180
Well-known member
Hunter Mountain UPPER MOUNTAIN ZIP LINE December 18, 2010
My wife and I were fortunate enough to be invited to first public ride of the new Upper Mountain Zipline.
The first thing I want to say about the Zip Line is that everyone must do this!
Even though you are 500' off the ground it is not as scary as it looks and you are completely safe. Make sure you eat well, the heavier you are the faster you go. Take toe and hand warmers and you will have no issues with the weather. Bring your own helmet too and do not wear your good gloves. I certainly hope they come up with a frequent rider card so I can keep on playing. We were there to help iron out any kinks in the flow of the “ride”. We joined up with 9 other lucky soles including David Slutsky, one of the owners of Hunter Mountain.
Bradd Morse the owner of Zipline Adventure Tours introduced himself and spoke about the ride. Bradd and his guides did an excellent and professional job in all aspects of the operations. Safety is paramount and continuously stressed at every point in your day. It takes about 3 hours depending on the group you are with. We all met in the ZipLine building just outside the base lodge. Once we were harnessed up and safety checked we were given cleats to put on our shoes. One of the biggest points of concern were getting on and off the lift with the cleats on. Once at the summit, we went into the lodge and received another round of safety briefings. We were given our handle which would remain with you for the duration. They went over the optimal aerodynamic position for zipping; the “pencil position”. This would become very important as I learned later in the day. If the guide says be straight, you better listen. Make sure that the harness is adjusted properly, especially the men.
They have the bag of courage for anyone that decides not to make the ride. You get a lolly, a t shirt and a coupon to try again at 50% off.
The Zip starts at the top of Upper K27. On the first Zip, I was too busy with my new helmet cam and I came up 500’ short. Not to worry, the guide came and dragged me back in. I enjoyed a very nice view of the Ravine and K27. Surprisingly to me, the first zip was not the fastest. Zips 2, 3 and 4. Were much faster. Zip 4 being the fastest. Zip 4 allows you to overshoot the landing and come back, so you really pick up speed, 45 MPH. You can hear the difference on the videos. You can control you speed with body positioning. Simply putting your hand will slow you down considerably.
The Burma Bridge is a great distraction and gets you from Zip 3 landing to Zip 4 start. Some people were more unnerved by this feature than the ZipLines.
The zip ends at the top of B lift and you take a nice ride back down to the base where you are debriefed.
Some pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/alanbelsky/UpperMountainZipline121810#
In the meantime, here are the videos I shot with my Helmet cam. It was the first time using it, so they are not the best.
Zip 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4osvmC4wflc
Zip 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnG6d01qqCY
Zip 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh_UrhDu3g0
Zip 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR8gc5Oktps
Dave Slutsky coming in Zip 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9hCOor6Al8
Burma Bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWOJY3_xKOU
My wife and I were fortunate enough to be invited to first public ride of the new Upper Mountain Zipline.
The first thing I want to say about the Zip Line is that everyone must do this!
Even though you are 500' off the ground it is not as scary as it looks and you are completely safe. Make sure you eat well, the heavier you are the faster you go. Take toe and hand warmers and you will have no issues with the weather. Bring your own helmet too and do not wear your good gloves. I certainly hope they come up with a frequent rider card so I can keep on playing. We were there to help iron out any kinks in the flow of the “ride”. We joined up with 9 other lucky soles including David Slutsky, one of the owners of Hunter Mountain.
Bradd Morse the owner of Zipline Adventure Tours introduced himself and spoke about the ride. Bradd and his guides did an excellent and professional job in all aspects of the operations. Safety is paramount and continuously stressed at every point in your day. It takes about 3 hours depending on the group you are with. We all met in the ZipLine building just outside the base lodge. Once we were harnessed up and safety checked we were given cleats to put on our shoes. One of the biggest points of concern were getting on and off the lift with the cleats on. Once at the summit, we went into the lodge and received another round of safety briefings. We were given our handle which would remain with you for the duration. They went over the optimal aerodynamic position for zipping; the “pencil position”. This would become very important as I learned later in the day. If the guide says be straight, you better listen. Make sure that the harness is adjusted properly, especially the men.
They have the bag of courage for anyone that decides not to make the ride. You get a lolly, a t shirt and a coupon to try again at 50% off.
The Zip starts at the top of Upper K27. On the first Zip, I was too busy with my new helmet cam and I came up 500’ short. Not to worry, the guide came and dragged me back in. I enjoyed a very nice view of the Ravine and K27. Surprisingly to me, the first zip was not the fastest. Zips 2, 3 and 4. Were much faster. Zip 4 being the fastest. Zip 4 allows you to overshoot the landing and come back, so you really pick up speed, 45 MPH. You can hear the difference on the videos. You can control you speed with body positioning. Simply putting your hand will slow you down considerably.
The Burma Bridge is a great distraction and gets you from Zip 3 landing to Zip 4 start. Some people were more unnerved by this feature than the ZipLines.
The zip ends at the top of B lift and you take a nice ride back down to the base where you are debriefed.
Some pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/alanbelsky/UpperMountainZipline121810#
In the meantime, here are the videos I shot with my Helmet cam. It was the first time using it, so they are not the best.
Zip 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4osvmC4wflc
Zip 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnG6d01qqCY
Zip 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh_UrhDu3g0
Zip 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR8gc5Oktps
Dave Slutsky coming in Zip 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9hCOor6Al8
Burma Bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWOJY3_xKOU
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