The zip wire thread

I searched and could not find a thread like this, which is a shame, because long wires spread across a void should get more love than they do. So, I created this thread to show off all things zip wire related. Please use this for news, pictures and stories from zip wires!

Just for clarification, did you also mean Zipline?

^ I call them zip wires but I guess a zip line is the same thing!

I'll kick off this thread with a zip line story from quite a few years back. We were staying in a hotel in the coffee region in Columbia. It was a small hotel, family run, with a strange man with a strange obsession with his shot gun. Not sure if he wanted to protect us or kill us. And if he was protecting us, what from! This was not a luxury resort, it had rusty houses, rusty cutlery, and rusty swings for kids to play on when the adults get board of them. But there was one more rusty collection of items. A MASSIVE set of zip wires! When I say massive, I mean massive. There was about four wires, the longest spanning over 400 meters over old, hunched-back women, picking through the emerald green coffee plants.

Of course, I had to have a go. While the brown weather worn wires were no wider than my thumb, I gained a small reassurance that there were two there, however the fact they need two is not reassuring. How would one wire cope with my weight if two could not? Using the age old art of pointing, we managed to get some semi-official looking people to open the lines for us.

After slipping into an old harness and getting on rock solid helmet and a glove, I seemed ready to go. The staff gave me instructions on what to do. They said they I had to keep my hand on the pulley and rope at all times, unless I am going too fast, and in that case, let go of the pulley and using the gloved hand, hold onto the wire to slow myself down. Fool proof, hey!

Then the time came to depart off the creaking wooden platform, with planks missing, and fly off down the hill side, into the forest on a hill almost half a kilometer away. First the member of staff went down to the bottom. He shouted something I assume meant go, and I was off. Immediately I began flying over the picturesque landscape, like an eagle, if not as elegant. It was the best zip wire I had done to date. The fact is was dodgy and back street make it all the more exhilarating. As I reached the end, I was still flying with tremendous speed. I lost my nerve and grabbed hold of the wire. Turns out, I was not going too fast, and ended up slowing down way before the platform, being suspended in mid air. It was then that I remembered I was suspended from two thin wires, attached to creaking wood.

After some shouting from the staff and strange noises from me, I pulled myself along the wire to the end, and finished my first terrifying zip wire, arriving at what could only be called Malaria Mountain. Swarms of flies encompassed me, taking tiny bites out of my flesh. It was only the day after that I realized the beyond itchy consequences. We climbed up the hill to another platform, leading back to the original hill. Desperate to escape Malaria Mountain, I attached my harness and set off. Once again, the ride was simply stunning. High speeds, a refreshing breeze and great heights over great views. It seemed to last forever. Until I saw where I was landing. I had learned not to grab hold of the wire any more, but I really wanted to. My destination was a field full of cow pat, and an angry bull, who did not seem to find the whizzing noise from the wires relaxing.

Skimming my feet on wet poo, I landed conveniently in a small area without any cow pat. However, the bull was looking at me. It was not the friendly "Hi! How are you?" Look you get from New Zealand cows, nor the curious look from English cows. This was pure murder in his eyes, a sight not unlike the man with a gun gave me when I said, "Hola" to him in the morning. Again, I wanted to get out of the area as fast as possible. I noticed the next zip wire was fraying a little at the edges, but I did not care. The cow/bull/demon thing was approaching fast. The staff went down first, leaving me alone with the cow, who was now no more than five meters away As soon as he touched the bottom, I was off.

Again, an amazing flight. I could not choose my favorite, they were all so good. I arrived back at malaria mountain, and quickly got on the final zip wire back to 'safety'.

While this was the most insane and scary thing I had ever done for so many reasons, it was one of the best 'attractions' (if you can call it that) I have ever done. It beats so many rollercoasters on thrill and fun, and it is completely raw. Yes, it would not pass health and safety. Yes, I got told off. Yes, I got bitten to death. Yes, I could have died. But it does not matter. Everything that should have made this awful made the experience even better. Not to mention the wires themselves were stunning as well. I would definitely do this again.

The only picture I have of the actual line, but you get the idea. Note the rusted pulley.