Zip line

For other uses of "Zipline", seeZipline (disambiguation).

A person on a zip-line

Zip-lining inCosta Rica,January 2005

Azip-line,zip line,zip-wire,flying fox,ordeath slideis apulleysuspended on acable,usually made ofstainless steel,mounted on aslope.It is designed to enablecargoor a person propelled bygravityto travel from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable by holding on to, or being attached to, the freely moving pulley. It has been described as essentially aTyrolean traversethat engages gravity to assist its speed of movement.Its use is not confined to adventure sport, recreation, or tourism, although modern-day usage tends to favor those meanings.

History

Ropeways or aerial cableshave been used as a method oftransportin some mountainous countries for more than 2,000 years, possibly starting in China, India and Japan as early as 250 BC,remaining in use in some remote areas in China such asNu gian g (Salween)valley inYunnanas late as 2015 before being replaced by bridges.Not all of these structures were assisted bygravity,so not all fitted the definition of the zip-line.

Various technological advances in Europe in theMiddle Agesimproved the power-line's ropeways, some of which were still assisted by gravity.

The first recorded use of the zip-line as a form of entertainment was possibly in 1739, whenRobert Cadman,asteeplejackandrope slider,died when descending fromShrewsbury'sSt Mary's Churchwhen his rope snapped. In literature, one appears inH. G. Wells's 1897 novelThe Invisible Manas part of aWhit Mondayfair: "On the village green an inclined string, down which, clinging the while to a pulley-swung handle, one could be hurled violently against a sack at the other end, came in for considerable favour among the adolescent..."

Some sources attribute the development of zip-lines used today as a vacation activity to the Tyrolean traverses developed for mountaineering purposes.

In the Australianoutback,zip-lines were sometimes used for delivering necessities to people working in or on the other side of a valley, and they may have been used in conflicts byAustralian troopsto deliver food, mail and even ammunition to forward positions.

Current uses

Zip-line across river chasm inLadakh,India

As a means of transport

Yungas,Bolivia, features a system of zip-lines used for transporting harvested crops, mainlycoca,across a valley 200 m below.They can also be seen in theLadakhregion of India.

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in the use ofaerial ropewaysfor transporting cargo, partly due to their low energy requirements and environmental impact. Gravity-fed types, i.e. zip-lines, have been built inNepal,Latin America and India.

Ziplines have also been used as a means of transporting items inAustralianregions in the past. These may include ammunition, weapons, tools, food, and mail.

Recreation

Children's adventure playgrounds

Flying fox atGungahlin, Canberra,Australia

Zip-lines may be designed forchildren'splayand found on someadventure playgrounds.Inclines are fairly shallow and so the speeds kept relatively low, negating the need for a means of stopping.The term "flying fox" is commonly used in reference to such a small-scale zip-line in Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland. With playground equipment, the pulleys are fixed to the cable, the user typically hanging onto a handgrip underneath, but occasionally including a seat or a safety strap. Return of the grip or seat is usually done by simply pushing or pulling it via a short wire back to the top of the hill on foot.

Canopy tours and adventure zip-lining

Hocking Peaks Adventure Park,Logan, Ohio

Longer and higher rides are often used as a means of accessing remote areas, such as arainforestcanopy.In the 1970s, wildlife biologists set up zip-lines as a way to study and explore the denserainforestsof Costa Rica without disturbing the environment. The business idea for zip-linecanopy toursdeveloped from these. Darren Hreniuk, a Canadian citizen who moved to Costa Rica in 1992, around the same time that a scene in the filmMedicine Manincorporated the treetop rides, with the goal of using canopy tours to help raise awareness for reforestation, education and socio-economic development in the surrounding areas.In October 1998, the Costa Rican Patent Office granted patent No. 2532 for an "Elevated Forest Transport System Propelled by Gravity, Using Harness and Pulley Through a Simple Horizontal Line" to Hreniuk. The patent was later annulled, bringing uncertainty to zip-line businesses, before being reinstated after twenty years.

A canopy tour (sometimes called a zip-line tour) provides a route through a wooded, and often mountainous, landscape, making primary use of zip-lines and aerial bridges between platforms built in trees. Tourists are harnessed to a cable for safety, and many are restricted to adults. Heights vary from near to the ground to near the treetops.Canopy tours are largely marketed under the banner ofecotourism,although the environmental impact of any type of zip-line is a disputed topic.

