Both Boyne Mountain Resort and Boyne Highlands Resort hold many of the ski industry's firsts, but did you know that Boyne Highlands was home to the world's first triple chairlifts?
The story goes that Everett Kircher enjoyed skiing at Boyne with his wife and son (John) but was frustrated that he couldn’t ride as a family. He thought there must be a way to create a triple chair so they could all ride together. He later called Riblet Tramway Company who got to work designing the world’s first triple chairlifts that were installed in 1963 at Everett’s brand new ski resort Boyne Highlands.
To honor his son and the inspiration for the chairlifts, Everett named one of the triple chairlifts “Little John.” Although the lift has since moved from its original position & been renamed, there is a run named “Little John” near the lift's original location.
Over the years the original triples “Heather” and “Little John” were repositioned, some components replaced/upgraded, & were renamed to “Interconnect” & “Valley.” They are still in operation today.