What was the world's first chairlift with a pull-down hood is to be replaced with a new 10 seat gondola cabin/ 8 seat chairlift combination lift.
The last incarnation of the Zinsberg lift at Austria's Brizen-im-Thale ski area, part of the huge SkiWelt region, the first in the world with a pull-down weather protection hood, began operating in 1987 and has since carried more than 25 million passengers.
Work on the new €15.5m Doppelmayr lift will begin when the current ski season ends there in a few weeks' time.
The new lift, which will take skiers 400 metres further up the mountain than the one it replaces, will be one of the world's most advanced yet with heated seats and a promised ultra-smooth ride. It will have a winter carrying capacity of 3,400 people per hour in winter but will operate year-round, with gondolas only on the line in summer months.
The lift will also be faster than its predecessor travelling at 6 metres per second and incorporate photovoltaic cells to generate green electricity to help power it.