95-year-old woman oldest to ride zip lines

Whitefish Pilot

Sally Cook, 95, became the oldest person to fly on Big Mountain last week, according to resort spokesman Donnie Clapp.

She flew down the 1,300-foot long Heaven zip line on June 23, coming to a stop on the landing deck with perfect form — knees up and arms fully extended. It was her third run of the day at Whitefish Mountain Resort and an experience she says she will not forget.

"You just feel light," she said. "Everything's taken care of. It just feels great."

Cook rode the zip lines with her daughter Christine and friends Lucy Carlson and Nancy McDowell as part of a group of 14 that included children and other elderly women.

This wasn't Cook's first thrill ride or adventure. She rode in a hot-air balloon when she turned 90, and she and the rest of her family were caught in a severe storm while sailing from Venezuela to Miami in 1955.

"I just like all new experiences," Cook said. "I'm not fussy."

The zip lines are set to carry people weighing up to 220 pounds, so some men in Cook's group were fitted with mini parachutes to slow them down. Riders have reached speeds up to 50 mph on The Floater zip line, Clapp said.

"It doesn't feel as fast as I think it looks," said Cook, who weighs less than 95 pounds.

Two new spans were added to the zip-line tour this year, including the 1,700-foot Highline and another that is 1,900 feet long and more than 300 feet off the forest floor — so high the resort had to string a parallel line with large balls as visual markers for aircraft. It's still being tested but will open soon, Clapp said, and its name will be chosen in a contest.

The zip lines and the resort's new alpine slide have been game changers on Big Mountain. More than 9,400 people rode the resort's zip lines last summer. Clapp said he recently searched YouTube online and found at least 100 zip-line videos posted by people who visited the resort last summer.

Zip-line tours are carried out in groups of 14 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. During peak days of summer, tours are filled well in advance. Whitefish Mountain Resort will charge $49 for a short period while all six lines are operating, but the price will go up to $75 for the full three-hour tour.