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ZipTrek the best show on cable

Ecotour company offering zip line tours over the Fitzsimmons The half-inch galvanized steel cable is strong enough to hold more than 10,000 kilograms of weight, but it still looks kind of thin when you’re perched on a platform more than 30 metre

Ecotour company offering zip line tours over the Fitzsimmons

The half-inch galvanized steel cable is strong enough to hold more than 10,000 kilograms of weight, but it still looks kind of thin when you’re perched on a platform more than 30 metres over a raging Fitzsimmons Creek.

On the longest zip line, which is about 350 metres from platform to platform, the engineers expect people to go as fast as 70 km/h before the slack in the line starts to slow your descent.

"You wouldn’t believe the amount of engineering that goes into one of these things," said ZipTrek Ecotours owner and operator David Udow. "It’s not just a matter of stringing a cable between two trees. You have to look at weight, acceleration, deceleration, stresses on the cable and equipment, all that kind of thing."

Unless you’re resume includes a stint studying canopies in the Amazon rainforest, you’ve probably never been on a zip line before. You can find and ride zip lines at a few locations in North America, but there’s never been anything like the setup that ZipTrek is building over the Fitzsimmons.

All told, a tour with ZipTrek will include five zip lines, which strung together would be more than 800 metres in length.

The first is just 22 metres long on the Blackcomb Mountain side of Fitzsimmons Creek, and will be used to show people how the lines and equipment work, and to get used to the idea of stepping off the platform.

The second line, stretching from the Blackcomb side to the Whistler side, is almost 120 metres long.

The third, which runs from Whistler to Blackcomb is about 260 metres long.

The fourth, the longest and highest of all the zip lines, is about 350 metres long, running from the Blackcomb side to Whistler side once again. The fifth and final line, which is 100 metes long, brings people back to Blackcomb.

Vans will be waiting to take the people back to the village, where it’s hoped they will sign up to do it all again.

ZipTrek is a new Whistler company owned and operated by Udow and Charles Steele. Steele and Udow grew up in Winnipeg together and were part of one another’s business ventures through high school and university before they went travelling. Both entrepreneurs ended up in Vancouver, working in technology consulting businesses.

After looking at ideas for different businesses that could combine their business skills with their love for the outdoors and adventure, they remembered the zip lines they saw while touring in Costa Rica and came up with the idea of combining a zip line tour with an educational ecotourism component.

After doing a bit of research, they approached Whistler-Blackcomb with the idea in January of 2001. After receiving a tentative thumbs-up from Intrawest, they worked behind the scenes for a year and a half, scouting locations, hiring consultants to help with the design of the zip lines and the ecotourism curriculum. Both Udow and Steele moved to Whistler to be closer to the project.

Intrawest, which already has exclusive tenure to the 33-acre area that ZipTrek will be operating in, went to Land and Water B.C. (formerly B.C. Assets and Lands) to obtain tenure for ZipTrek. They also went through the Resort Municipality of Whistler, which gave its approval for the project back in March. The engineering work was completed in February, and the physical construction of the zip lines and platforms began in April.

One of the hardest parts of the project was obtaining insurance, with premiums for tourism operators increasing anywhere from 100 per cent to 600 per cent after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

The details of the deal ZipTrek worked out with Intrawest are secret, as is the set-up cost of the operation, and the identity of the financial backers that made the project possible.

However, Udow would say that it was a substantial investment. The ten decks, which are built into trees in such a way that the trees won’t be affected, are manufactured entirely from certified cedar, which can cost hundreds of dollars for a single plank – three times as much as pressure-treated lumber.

"We knew that we had to build these things sturdy," said Udow. "In most places they measure the snow load at about 100 pounds per square foot. In Whistler you have to engineer for 220 pounds per square foot. Basically these decks can handle about 20 feet of slush."

The Ecotourism component will include an explanation of how the mountains were formed, the history of glaciation in the valley, and the growth of the forest over the last 10,000 years.

"Most people don’t know that this area is a Coastal Temperate Rainforest, the same as in the Amazon, but different," explains Udow. "We have the same forest in Whistler that they have in Clayoquot Sound, but our trees don’t get as big because the we’re higher than sea level and the growing season is a lot shorter. When you look at how big some of these trees are, even with a shorter growing season, it’s impressive.

"If you’re coming from Japan or Germany where there isn’t any old growth forest left, you’re going to be blown away by what we have here."

The whole EcoTourism concept was important to the partners from the beginning. "A lot of companies are throwing the name around these days," said Udow. "According to the United Nations, 2002 has been designated the International year of Ecotourism. They included a definition of what ecotourism is, and our business met every single one of those requirements."

Those requirements include the use of local materials and people whenever possible, an educational component that builds an appreciation for the environment, and a commitment to minimizing or eliminating the environmental impact on the tour area.

According to Udow, no new roads were created, and the tree-mounted platforms were designed in such a way that they won’t damage the trees or the creek. Only a handful of short trails will be used to go from one platform to the other.

The only aesthetic concern, said Udow, is the possibility that the flow of Fitzsimmons Creek will be lessened by a proposed run-of-river hydro project that, if approved, that would divert some water from the creek above ZipTrek’s operations.

"Whether it’s just 10 per cent less impressive or a lot more than that, we don’t know yet," said Udow. "We do support the project, however, and the whole concept of green energy for Whistler.

"It’s going to be a spectacular ride whatever happens."

A tour is expected to take about two and a half hours from the time of pickup in the village, and each group will include two guides. The lead guide will head across the zip lines first to intercept people, while the tail guide makes sure the pulley system and safety are properly attached to the zip line.

Guest will wear helmets and fully-adjustable waist and chest harnesses. They are connected by rescue rope to a construction quality carabiner, which is in turn connected to a special steel pulley system with sealed bearings. A safety rope is attached to the back of the harness and over the cable to act as a backup.

In the unlikely event that a guest is stuck between platforms, perhaps by a sudden and powerful gust of wind, they can be pulled to the platform using a weighted pulley, or rescued by the guides using special jumars that grip the cable.

ZipTrek is planning to operate year round, in all conditions. The only exceptions are days where there is a lightning risk or high winds that can slow people down.

The cost is $78 for an adult, or $55 for seniors over 55 or youth under 18. You can also purchase a family pass for $198, which includes two adults and up to four children. Tour groups will be limited to a dozen people.

Prices will be $10 higher on the weekends.

ZipTrek is also looking into the possibility of offering deals for locals and frequent users.

Although some of the staircases and bridges haven’t been completed, Udow and Steele will be opening on June 29. Tour groups can use the same trails and scaffolding used by construction workers as the project comes together.

The ZipTrek front desk is located in Essentially Blackcomb by the Whistler Village Gondola. You can also book by calling 604-935-0001 in Whistler, 1-866-935-0001 in North America. More information is available at www.ziptrek.com.