Anyone that has done a Zipline

[CruznMooses]

Will be heading to Alaska in 50 day's, and I am thinking about doing the Zip line but I have one little problem. I have lost over 50 lbs and was hoping that I will lose 15 more before the cruise however I have hit one of those "weight loss walls" and I don't know how long it will tkae to break thru and get that extra weight off.

I know that the they say you must be between 90 and 250 lbs, my question is do they have a scale there that they make you get on to verify your weight? I would hate to book that trip and then find out that I a 5 to 10 pounds to heavy to go on the zipline...

Anybody that has gone that can help me with this question is greatly appreciated. Thank You!!!

[copmom]

We just got back and did the zipline through Canopy Zipline in Kechikan. They did not weigh us and I never even saw a scale. I am sure that a few extra pounds will not make a big difference. Congrats on the weight loss thus far! You will love the zipline! It was an awesome experience and we even saw three bears. Have a great time.

[SoccerMom#3]

When my 16 year old son did the zip line in Icy Strait they had a scale he had to step on to be sure he was in the approved weight range. It didn't give the actual amount he weighed. It just showed green if he was in the approved weight range and red if he wasn't.

 

Congrats on your weight loss!

[fsdj1097]

Will be heading to Alaska in 50 day's, and I am thinking about doing the Zip line but I have one little problem. I have lost over 50 lbs and was hoping that I will lose 15 more before the cruise however I have hit one of those "weight loss walls" and I don't know how long it will tkae to break thru and get that extra weight off.

I know that the they say you must be between 90 and 250 lbs, my question is do they have a scale there that they make you get on to verify your weight? I would hate to book that trip and then find out that I a 5 to 10 pounds to heavy to go on the zipline...

Anybody that has gone that can help me with this question is greatly appreciated. Thank You!!!

 

We have taken the Zip Line in Ketchikan and there were no scales in sight. However, be sure you book before you embark, as this excursion books up early.

 

Book, go, enjoy!

[Alaska05]

We just got back and did the zipline through Canopy Zipline in Kechikan. They did not weigh us and I never even saw a scale. I am sure that a few extra pounds will not make a big difference. Congrats on the weight loss thus far! You will love the zipline! It was an awesome experience and we even saw three bears. Have a great time.

 

Is this the one that has 3 suspension bridges and you get a medal at the end? We booked thru Princess.

 

We're signed up for this one in a couple of weeks, but I'm still not sure I can actually do it. I really don't like heights.

[erms]

I believe I know what a zipline is but wonder if its possible to take pictures while on it?

[HappiestWhenCruising]

I also just ziplined in Ketchikan and saw no scales. The trip we took covered 7 platforms and 3 rope bridges. The whole time you are connected to the wire above you, so I never felt scared. I am not afraid of heights, but I would recommend this excursion for anyone who is interested in trying it. It is totally safe and the guys that took us up were great. Very friendly and helpful. I am 50 years old and I went with my two sons 23 and 25. You don't have to be in perfect physical shape. You just got to be able to use your arms and will need to walk up and down some stairs at the beginning and end of the trip.

The sights were great from way up high. It is something that all 3 of us want to do again someday. I think with the fact that we were wearing jeans and that in Alaska the weather is a little cooler, it made for a nicer time than it might be in a Caribbean island where it might be hot. But I don't know for sure and will need to try it out someday to find out first hand. But like someone posted earlier, book this as soon as you can as I am sure it sells out very quickly.

Oh, and as for pictures...we all brought a disposable camera that we took pictures of each of us. You change the order you zipline in, so we were able to get pictures of all 3 of us on at least one of the cameras. The guide even took a few pictures of all of us on the rope bridges, which was very nice of him. I wouldn't bring an expensive camera in case its raining or you accidentally drop it.

[kootz]

Was this the tour that had a rock climbing wall also. That is the one we are taking with NCL Pearl

I also just ziplined in Ketchikan and saw no scales. The trip we took covered 7 platforms and 3 rope bridges. The whole time you are connected to the wire above you, so I never felt scared. I am not afraid of heights, but I would recommend this excursion for anyone who is interested in trying it. It is totally safe and the guys that took us up were great. Very friendly and helpful. I am 50 years old and I went with my two sons 23 and 25. You don't have to be in perfect physical shape. You just got to be able to use your arms and will need to walk up and down some stairs at the beginning and end of the trip.

The sights were great from way up high. It is something that all 3 of us want to do again someday. I think with the fact that we were wearing jeans and that in Alaska the weather is a little cooler, it made for a nicer time than it might be in a Caribbean island where it might be hot. But I don't know for sure and will need to try it out someday to find out first hand. But like someone posted earlier, book this as soon as you can as I am sure it sells out very quickly.

