By Steve Hubrecht
There are two new major summer attractions in the Columbia Valley this summer, with Panorama Mountain Resort having recently opened its Wild Rider mountain coaster and with its Timberline Traverse aerial ropes tower set to open just as this issue of the Pioneer went to press.
A mountain coaster resembles a roller coaster, with the key differences being that a mountain coaster track winds downhill along a mountain slope, and that a mountain coaster has individual sleds running separately down the track, each controlled by an individual rider (rather than the stereotypical roller coaster connected of cars).
The Wild Rider is a family-friendly ‘pipe’-style mountain coaster winding 1.1 kilometres down from the Discovery Quad, with twists, turns and outstanding views along the way, descending 166 metres in elevation.
The aerial ropes tower is a multi-level high ropes course, also very family friendly, with four different levels (rang- ing from 15 feet to 60 feet above the ground) and 50 different obstacles for participants to clamber, climb, swing, and crawl through.
Panorama president and chief executive officer Steve Paccagnan noted that the Wild Rider is the only mountain coaster in the Upper Columbia Valley or the neighbouring Cranbrook-Kimberley area.
“In the 10 short days since it opened, we’ve had a significant number of people on it,” Paccagnan told the Pioneer last week. “We’ve had everyone from children as young as three or four years old riding with adults, to an 85-year old.”
Some riders came from other parts of the East Kootenay up to the Columbia Valley, travelling more than 200 kilometres specifically to try the Wild Rider.
Paccagnan outlined that the Wild Rider is a great example of ‘easy fun’; the mountain coaster “gives riders the same feeling of descending down a mountain, as does skiing or mountain biking — that same thrill. But it doesn’t require the gear or technical ability that skiing or mountain biking do.”
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The Timberline Traverse, located just uphill from the Mile 1 Quad loading area, also appeals to a wide demographic, and with its varying degrees of difficulty, it offers something for everyone.
The two new attractions are “two big anchors” in Panorama’s summer strategy, explained Paccagnan, helping bolster the resort’s ever growing reputation as a summer destination. They add to the mountain biking, hiking, alpine sightseeing, activity centre (with climbing wall, EuroBungy and more), food, music, events, and other activities on offer.
The Wild Rider and Timberline Traverse cost $3.5 million, and crews having been working since mid-May to set them up. The initial plan was to have them open in time for the Canada Day long weekend, but this year’s cold, wet spring resulted in a fair amount of snow falling up at Panorama Mountain Re- sort, which delayed construction by a few weeks.
Having the coaster and the aerial ropes tower benefits not just Panorama but the entire Columbia Valley, said Paccagnan. The more unique attractions here, the more reasons summer visitors have to come.
“It benefits the regional tourism economy. It creates more jobs. It brings people to Panorama, and those visitors often stop in Invermere, Radium and other communities on their trip here,” he said.
Around noon on July 27, the base area of Panorama Mountain Resort was bustling with visitors, many of them waiting in line to ride the Discovery Quad up to the start of the Wild Rider.
June Traptow and her three grandchildren — River Pyper, 17 years old, Truth Pyper, 14, and Theo Pyper, 11, — were visiting from Red Deer and had just finished riding the coaster for the second time. All were enthusiastic. So much so that each grandchild had readily agreed to pay for a second ride out of their own pocket, after Traptow had paid for everyone’s first ride.
“It was awesome,” said Theo. River and Truth were both impressed at just how fast the ride was.
“It’s really neat being able to control your own speed,” Traptow told the Pioneer. “I love the atmosphere here.”
She recalled visiting Panorama in the 1980s, noting that all there was in the base area in summer at the time was “a lot of gravel.” Traptow indicated the many attractions, programs and shops around her. “It’s changed so much. There’s so much to do now,” she said.
