When I was a kid there was a local ski area in my town that used a set up like that from a vintage jeep. There was someone sitting in the jeep at the top of the hill watching, who could push on the clutch if there was a pile up of kids on the rope line, or sometimes if anyone was not using the rope line "properly" an old guy would come out and yell at us.
Back in the late 1960's when I first went sking the rope tow used Ford V8 wire wheels as pullies. Guess there was a rear axle stub welded to a post holding it. Bob
Nice picture reminds me when I was a kid after they stripped mined and left open pits with lots of loose coal my dad and brothers would pick coal all summer to burn in the winter he would back his ford next to the bank were he built a wooden platform with a pulley remove rear wheel bolt a rim on with a cable run it to the platform with a bucket brothers and I would climb down the pit fill bucket dad would bring it up mt it till trunk was filled went home dumped in a pile till fall then we cracked coal and filled the coal bin I think coal was around $10.00 a ton back dad said why buy when we can pick free then ahhhhhhhh the good old days