New zip line, aerial park planned at Big Mountain

Rain, shine or snow, Whitefish Mountain Resort will kick off their summer season this Saturday, June 16. Scenic lift rides to the summit, the alpine slide, Walk in the Tree Tops and zip line tours will be offered opening weekend.

The resort is amping up their roster of summer attractions this year in a continuing effort to make Big Mountain a summer destination. They plan to add another zip line, build an aerial adventure park and offer a kid’s climbing area.

“Before, you could do all the attractions all in one day,” resort spokesperson Riley Polumbus said. “Now, you might need a few days. The resort is a good base camp for visitors. We have activities outside the door, and we’re also close to Whitefish and Glacier Park.”

With the added attractions, more employees are expected to be hired and other seasonal workers were brought back earlier than typical to prepare for the summer.

The new zip line — named Inspiration — matches the longest on the tour at 1,900 feet. It is expected to take riders up to 200 feet above the ground from the Bad Rock lift to the base of the Inspiration slope. Crews have poured concrete for the landing pads, but poor weather has slowed further progress.

Until the new zip line is opened, the regular six-line and four-line tours will be offered at a discounted rate. The longer zip tour is restricted to guests who weigh more than 100 pounds. Guests 60 pounds or more can go on the four-line tour.

A new aerial adventure park is expected to open by the beginning of August. The attraction will be suspended in the trees near the Chipmunk slope and challenges guests to walk across ladders, rope bridges and other obstacles. Guests wear harnesses on the self-guided tour and can challenge themselves to five different courses.

“It’s like a big playground, only it’s in the air,” Polumbus said. “Imagine being like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine.”

Aerial parks are popular in Europe and have only recently popped up in the U.S. Polumbus said there are a few on the east coast and only a couple in the West that she knows of.

“It’s sort of a new concept,” she said. “We’ll be the first in Montana to have one.”

Crews from Connecticut will begin construction of the aerial park next week.

Polumbus said the aerial attraction isn’t meant to replace Walk in the Treetops — a guided nature tour on a boardwalk suspended in trees on F.H. Stoltze land adjacent to the resort.

“The aerial park is more about learning about yourself and challenging yourself,” she said.

For the kids, the resort is installing Spider Monkey Mountain — a two-story tall tower of nets and webbing kids can safely climb up and then ride down an inflatable slide.

“Younger kids could do this by themselves,” Polumbus said. “They can do it again and again and again and again. They will burn off a lot of energy.”

Summer attractions offered this year include mountain biking, Walk in the Tree Tops, zip lines, the alpine slide, scenic lift rides, hiking, the kid’s climbing area, a summit nature center, and the aerial park.