The terminology varies (canopy tour, zip-lining, flying fox), and the distinction between using zip-lines for ecotourism and zip-lining as anadventure sportis often not clear. Zip-line tours are now popular vacation activities, found both at upscale resorts and at outdoor adventure camps, where they may be an element on a larger challenge such as ahikeorropes course.

Operation

Mechanism

Departure zip SuperFly inWhistler, British Columbia,Canada

A type of pulley with a grooved wheel known as asheaveis used in zip-lines, and the pulley turns as it travels along, thus reducingfrictionand enabling greater speed than would otherwise be possible.

The zip-line trolley ( "zipliner" ) is the frame or assembly together with the pulley inside that run along the cable.Zip-lines also have some kind of device to allow the cargo or rider to attach to the pulley system. This could include a harness, seat, a cabin or often just a handhold in smaller playground applications, that attaches to the pulley by a pivoting link orcarabinerwhich secures the load, allowing the person or cargo to travel down the line.

Braking

Zip-line spring braking system

To be propelled by gravity, the cable needs to be on a fairly steep slope. Even then, the rider or cargo will often not travel completely to the end (although this will depend on theload), and some means of safely stopping the car at the bottom end is usually needed with the larger zip-lines. Users of zip-lines must have some means of stopping themselves.Typical mechanisms include:

• Friction created between the pulley against the cable.
• Thick, purpose-built leathergloves.
• Amatornettingat the lower end of the incline.
• A passive arrester system composed ofsprings,pulleys,counterweights,bungee cord,tireor other devices, which slows and then stops the trolley's motion.
• A "capture block" which is a block on the cable tethered to a rope controlled by a person who can manually apply friction on the rope to slow the user down.
• Gravity stop, exploiting the sag in the cable, where the belly of the cable is always lower than the termination point. The amount of net incline in a zip-line system affects the speed at which the user arrives at the termination point.
• Hand brakeat the end of the zip-line.

Safety

There are certain precautions that can be taken. Riders are physically attached to the cable by aharnesswhich attaches to a removable trolley. Ahelmetis required on almost all courses of any size. All zip-line cables have some degree of sag, so the propertensioningof a cable is important and allows tuning the ride of a zip-line.

Records

Zip-lining through rainforest at San Lorenzo inSan Ramón (canton)

Rescuing a stuck zip-liner

Longest

The world's longest zip-line that opened on 28 September 2024 is the K3 of the SA Forest Adventures inCaledon,South Africa.It is a single cable of 3.2 km reaching speeds up to 120km/h.

From 31 January 2018 it was the 'Jebel Jais Flight' from one of the peaks of theJebel Jaismountain inRas Al Khaimah,United Arab Emirates, with a single unbroken span of 2,831.88 metres (9,290.9 ft).The ride was temporarily closed pending the outcome into an investigation into the crash of anAgusta 139rescue helicopteron 29 December 2018, killing all on board. It is believed to have clipped one of the cables.The ride has since re-opened.

The "Parque de Aventura Barrancas del Cobre" at 2,545 m (8,350 ft) inCopper Canyon,Mexico, is the second-longest span,with "El Monstruo" atOrocovisinPuerto Ricocoming in third, at 2,530 m (8,300 ft).

The Skywire atBluewaterin Kent is the longest in England at 725 metres (2,379 ft).The longest zip-line in Europe, at 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), is the Sternsauser inHoch-Ybrig,Switzerland.

The Zip World Bethesda line inPenrhyn Quarry, Bethesda,Wales holds the world record for attaining the fastest zip-line travel speed.

Steepest

Zip-lines with the steepest inclines include:

• Saint Martin's Rockland Estate Rainforest Adventures zip-line (opened 24 November 2017), dropping 320 metres (1,050 ft) across the 853 metres (2,799 ft) of cable.
• TheLetalnica bratov Gorišekzip-line, on theski jumpinghill inPlanica,Slovenia (opened 19 September 2015). It is 566 metres (1,857 ft) long with a 202 metres (663 ft) vertical drop. It has an average 38.33% and a maximum 58.6% incline.
• ZipFlyer inNepal(run by HighGround Adventures – 2012), with a maximum incline of 56%, claims to be the world's steepest zip-line. It has a vertical drop of 610 metres (2,000 ft).

Oldest person to ride a zip-line

• On his 106th birthday, British great-grandfather Jack Reynolds became the oldest person to ride a zip-line, on 6April 2018, atGo ApeinGrizedale Forest, Cumbria.

Highest elevation zipline

The La Tyrolienne inVal Thorens,France is the highest altitude zipline, at 10,600 feet.

See also

• Adventure park
• Aerial tramway
• Breeches buoy