Ziptrek Ecotours

Zip it Dee do Dah Zip it Dee Eh

Robson Square has a number of activities and exhibits for Olympic goers, each are very popular in their own right. Perhaps the most reported on activity by the media is the Zip Line and was opened by the Premier. The lines are incredible long and at their longest exceeding seven hours! Media from around the world are captivated by it and the waits!

 

The line is operated by Ziptrek Ecotours, a B.C. company based in Whistler, on behald of Robson Square. It is two 560 foot long lines running parallel from a base tower at the south end of Robson Square to a landing tower located near the Vancouver Art Gallery at the north end of the square. The line operates from 10 am to 9 pm daily until the end of the Olympic Games and is used in Robson Square's Signature Celebration Show "Ignight the Dream" where skiers, snowboarders and hockey players zip down. The ride takes about 30 seconds and we are able to put through about 50 people an hour over the two lines. Originally it was though that we could flow through more participants, however we have found that folks tend to get a little nervous before they jump off!

Its purpose of the Zipline is to enhance the festive atmosphere at Robson Square while showcasing the sense of adventure and outdoor nature of British Columbia. It is free to the general public to ride, but participants pay by waiting. I would say that the shortest wait times are around 3 hours and the longest are almost eight hours depending on the day and the time. I’ve not heard one person say that the ride was not worth the wait!

Yesterday was my day to experience the trill of the zip. While I have zipped before in Costa Rica, I have never zipped through a concrete jungle with an ice rink below. After signing a piece of paper waiving all rights to my life away (I’m sure my lawyer friends would say there is a way around this), I proceeded up the tower with several of my new found Vancouver friends. When we reached the top of the platform, I could really feel it shake as each zipper “stepped” off the platform connecting them to the ground and into the abyss. While none of us were really scared or nervous, I think we all began to feel our legs shake a little a little. I thought this curious because I don’t remember being nervous at all before when zipping.

As the Ziptrek staff harnessed me in, I found myself looking at the fellow thinking, gee you look awfully young to be doing this. My eyes followed each of his movements double checking that each attachment to the zip gear was secure and all the components of my harness were well done up. At last, he said that I was ready and he released the safety rope and I noticed myself frowning at him thinking “why did you do that”. But I said I wasn’t going to be one of these folks who linger on the stairs – no I was walking down each of the three stairs confidently and swiftly. It was harder than I thought but I closed my eyes and lifted my legs. Swoosh.

The blue glow of Robson Square was all around me and I wanted to step things up a level so I let go of the holding rope and started to twirl around. Cool. How about a little backwards dip. Cooler. OhOh, what’s happening I don’t seem to be in complete control. Whew. The Zipline caught the safety catch and I was slowing to a stop at the North tower. Cool.

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'Yougottabehere'. "Zip it Dee do Dah Zip it Dee Eh" TravelPod
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