Don’t get any ideas: this concrete pillar is not Mount Washington’s newest terrain park feature and it’s not an artistic ode to communism, either. It’s one of the towers that, by this summer, will support a series of ziplines zigzagging across Mount Washington Alpine Resort. The $3.5-million project aims to step up the year-round, non-sliding activities on the ski hill on Vancouver Island.
Because of heavy snowfalls and icy conditions during the ski season, the ziplines will probably only be open during spring skiing. Four zips will descend from the summit to the base. The first, across an airy gap with the ocean below and Coast Range in the distance, will be the highlight. Three more stages will gradually descend to the roof of the alpine lodge, a total of 2.3 km in length and 450m vertical drop.
