(Montcalm) Imagine that you are doing an alpine hike to go skiing in a mountain that is not accessible by chairlift. You will be able to slide down immaculate white slopes. But you will also have to go up on your own between each descent.
What if a compact electric motor hooked to a fixed rope allowed you to glide effortlessly to the top?
This is the lift system invented by Montreal lawyer and entrepreneur Alex Archambault.
“When people try it, it clicks in their head,” he says. They wonder why no one had thought of that. »
The idea for such a system came to him in October 2020, when a skateboarder friend filmed in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, and had to walk 20 times with his board on his back. , during the day.
“He was completely exhausted at the end, wondering if there was a way to use an electric motor to make some sort of portable ski lift. »
Alex Archambault knows electric motors well: a lawyer specializing in intellectual property, he quit his job five years ago to devote himself full-time to the Lacroix company, which manufactures flexible electric skateboards made of maple and fiber of carbon.
Launched in its basement in Mile End, Lacroix (the name is a nod to the cross of Mount Royal) moved last summer to a new head office and design studio of nearly 500 square meters in Montcalm, near Morin-Heights, in the Laurentians.
This is where Alex Archambault was able to complete the design of his latest invention. Dubbed the Harpoon, the 4500 watt motor is capable of pulling up to three skiers at once. It is equipped with a waterproof and shock-resistant case that contains a lithium battery similar to that found in electric vehicles, and that the user who operates the motor carries in a backpack. Each battery contains enough energy to complete five lifts.
The company also produces the Vortex, a propulsion system that transforms a surf foil or SUP board into an electric board that seems to “float” above a body of water.
A tool with multiple uses
Lacroix is located on nearly 150 hectares of land, which includes a forest-covered mountain. Alex Archambault plans to build small chalets at the foot of the mountain, and make the area the first ski center with an electric lift.
“We’re going to have cabins, the lake, mountain bike trails… We want to give people an experience,” he says.
The advantage of electric ski lifts is that they do not disfigure the mountain. You don’t even need to lay out a path for the ascent: with the Harpoon, the skier can literally glide through the trees to head for the summit. To use it, simply tie the rope to a tree near the top.
The Press was able to try the system recently. The upward sliding sensation is surprisingly easy to tame. Suddenly, you see the potential everywhere. Each sloping terrain becomes a potential ski area.
At $4080, the Harpoon comes with a specialized rope designed by a Montreal company that can spend months in the snow without wearing out. With a length of 500 meters, the rope weighs less than 5 kilos.
At this price, the product is not designed for mass consumption. Among potential customers, Lacroix has targeted recreational tourism businesses, high mountain rescue groups, companies producing mountain and safety equipment, police forces and even the army.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Entrepreneur Alex Archambault in the Lacroix design studio, in Montcalm, in the Laurentians
“Moving heavy loads in mountainous areas is often done with arms, and that hasn’t really changed since the dawn of time,” says Alex Archambault. With this invention, you can carry much more weight, much faster. For example, raising a stretcher along a wall becomes very easy. »
He notes that such a lift could also be of interest to the helicopter skiing industry, which has to deal with restrictions on noise levels and flight time in remote areas. In France, for example, the law has banned heliskiing since the 1980s, when Mont-Blanc guides complained about the noise and environmental impacts of this practice.
On this subject, Alex Archambault is working on adapting his invention so that a group of 10 skiers can be pulled by a single motor.
“With electric ski lifts, skiers can ski all day without pollution and without making noise, and they can do a lot more descents because they go up quickly without getting exhausted. »