Flying across ravines in Whistler on dental floss

By Matt Law

Opening weekend for Whistler has come and gone. Saturday Nov. 14 was the first official day of the ski and snowboard season on the mountain. Over 300 people lined up at the base to be one of the privileged few to carve the first tracks into the snow. Australian accents could be heard far and wide throughout the village that day. Olympic officials from around the world strolled with self perceived impunity down the centre of pathways, obstructing the few people in Whistler who are grounded in reality.

However, I was not there to ski, board or curse at visiting Olympic envoys. I was there to Ziptrek. As a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie I have wanted to try this growing tourist attraction for some time now. The thought of flying down an 1100ft cable, suspended over a creek 1000 feet below, hitting speeds of 60km/h, sounds really exciting to me. Unfortunately as a poor student I have had to put off this particular adventure until recently due to the $99 per person (basic package) price tag.

The basic package offered by Ziptrek gives thrill seekers over two hours of Ziptreking fun; with a little sightseeing, some scintillating environmental history speeches by you guides and five cables which send you flying over Fitzsimmons creek.
A word of warning. If you plan to go in the winter, dress really really warm.

The trip begins with a practice run near the village, which is a bit of a yawn fest, followed by a 15-minute van ride past the bobsleigh track to a beautifully constructed tree top walk way… Ewok village for you Star Wars types.
Once zipping across Fitzsimmons creek the trip gets a little more exciting. You can move about, even hang upside down and spin, all while flying through the air. Who wouldn’t enjoy that? Someone with acrophobia (fear of heights), that’s who. We happened to have one of these types on our tour, which greatly slowed the process.

Overall this is something you have to try once, but for thrill seekers it hardly gets your blood pumping. The harness feels very secure, so much so that you have a phantom wedgie for several hours post zipping. There is no real drop or sudden sensation of falling, so your ‘oh-crap-I’m-gonna-die’ reaction doesn’t give you the rush of adrenalin. In fact, according to Ziptreck employees, a 93 year old woman has tried it and just loved it.
Next time it will have to be bungee jumping.