars it will be on top. Second, it will be in a housing protected from rain and snow.

Good points, thanks.

If you focus better on your camera ,you will see the fire wood . Mystery solved

However your day rate is so high it makes sense

Also, there were two of them (PTT) and two of us.

Tom

So the equipment is powered by wood fired boiler! Mystery solved!