Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/08/20/watch-people-whiz-down-this-st.html
…
3 Likes
Looks like fun!
2 Likes
That metal slide looks awesome, though that operator is braking a lot more than I would! Thats a very safe slide.
There was a local mountain that used to have “monster carts” which were 4 wheeled sleds with BMX handlebars on the front, You laid down, with a helmet, and chose your own course down the mountain, headfirst and about 6 inches off the ground. The last time I used on I had to bring it to a dirt throwing slide at the end, as I had lost the one braking wheel about halfway down the mountain, but I just kept going full tilt. I apologized as I turned the cart in at the bottom. They really should have taken a deposit.
1 Like
I’ve been on the one at Mieders. It’s possible to go down without using the brakes at all, but the tourists in front were going down at a snails pace so our group all got bunched up together.
3 Likes
They used to have one at Boreal Ridge near Tahoe and there’s one at Brekenridge in Colorado-- but not nearly enough of them in the US!
1 Like
I remember a similar setup in Park City, Utah, back around 1981 or so. I have no idea if it’s still around, and a quick check with Google Earth is inconclusive at best. I think it was concrete rather than metal, but it used wheeled sleds.
I was afraid for a second that a different sense of the word “whiz” was being used…
1 Like
I remember there was one with a concrete chute a few miles from the Denver zoo almost 40 years ago. Not sure if it’s still there.
When the title said whizing, I was expecting something else.
8 Likes
I’ve been on this - Kandersteg has an international scout camp centre and I stayed there when I was about 14. I’m pretty sure I went down faster than this dude; certainly the way I remember it, and with your bum 2 inches from the ground it feels super quick. You do get pretty close to the top of the berns if you don’t brake/lean. Great fun!
1 Like
Here’s the one at Park City:
As well as their roller coaster:
And zip line:
I rode them as recently as 2010.
2 Likes
There was one of these in Rotorua - it was booooring. They got rid of it eventually, because …
… this thing is waaaaay more fun
Among other things; you can pass, and get airborne in a couple of spots 
1 Like
Unfortunately, that Alpine Slide closed down just last year. It was in Golden, CO. at a place called Heritage Square… wonderfully scary as a kid.
1 Like
Perhaps the ones who were scared did.
As long as we’re not watching them wizz.
Equally disappointed in Boing Boing, for the same reason.
1 Like
Ah, yes. Though I seem to remember a heck of a lot more trees. Did they develop the area?
The one time I had the chance to ride it was when I got stuck behind an overly cautious rider who kept the brakes on the whole way down, so thanks for that video. That was how it would have felt.
We have a good one at ski bowl, not to far from Portland, Oregon. It’s cement though. My arm touched the side once and it took the skin off like a laser.
1 Like
I know right? And now R, Kelly closed his boing boing account.
1 Like
That’s not universally true. I turned one over at a different run to painful effect.
These are ace fun. They are essentially a way to still make some money out of your ski-lift during the summer season, which is pretty smart…
