Alpine slides - CoasterBuzz

I did the one at OberGatlinburg and it was a lot of fun. The tram ride up and the ski lift to the top were pretty exhilariting in and of themselves.

Here's a link to the ober slide page...

http://www.obergatlinburg.com/alpine.htm

The whole Ober Gatlinburg and Gatlinburg area is almost unexplainable in its beauty and the tremendous amount of fun you can have hear. Definitely, along with Dollywood and Pigeon Forge, worth a nice weekend visit.

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Danny

I love apline slides they are one of my favorite things to do in the summer time. I try not go to fast :). If you ever plan on coming up to Minnesota go to Wild Mountian in Taylors Falls its also a ski resort for the winter time and they do have waterslides, a blackhole slide and go carts plus a lazy river. I recomend you try apline slides they are fun. I'm not sure of this but I also think Lusten Mountian Ski Resort my also have apline slides up near Duluth, Mn.

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Wild Thing: 75Laps! Power Tower: 73 Rides. Valleyair Security 2002! 8Years Working at Valleyfair!

For all you Socal folks, there is/was? one of these at Big Bear. I haven't been in about 8 years though. Does anyuone know if it's still there? Just south of Big Bear city.

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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"

I strongly recommend visiting the slides at Camelback in the Poconos. They do in fact race but the one side is intended for slower riders. However, if there aren't a lot of people there, you can race. I been on a few and this one by far is the best. There are a few places with some serious air time. You can drop about 4 feet at one part if you are going fast enough.

Rode one many years ago (around 25 years ago). It was at Ski Liberty in Fairfield PA (near Gettysburg PA... just north of the MD line). I don't remember many details about it, except that it was a dual slide and the upper part of it was on a steeper part of the mountain (okay... the "big hill" for those of you who live where there are real mountains) and was very winding with high banked turns. The lower part of it was on a less steep part and was more straight (where you could really pick up speed).

Not sure when it was it was built (not long before my visit I think) and not sure when it was removed. (by 1992, when they used the ski lodge as the admin base for the movie "Gettysburg", it was gone). Not sure why it was removed either. Speculation has it that it was either a) lack of business, b) hight maintenance cost, c) too many injuries on the upper part with people flying off the track on the sharp turns.

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

I have been on one at Cave City, KY. Kinda neat but nothing too spectcular really.

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Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?

Icarus said:
"There is a Racing Alpine Slide at the Park City Mountain Resort, Park City, Utah. If you watched any 2002 Winter Olympics Coverage, this was the Venue for the Men's and Women's Snowboarding Halfpipe, Men's and Women's Snowboarding Parallel Giant Slalom, and the Men's and Women's Giant Slalom.
I've ridden the slides in Park City and they are a blast. If you ever have a chance to ride one of these do it. They are usually pretty pricey but well worth it!
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Icarus Flies Again"

The Ober Gatlinburg slide is great fun. If you see that the person in front of you starts off slowly, you can ask the attendant if you can wait until they finish (about 90 seconds) before you start. He has said yes to me every time - he knows it sucks to go slow!

On this slide, the ski lift to the top goes over the slide itself, so you can see people sliding. Once I saw someone going really fast and I said, "He's going to wipe out." Sure enough, he flipped his sled and skidded about 15 feet on his face. Ow.

The key is to use one arm for the lever and hold the other arm straight out to the side for balance. At least for this alpine slide, this technique allows you to go full throttle the entire way down.

-Dennis (whose family went to Gatlinburg every year for vacation and who has ridden the alpine slide there more than he has the Beast at his own home park. :))

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He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking; can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding.

I have been on the slides in Seven Springs, PA and Gatlinburg, TN but neither within the last 6 years or so. I remember them being a lot of fun.

I rode one at a ski resort in New England when I was a kid, and it was a blast. It seemed like it lasted forever.
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The word "definitely" is definitely the most misspelled word on the buzz.

I've never had the experience to ride an alpine sled like the one's being discussed here. I tried to ride the one on Mt. Hood but they weren't open for the summer season yet. I have had the opportunity to ride two other similar rides though. When I was younger my family went up to Lake Placid, NY for a vacation. While there we were able to ride in a real bobsled on the real bobsled track. Quite a rush. You get to ride while a professional drives the sled through the course. Another great thrill I've had was on a similar ride in Rotorua, New Zealand. They had a small typical alpine sled, but the big attraction was similar but a little more dangerous. Instead of a trough and very little steering you instead rode on what is the equivalent to a really smooth sidwalk that is about two sleds in width. You have complete control of steering and speed. It is quite easy to run off the course and it featured highly banked curves and some decent drops where you could get a little air if you had enough speed. They discouraged racing, but my uncle and I had about four epic battles on the longer of the two runs. If anyone is ever in the area, I strongly recommend this ride to anyone looking for a good time.

Yeah, the Lake Placid bobsled kicks a lot of butt and is well worth the $30 per person. Also, I've ridden an alpine slide at Song Mountain. (NY) It was a fun experience.

I've always been curious, how do they get the sleds back to the top of the course?? Truck?

I know. I know. probably a "duh" question. Just curious how they did it there.

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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"

On the Mount Hood Ski Bowl alpine slide,they put the sleds on a hook on the back of the ski lift chairs to take them back up the mountain.I have ridden this slide many times since it opened up in 1982.One thing I learned when riding the slide is always check the condition of the wheels ,especially if you go on the fast track and dont' use the brake until you get to the bottom of the hill.Make sure there is tread on the wheels as your sled will track much better,especially coming out of curves at high speeds.I learned this the hard way by crashing and burning on this slide.If you dont' plan on going fast,this is not as critical.

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I can fix anything.....where is the duct tape?

At Ober I think the sleds go back to the top on the backs of ski lift chairs.

I like the operators dialog at Ober. "Don't touch to the track or it will burn your skin off!" It just adds that added sense of danger. : )

I remeber going to an Alpine Slide in my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. It was built on an old ski resort hill called Timberlee. They also had racing boats, bumper boats, go carts and dune buggy rides. I remeber one time when riding the slide falling over on a turn and skinning my arm a bit. Other than that it was a fun experience.

At Ober they actually have a separate chair lift for the sleds.

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He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking; can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding.

Action Park is hilarious... The looping waterslide was fantastic. :)

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.:| Brandon Rodriguez |:.
http://www.coasters2k.com