Oh, and as for pictures...we all brought a disposable camera that we took pictures of each of us. You change the order you zipline in, so we were able to get pictures of all 3 of us on at least one of the cameras. The guide even took a few pictures of all of us on the rope bridges, which was very nice of him. I wouldn't bring an expensive camera in case its raining or you accidentally drop it.

[roseoftx]

I sent an email due to the opposite problem (my son is just underweight).

 

Anyway, one of the key things is that you have to fit in their harnesses. I suspect that is more of their gauge, than an exact weight.

 

This is a contact for the Juneau is infojnu@alaskacanopyadventures.com

or infoktn@alaskacanopyadventures.com for Ketchikan.

[gonna go cruising]

We did it in Juneau through Alaska Zipline Adventures. Great people! I was worried that I would chicken out but I did fine. They also have a photographer with you to take pictures and sell you the cd of pictures at the end after you view the slide show if you choose to. We had Erin-or was it Erica?I am drawing a blank now- as our guide and she is a blast!

http://www.alaskazip.com/index.html is their link. We will go again next time we are in Alaska. :)

 

Edit-no scales. You have to sign a waiver stating you are within the correct range. I know a few pounds will not matter at all!

[benolathe]

I believe I know what a zipline is but wonder if its possible to take pictures while on it?

 

YES!! Unfortunately, you may not have a lot of control. A couple of my pictures of the Serenade sitting in the water came out great - and it's fun to see the zipline in the foreground. However, one that I attempted to get of my daughter going down beside me was just a 'blur' of tree leaves because I couldn't hold the camera steady at that time.

 

So, put your camera around your neck and see what pics you can get while "zipping" down. :p

 

You can see pics of the ZipRider in my Icy Strait Point album on WebShots.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/559607342DptNMO?vhost=travel&start=36

[erms]

YES!! Unfortunately, you may not have a lot of control. A couple of my pictures of the Serenade sitting in the water came out great - and it's fun to see the zipline in the foreground. However, one that I attempted to get of my daughter going down beside me was just a 'blur' of tree leaves because I couldn't hold the camera steady at that time.

 

So, put your camera around your neck and see what pics you can get while "zipping" down. :p

 

You can see pics of the ZipRider in my Icy Strait Point album on WebShots.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/559607342DptNMO?vhost=travel&start=36

 

Thank you so much for the info... I will try it with camera set to high speed.

 

Great pictures but one more question, what are the safety glasses for?:eek:

[Harley3801]

Is this the one that has 3 suspension bridges and you get a medal at the end? We booked thru Princess.

 

We're signed up for this one in a couple of weeks, but I'm still not sure I can actually do it. I really don't like heights.

 

 

If you really don't like heights, you might want to think twice about doing a zipline.

 

My husband is very afraid of heights but insisted that since he'd probably never get back to Alaska again, that he wanted to do a zipline. I tried to talk him out of it knowing how he feels (after 25 years of marriage, I had a pretty good idea he would not enjoy himself) but he said he wanted to do it anyway.

 

He was miserable for the entire 3 1/2 hours. I felt really bad for him and everyone else in the group was concerned about him.

 

If you really, really hate heights, do yourself (and the others on the tour) a favor and book another excursion. Tree hugging is no fun.

[Harley3801]

We did it in Juneau through Alaska Zipline Adventures. Great people! I was worried that I would chicken out but I did fine. They also have a photographer with you to take pictures and sell you the cd of pictures at the end after you view the slide show if you choose to.

 

 

We did this zip and they didn't have a photographer for us. I'm really disappointed.

 

I found it impossible to take photos while I was zipping since you have to hold on with one hand to steer but once on the platform, I could take photos of others while they zipped.

[thekidsandi]

Can this only be booked through the cruise lines? We will have a rental car in Juneau and Ketchikan, so would prefer to go on our own.

[roseoftx]

There are multiple place, so not sure which you are considering. The one with the pictures above is quite different than the oens I found in Juneau. This is one that many of the cruise ships book there and according to the website (http://www.alaskacanopyadventures.com/) you can email them if you are arriving by othe means, but they suggest booking through the cruise ship if an option.

 

See the contact us link.

[gonna go cruising]

Can this only be booked through the cruise lines? We will have a rental car in Juneau and Ketchikan, so would prefer to go on our own.

 

you can book direct as well. It seems most people have better luck calling them than emailing. Rachel gets so many emails and messages left for her daily that she cannot get to them all. I just called her around 12 or 1 est so that would be 8 and 9am for her. They are great people and you will love it!

