
A sleek design for a portable rope tow. The ZOA PL1.Photo: Zoa.
The tag line comes in as straight-up appealing: “Ski More Work Less.” From a basic first-world reading of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, more skiing and less work seem to fit somewhere in there.
Tipped off by a child the other day, some ad or post or a mix of the two, came across his IG feed for Zoa Engineering; Zoa has been covered by ski media previously. From the Google map on Zoa’s website, there’s no physical address listed, they are the brainchild of a Vancouver BC engineer. And Zoa’s goal is to develop a “backcountry rope-tow.”
The “work”, we assume Zoa refers to on their site is the type of “work” many of us enjoy and often want more of. That would be the uphilling work. With all sorts of refined gear out there, moving uphill is often the best part of the day when it’s variable snow conditions. Granted, some like the uphilling work more than others.
Zoa’s portable rope tow makes me laugh, but not in a devious way, more in a humans are an interesting species type of laugh.

A screenshot of Zoa’s how it works.
The premise seems simple. Send a willing person up the slope in skins, snowshoes, whatever. This will require some work. Anchor the provided line (paracord). Descend with the line. Attach the Zoa PL1 to the line. As the Zoa “How it Works” copy reads (and illustrates) step 6 is “Shred the Gnar.” That’s it. We assume the process repeats itself until the Zoa’s battery drains, the pow is skied out, or the hucker is no longer amusing.
According to Zoa the device weighs 10.5lbs (4.8kg), while the cord weighs 6.61 g/meter; they claim the device will fit in a backpack. The website states, “The PL1 is still in development and specifications may change due to user feedback, production considerations, and improved test data.”

The handle is removable for better storage. The bosy also includes a u-cable, serving as a backup anchor point to clip into on steeper terrain. Photo: Zoa.
The package looks well-engineered and snazzy in its mint-green color. It comes with a steel “lanyard” for a backup clip-in point for steep terrain and boasts an adjustable throttle to control ascent speed.
The most eye-catching stat is this: max vertical 2600 ft (800m). No matter how you look at it, that’s some serious vert. And for the work averse, this gadget does nearly all the vertical gain work for you. So if we assume on an average backcountry day, 80% of the time a skier ascends, the remaining 20% they shred, the math could play well in favor of those wanting to “work” less, or, at a minimum, better balance out the work/fun ratio.

