Zip line, alpine slide offer big fun in Whitefish

As I sat in my harness attached to a cable stretching through the trees of Big Mountain, it became apparent that I was about to embark on either the most fun or the scariest thing I had done in a long time.

But before I had time to panic, or really even think about the 120 feet that would soon be between me and the ground our guide had unhooked me and a fellow zip-liner on the neighboring cord and said that magic word "go." Without thinking twice, I took my feet off of the platform and let myself glide through the air.

I have a small fear of heights — of falling really — and I really wasn't too sure how much I wanted to trust my life to a harness, a carabiner, a collapsible pulley system and a cable, but for some reason I felt surprisingly secure.

I have to say that much of my confidence in this little adventure came from the practice run they had us do. As the first of four zip lines, the practice run was about 200 feet and served as a good introduction of what to expect on the other three zips, which each carry their own allure. The second zip is the highest off the ground at 120 feet, the third is the longest at about a quarter mile and is the fastest with speeds reaching 50 mph and on the fourth the guides don't help cushion your landing, which means you get flung backwards up the zip after landing.

There were 13 other people in my group that day, which pretty much made us as large of a group as the staff at Whitefish Mountain Resort likes to take on the tour. This is to ensure that everyone isn't standing around waiting for a turn, which is nice, but it also means that the sessions fill up fast so a reservation is highly recommended even during the week.

The zip line tour is open to all ages, but participants must be between 60 and 250 pounds and be at least 54 inches tall.

I heard several of the zip riders say that they wished that the rides were longer, faster and all around more intense. Although I was glad that I found the rides fun and relaxing, I'd say that for the price of $59 for the two-hour tour, I'd like a little more of an adrenaline rush.

No previous experience was necessary to go on the zip lines, and only some moderate hiking is involved.

After I finished the zip line tour, I decided to give the alpine slide a try, which is Whitefish Mountain Resort's other new attraction this summer. From the pictures I had seen I really wasn't too interested in trying it. It looked a little mild for me. But since I was already up there, and I had heard that it was actually fun and even a little addicting, I decided to give it a try. To my surprise it was a pretty great ride.

You have to take the chair six lift up to the starting point of the slide, but even that was a nice ride as you traveled over the top of the slide and could watch people make their way down the course, which winds down what is the bunny hill in the winter.

When I got to the top of the slide I was given my sled and a few simple instructions, "push the lever down to go and pull it back to stop." At first I thought that having to push the lever to go sounded like a nuisance, but once I was on my way down I decided it made it more fun and engaging than just sitting on the sled. The slide itself was kind of like a waterslide with no water. It had a few sharp corners and a couple of drops, but was a fairly mellow ride. It was definitely worth trying, especially since it isn't too expensive at $8 for one ride and $20 for three rides. It is also open to all ages. Children under 48 inches tall have to share a sled with an adult, but are free.

The zip line tour and the alpine slide are the newest additions to the mountain's summer attractions, which also include Walk in the Treetops, scenic lift rides and downhill mountain bike trails, which were also improved upon this summer.

"They've both been amazingly successful, even beyond our wildest dreams," said Whitefish Mountain Resort Public Relations Manager Donnie Clapp. "Having them here has increased the use of the other activities here as well."

Interestingly, Clapp also said that the zip line tour was created by Oly Bircher, who maintains the ski lifts in the winter on Big Mountain. He designed the structures, towers, pulleys and cables. The cable lines are made from recycled old lifts that are out of commission. That saves the resort money and cuts down on waste. Representatives from the resort visited a handful of similar zip line courses to determine exactly what they wanted the course to be.

"We tried to use the best components from each of the ones we visited," Clapp said. "It's not uncommon for ski resorts to have this. Ours is of a much grander scale than others though."

The mountain bike trails are on a much bigger scale than they used to be, too, which has attracted more riders.

"The new mountain bike trail has really taken off," Clapp said. "The usage has really gone up. We're really happy with that and the people that use it are really happy with it so now we have plans to continue to add to our course."

Whitefish Mountain Resort has been working on drawing in a summer clientele especially with new ownership in recent years.

"Summer around here has always been secondary," Clapp said. "Our new CEO Dan Graves has been here a little over a year. One of his biggest goals has been to make summer a real priority here. After two years of research we decided that the zip line and alpine slide could make the biggest impact up here to draw people in."

The change is visible. The mountain opened earlier for the summer than it ever has and it will stay open further into the fall than ever — seven days a week through Sept. 7, then weekends until the end of September.

The increased attractions and customers has also allowed the resort to take a big step towards making a profit. In years past, the resort has gone into the winter months with a huge deficit from a lack of income during the off-season. However, this summer they may pull in enough money to break even or possibly even have a profit. That means that they won't have to sell off more land for condominiums and houses to pay their loans, which anyone who uses the mountain can appreciate.

More information on Whitefish Mountain Resort is available by calling 1-877-SKI-FISH, or visit www.skiwhitefish.com.