Loan to bring Zip Line Operator to RRG

[Greg Stamper]

Wednesday, Jan. 06, 2010
Loan to bring zipline operator to Red River Gorge
By Mary Meehan - mmeehan1@herald-leader.com

Tourists will have a chance to zip through the Red River Gorge thanks to a $250,000 loan from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority.

The loan recipient, Kentucky Zipline Adventures, plans to open later this year, offering six ziplines ranging from a few hundred feet to more than 1,500 feet long. It will operate in Clay City eight months a year and is expected to employ 15 to 18 people.

In ziplining, an activity popular at adventure tourism spots and often seen in television obstacle courses, participants wear a harness that is attached by pulley to an inclined cable high above the ground and strung between platforms. Participants then travel, or "zip," between platforms, usually at tree-line level.

Kentucky Zipline Adventures' parent company, Zipline Adventure Tours, operates zip lines in New Hampshire and Jamaica.

"For us, one of the most critical components of an interactive, outdoor adventure such as this is the natural environment that surrounds each of our locations," said Randy Farwell, one of the owners.

The Daniel Boone National Forest and Red River Gorge are the perfect setting for a world-class zipline tree-canopy tour, he said.

Elaine Wilson, executive director of adventure tourism with the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, said ziplining "will be an exciting way for adventure enthusiasts to discover and rediscover the gorge."

Canopy Tours Inc., a New Hampshire firm, will build the ziplines. The installation will meet standards developed by national organizations to ensure the safety of the participants, according to a news release. This includes annual inspections, training for guides and using the proper safety equipment.
Reach Mary Meehan at (859) 231-3261 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3261
http://www.kentucky.com/101/story/1083451.html

[Jim Stickley]

While recent media coverage makes it sound as though the zipline tours will be "in" the Gorge, the Forest Service says that they will be on private land, and they are, of course, right. My fear was that misinformed RRG enthusiasts might rebel, thinking that the Geological Area was going commercial. Even Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear portrayed that image in saying "The Kentucky Zipline Adventure in the Red River Gorge is just one more way for Kentuckians and tourists alike to appreciate the beauty of Kentucky."

But we can relax. Kentucky Zipline Adventure Tours (KZAT), like Torrent Falls Climbing Adventure, will just be one more exciting adventure opportunity in the RRG surrounding area.

In an email, KZAT manager Kerry Farwell said, "I just re-read the article and sure enough it sounds like we're traversing the Gorge. I apologize for that. The press release we sent didn't create that illusion, as this reporter does. We feel lucky to have the Red River Gorge and National Forest as a back drop for our zipline course, about 20 minutes away, in Clay City, on a private 2000 acre parcel."

And the price to zip? "The cost of the tours should be around $85 / pp, but we need to complete the course before putting a firm figure out there. Many things can change during construction," said Farwell.

KZAT website: http://kentuckyzips.com/index.html

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