Winter fun can come from the air with a zipline
Zooming down a mountain at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, you get the sensation you are free, you are one with nature, you are alone in the wilderness... well, except for the tour guides, photographer and other guests close by.
Bystanders and all, the experience of flying over a frozen mountain top lake can be exhilarating.
A few weeks ago, Zoom Ziplines invited myself and a guest out to their location at Mountain Creek in Vernon to test out their newest attraction to the sports park. Ziplining is typically thought of as a warm-weather activity, but Zoom offers tours all year long. This in turn provides a different experience for all four seasons — guests are able to take a gander at the mountain from budding leaves, to fall foliage to snow-covered mountain tops with frozen lakes.
This nature-based, eco-adventure tour begins with guests testing out a trainer line at the base of the mountain (line 1) which is approximately 200 feet long. This allows guests to become familiar with the harness and trolley and proper "form" for ziplining. Especially helpful for guests who are nervous about the tour and heights.
Then guests take a 10-minute ride in the stand-up gondola approximately 3,800 feet in length up to the summit of the mountain. From there guests zip across three ziplines over the mountain top lake (line 2 is 1,500 feet long; line 3 is 750 feet long, and line 4 is 800 feet long). There are two lines side by side so to double your experience with a friend.
After ziplining all four lines, guests cross over a swinging suspension bridge and take a Unimog all-terrain vehicle ride back to the gondola, where they ride it back down to the base of the mountain.
The entire tour takes between one and a half to two hours depending on the size of your group. Photos and video packages are also available. The video is shot straight from a GoPro camera adhered to the your helmet to get a first-person view of the experience.
For more information visit ZoomZiplines.com.