A New Way to See Colorado

 Many vacationers have had the pleasure of ziplining through the rainforest in the south.  However, ziplining is also beautiful in the Colorado Mountains.  Breathtaking landscapes, wildlife, and beautiful vegetation make Colorado one of the best ziplining spots in the United States.

If Tarzan swung from tree to tree across Colorado right now, he might complain that it's tough to get very far without tripping over a zipline.

In fact, helping folks fly through the air with the greatest of ease appears to be the goal all over the state as ski resorts, lodging properties, outfitters and seemingly anyone with space to spare angles to get in on the zipline action.

"I'd like to get the mayor of London here to try our ziplines," says Colorado Tourism Office spokesman Roland Alonzi about Boris Johnson, who famously got stuck on a zipline attempting to soar over Olympics celebrators in a stunt that went viral on YouTube. "I guarantee, we have the best ziplines in the world, and that never would have happened here."

At the very least, Colorado's ziplines offer better scenery, often with a background of sandstone cliffs, old-growth ponderosa pine or miles of red rock canyon.

Even the definition of zipline — which at its simplest, refers to a pulley suspended on a cable — can be a bit different. Once a reference to the "canopy tour" long offered in the rain forests of Costa Rica, Thailand and Brazil, a zipline in Colorado can run the gamut from a short, slow, seated, theme park-style scenic ride to an elaborate, multi-line series of 40 mph zigzags through thick forest from tower to tower rather than platforms attached to trees.

Modern ziplines are thought to be based on the Tyrolean traverse pulley system used by climbers and cavers: zipliners snug into a climbing harness and are clipped onto the pulley using carabiners, and then gravity takes over. As a safety measure, sag is built in for slowing and stopping. 

While summer camps and playgrounds have offered scaled-back versions for decades - called "flying foxes," these ziplines usually use hand grips and seats, as well as less steep inclines — large-scale zipline tours in Colorado can be traced back to 2005, when Monty Holmes opened Captain Zipline's Lost Canyon Zipline Tour (captainzipline.com) near Salida. That same year, Soaring Tree Top Adventures (soaringcolorado.com) started in Durango.

Counting smaller operations at resorts, ski areas and single lines at theme parks with other attractions, nearly two dozen ziplines are currently offered around the state, with a third of them having just opened this year.

"As far as I could tell, I was the third one to open in the U.S.," Holmes says. "And by the end of this year, there's expected to be 300 ziplines in the country. It's getting to be pretty big. But I think Colorado is definitely at the forefront."

Certainly Colorado zipline operations are creative. Several, such as AVA's Zipline Tours (coloradorafting.net), which has locations in Buena Vista and Idaho Springs, package ziplining with river rafting or, as in the case of Full Blast Adventure Center (ziplinedurangoco.com) in Durango, have paintball and a 26-line slacklining course.

Others, like Durango's Soaring Tree Top, are unique. "You can only get to Soaring Tree Top by taking the train," says Alonzi, who notes that ziplines are one of his favorite activities. "It's amazing. There are 300-year-old ponderosas, and you can only see them this way, by getting out there and doing this. Pretty incredible."

Ski areas and private resorts have been adding ziplines, as well, looking at them as a way to offer shoulder-season attractions and other options for guests who don't participate in typical winter sports.
Last season, for instance, Crested Butte Mountain Resort (skicb.com) debuted a guided, year-round canopy-style zipline tour, and in May, Devil's Thumb Ranch (devilsthumbranch.com) near Tabernash, long known for horseback riding and cross-country skiing, added a series of ziplines, including one that runs 1,600 feet and hits speeds up to 40 mph.

"The owner, Bob Fanch, really had a passion to put one in," says Sean Damery, vice president and general manager at the ranch. "He felt that there was a lot of demand for them right now, and it turns out he was absolutely right. We're sold out a week in advance."

Holmes, too, says he sees ziplining only gaining in popularity and has been adding lines and expanding the operation. "This has a very high thrill-to-skill ratio," Holmes says. "Unlike mountain biking and hiking and climbing, you just don't have to be very skilled or in that great a shape to zipline."

Holmes says that's what attracted him to the activity to begin with. "I don't like roller coasters, I'd never go bungee jumping, I don't even like Ferris wheels," he says. "But this gives you three seconds of stomach-tightening, and then after that it's all gliding motion and squealing fun."

On the other hand, he points out, you do have to possess enough strength to hang on.

 "The one thing we are starting to see is that sometimes people aren't fit enough to sit up in the harness," he says. "That's a requirement."

The other concern first-timers have: safety.

To have a safe zipline experience, it's important to listen to the safety talk and choose a reputable operation, agree Holmes, Alonzi and Damery. "You're not going to have a problem in a properly constructed zipline," Holmes says.

"I was at the new Royal Gorge zipline recently, and the guy strapping me in said, 'The heavier you are, the faster you'll go,'" Alonzi says. "I started laughing, and I thought, 'Oh, great, thanks a lot, I'm going to be flying.' But really, that's good information to know."

For more information about locations and equipment see the Denver Post.