The Zoa PL1 in use. Photo: Zoa.
With a few Zoa PL1s deployed in the field, that 80/20 breakdown could very well flip flop. And with a lot of cord, you could almost go work-free up an entire volcano. One blog post says batteries are swappable in the field.
And too, there’s this to think about: Although maybe outdated research, a 2012 Washington Post story states, “The happier you are, the better, right? Not necessarily. Studies show that there is a darker side to feeling good and that the pursuit of happiness can sometimes make you . . . well, less happy. Too much cheerfulness can make you gullible, selfish, less successful — and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.”
In this instance, we are equating skiing with fun and the pursuit of happiness, and work as that “meh” kind of work. Be careful what you wish for when skiing more and working less.
For those with a lightbulb going off in the brain, the Zoa PL1 would still qualify as a mechanized device, so no wilderness use is allowed. Otherwise, as Zoa says, “Bring the lift with you.” This lift, however, remains in the beta prototype phase.
Jason Albert comes to WildSnow from Bend, Oregon. After growing up on the East Coast, he migrated from Montana to Colorado and settled in Oregon. Simple pleasures are quiet and long days touring. His gray hair might stem from his first Grand Traverse in 2000 when rented leather boots and 210cm skis were not the speed weapons he had hoped for. Jason survived the transition from free-heel kool-aid drinker to faster and lighter (think AT), and safer, are better.
22 comments
Step six is my favorite step, by far.
Maybe the Zoa would be good for instructional use, but otherwise it seems a backward step for backcountry touring.
How about a lighter version for crevasse self-rescue? No need for fancy rigging, just a single line anchored above.
Like the Atlas Powered Ascender?
https://atlasdevices.com/products/apa-4-series
Marketed towards tactical use, but also used by SAR for high angle rescue. Pretty heavy at 20+lbs with battery, though.
April Fool’s Day early this year?
I was also gonna ask if this is an april fools day gag or some other kind of joke. I mean seriously?
I i can really say is that this is both incredibly stupid and also completely antithetical to real ski touring.
Why bother even waste time and space on the site for this?
Really guys? Really?
To everyone up in arms: consider this. While this might not be an improvement to touring – it may well be an improvement to lift-based skiing.
Where I live – there are ever more chairlifts, in sensitive environments, with questionable long-term prospects at enormous cost. (and most certainly as a loss-leader.) Its clear that ski touring is always going to be a niche sport. Its just too difficult for the masses. (feel superior now.) If this is true – mechanized skiing is probably here to stay, and reducing its impact would be valuable for all of us. Tourers included.
The simple, surface lifts of New Zealand, which are beefed up versions of this, have long seemed to me to be a great solution. This is another. Ski resorts could well run on versions of this – and disappear when the crowds do. I find that idea very interesting.
Wookie I think your angle is right: don’t think of this in the context of taking into the wilderness, but as an augment/alternative to lower impact ski hill.
I think Wookie has best insight on this – would make it much easier to have “pop up” ski area that don’t require as much vertical elevation, or permanent infrastructure.
How about humans stop being so lazy and just skin to the top with their own muscles and energy? If I ever see anyone using this in the backcountry, I’ll probably unhook it at the top.
Yep
…and get your ass beat.
Having hit 50 (with a mountaineering based injury list longer than my left leg, which has been shorter than my right since surgery in the 90s) and having done some skinning with a few people in their 60s and one in their 70s, theres a place for this. I can get by fine but every year there’s less up in my legs but still plenty of down.
*Snip*
I want one, regardless. Great with a group of slackers taking turns at your local park or public space. Good as a teaching tool as well.
I want one.
I’m a ski mountaineer who enjoys the up almost as much as the down, and I’m all about lightweight gear if it’s burly enough for my frame, but I’ve chatted with the crew at Zoa for 2 reasons. One, I’m curious about crevasse rescue capability for my workplace (it’s not currently rated for this use), and secondly, because my wife likes skiing, but hates the skin track. Not all of us view ski touring the same, and although it’s easy to judge, if a tool like this gets me more ski time with my wife in the backcountry, I’d carry it when I ski tour with her, and leave it behind when she’s not with us.
To each their own.
800 meters of vertical? Let’s see, that’s 1600m of rope for an average 30 degree slope, weighing 23 lbs and taking 20 liters on a tightly wound spool of 4mm rope. Doable, but not something to slog into the backcountry. Maybe 200m vert and run it again and again. Boring, may as well stick to the resort.
Replying to the comment about the size of a 1600 meter paracord: The “800 meter vertical” thing is a battery-life rating, i.e. it’s saying that the battery can lift a “typically sized” skier that far before it needs recharging. Obviously you would have to ski that as multiple shorter laps to stay within a practical rope length.
It’s been really incredible to see more people getting to the backcountry. Love it.
I’m sure many people wouldn’t hesitate to grab a tow, but I wonder if more and more people are also enjoying moments like I had today: touring through silent sunlit trees, feeling the bite of the wind and blowing snow on the ridge, and hitting a new sunrise in our sun-starved eyes as we made the top.
The skiing was fine.
I appreciate the ski touring news without nasty internet comments. Thanks for sharing this curious article.
Watch the prototype test videos on the Zoa site to evaluate the acoustic signature of the device and determine if it appropriate for a particular environment.
I cringe at the thought of one of these abominations showing up at my local hill. It would destroy the soul and vibe.
Fortunately it will fall under “mechanized transport” and not be legal in federal wilderness areas.
Cool to see how tech is now integrating itself into the skiing world!
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