Like many mountain folk the world over, Georgia's Svans have long been the targets of stereotypical “light bulb jokes." A recent engineering blunder in their native Svaneti is not going to help matters. Georgian media report that supports for a lift at a much-hyped, new Svaneti ski resort have been installed . . . well . . . upside-down.   

 The grand opening of Svaneti’s first-ever ski season, originally scheduled for December 21, was postponed after Leitner, an Italian ropeways manufacturer, reportedly found that the chairlift’s intermediate towers were sticking up from the ground wrong-side-up.  
Blaming local contractors for the glitch, the company said that an engineering solution can be found, but that it will take extra time and could limit the lift's passenger capacity, Rustavi2 reported on December 21.


The regional governor partly denied, partly played down the problem in his comments to the channel.


With many skiers in Georgia looking forward to try out the new run, hopes remain that at least the chairs will be installed right-side-up to make for a reasonably comfortable ride.