 

http://www.alaskazip.com is their site and this is the contact information we used:

info@alaskazip.com

p: (907)321.0947

f: (623)321.0947

[benolathe]

Great pictures but one more question, what are the safety glasses for?:eek:

 

The goggles are just for protecting your eyes from the strong air movement as you zip down - similar to wearing them on a ski slope or motorcycle or something. You do get going fast down the zipline. :cool:

 

Actually, the pair that I was given fit like a regular pair of glasses (not elastic around the head like goggles) and they actually FLEW off my face about halfway down the mountain! At the time, I was trying to look backwards at my daughter and get her picture - so the wind just got caught in them from the inside when I was turned sideways.

[erms]

The goggles are just for protecting your eyes from the strong air movement as you zip down - similar to wearing them on a ski slope or motorcycle or something. You do get going fast down the zipline. :cool:

 

Actually, the pair that I was given fit like a regular pair of glasses (not elastic around the head like goggles) and they actually FLEW off my face about halfway down the mountain! At the time, I was trying to look backwards at my daughter and get her picture - so the wind just got caught in them from the inside when I was turned sideways.

 

Good, I was afraid they were for bugs:eek:

 

Thank you for your help

[Aloha Gal]

You guys make this sound like so much fun. I don't have an extraordinary fear of heights, just a basic lack of courage. :o I'm in reasonably good shape, but somewhat of a klutz. I'd appreciate some encouragement to get out of my comfort zone. Or is it just not worth it?

[wickedwitch1]

Erms~~ Listen~ I'm 41 and going for the first time with my 13 year old son! Heights usually don't bother me but this thing does look a little intimidating when you look at the pictures that people post. My thinking is that you may only get one chance to do this thing and you may regret not getting your courage up! Just going for it! Then brag all you can to your friends and family. Half will think you're nuts and the other half will wish that they had your guts! Good luck!

[benolathe]

You guys make this sound like so much fun. I don't have an extraordinary fear of heights, just a basic lack of courage. :o I'm in reasonably good shape, but somewhat of a klutz. I'd appreciate some encouragement to get out of my comfort zone. Or is it just not worth it?

 

GO FOR IT!!! You will be glad that you did. We did the ZipRider in Icy Strait Point, which is currently the longest zipline in the world. It was great! BTW, my 14 yo daughter was very nervous and was actually 'tearing up' a bit when they were buckling her in. The guy even gave her a tissue. But, she DID it and is really glad that she did. She says it's her favorite thing from the trip.

 

Just think - how often are you going to get the opportunity to do something like that?

[DrTee]

GO FOR IT!!! You will be glad that you did. We did the ZipRider in Icy Strait Point, which is currently the longest zipline in the world. It was great! BTW, my 14 yo daughter was very nervous and was actually 'tearing up' a bit when they were buckling her in. The guy even gave her a tissue. But, she DID it and is really glad that she did. She says it's her favorite thing from the trip.

 

Just think - how often are you going to get the opportunity to do something like that?

 

I'm tempted to do this. I'm not afraid of heights, but Holland America lists this as a "strenuous" activity and the web site says that anyone with back problems shouldn't do it. So I'm wondering what might be strenuous about this? Don't you just sit there and fall, er, I mean ride?

[arrow3]

I think you guys are mixing up the ZipLine excursions with the ZipRider.

 

The ZipRider is almost like a chair hanging from a very long cable. It is a brand name and these things are available in a couple different places around the world - Icy Strait Point being one of them.

 

Zip Lines are just cables strung between two poles/trees/etc. You are in a harness and the harness attaches to the mechanism that slides down the cable. You keep your hand on the mechanism to hold yourself upright (not to hold yourself from falling though - the harness takes care of that). It's much different than the ZipRider because in the ZipRider you're just basically sitting in the chair.

 

They both sound very nice though and I'm signed up for both of them for my Alaska cruise in a month.

[Aloha Gal]

I think you guys are mixing up the ZipLine excursions with the ZipRider.

 

The ZipRider is almost like a chair hanging from a very long cable. It is a brand name and these things are available in a couple different places around the world - Icy Strait Point being one of them.

 

Zip Lines are just cables strung between two poles/trees/etc. You are in a harness and the harness attaches to the mechanism that slides down the cable. You keep your hand on the mechanism to hold yourself upright (not to hold yourself from falling though - the harness takes care of that). It's much different than the ZipRider because in the ZipRider you're just basically sitting in the chair.

 

They both sound very nice though and I'm signed up for both of them for my Alaska cruise in a month.

 

 

Does anyone know which one they offer in Ketchikan? The ZipRider sounds a bit less scary.