Zipline question

[Irish708]

I've read in the posts, that some of the canopy tours require you to self brake, while others do not. What exactly does that mean ? One post on another thread implied it is better not to have to self brake, but how do you stop otherwise ? I'm still scared about doing this, and really want the easiest, safest zipline.

 

Thanks!

[wsantelope]

Self Braking requires you to wear gloves and to grab onto the zipline cable above you to "Brake' and slow yourself.

I've done several ziplines....have not self-braked but would imagine for someone not entirely comfortable that you would prefer NOT to self brake.

When you don't self brake the course is set up so that gravity stops you naturally - ie: you go "Down" for awhile and then come slightly "Up" at the end of the run to stop.

It really isn't worth being scared over....not high enough. You'll see when you get there. I'm the biggest chicken of all.

My first zip line was 200 feet over a canyon in Colorado. Now THAT was something to worry about! :eek: ;) :D

The jungle canopy zipline does not require you to self brake.

Zip away!

[Irish708]

Thanks wsantelope ! I love roller coasters, etc, and will probably feel foolish about being scared once I have it behind me... If I got up Dunns River Falls, I'm sure I can do this :p

[Lowbrow]

Continuing with the whole self-braking thing, is there someone who has done it both ways who can explain whether it's a lot harder to do a self-braking zipline? Does it take away from the fun if you're focusing on stopping yourself at the end?

 

Also, has anyone done the zipline the cruiselines use (in Gumbalina park)? How is it?

 

If you are a small group (ie. 1 person) do they combine you with another group? My husband is being a chicken and refusing to do this. I'm not crazy about doing this myself, but I know if I don't I will kick myself later.

[p0mpey]

I would really like to hear about self-breaking too. We have requested the zip lining with the gloves and self-breaking (South Canopy?)and I am now having second thoughts. It is so difficult choosing which one to go to. I want to have a great experience without too many heart attacks. Anyone done both?

Thanks, Pat.

[KelliKevin]

I have not done both, but I would have to say that I am pretty sure NOT self-braking is where it's at. We did the ziplining in Belize and I hated the whole self-braking thing. It ruined it for me, because yes...that is all you think about. No chance to look around or enjoy the lines!

Looking forward......

[p0mpey]

Hey thanks for the feedback. That is what I was thinking too. I think we will change our request. A shame though because the South Canopy looked to have great views across the sea as you zip line. But as you say, if all you are thinking about is stopping in time it rather defeats the purpose of choosing because of the view. Time for another group decision.

[AggieFamily]

Hey thanks for the feedback. That is what I was thinking too. I think we will change our request. A shame though because the South Canopy looked to have great views across the sea as you zip line. But as you say, if all you are thinking about is stopping in time it rather defeats the purpose of choosing because of the view. Time for another group decision.

 

It was our first time to zip March 12 and we chose Jungle Canopy. 50 dad, 45 mom, 21,17,14 daughters. It was a blast! We were nervous on the first 2 lines :eek:, but by the last few lines all of us were hanging upside down with no hands :D. We didn't land on every platform very gracefully and even slammed into a few, but we wanted more! Our amazing zip-guide, Calvin, was about 14 years old and we felt completely safe with him. They group you in sets of four so our 21 went with another guide who she enjoyed as well and since that group was directly in front of us we got to see her in action too. email teelfam@verizon.net and I'll try to send you some pics since I don't know exactly how to post them here.

[p0mpey]

AggieFamily (Have to ask, are you TX A&M Aggies? If so I am a 2x Aggie mom:) )

 

Thanks for the reply, DH and I are also in our 50's (DS and BIL 10 years younger) and although I have always been ready for a thrill I can't believe DH is willing to do it. However reading on here it sounds like it will be great. I was reading earlier about someone doing it in CO. If we like it we need to seek that one out.

 

Did you find the lines a little low..in other words did you ever think you would have liked to have gone higher above the trees? I like everything about the South Canopy one as it has long and high zip lines but don't like the thought of the brake. Jungle Canopy looks great too from the photo's I have seen...I will e-mail you to see yours, thanks...and maybe it would be best for us first timers. Decisions, decisions.

 

Thanks again for your input.

Pat.

[USFcrew]

Someone that just came off a cruise told me they also did the South SHore Canopy zip-line and that they're remodeling it to not use the braking system. shoul be ready by summer 08'

[p0mpey]

Interesting...thanks for the info'. I wonder whether Victor will know if it will be done by mid May. That is probably wishful thinking.

[AggieFamily]

AggieFamily (Have to ask, are you TX A&M Aggies? If so I am a 2x Aggie mom:) )

 

Did you find the lines a little low..in other words did you ever think you would have liked to have gone higher above the trees?

Pat.

 

Husband & I met @ Tx A&M, he's class of '80, I would have been '84, but we moved away and I finished elsewhere. We moved back and now have daughter '09, daughter '12, youngest daughter '15 (maybe?), sister '77. Hope your daughters enjoy(ed) College Station!

 

We never went above the trees, went right through them. Saw 2 iguanas. To "brake" the guide went to the next platform first. If we came in too fast he would bounce hard on the line to slow us down. Some lines were faster than others. A few were slow. He would tell us to "push off hard" on the slow lines. If you don't push off hard enough you won't make it to the next platform and he'll have to come after you to pull you in. Just ask husband & one daughter :o!

 

We don't feel like we missed out on the view since during our day there were several hilltops along our drive. We stopped and took pictures of both sides of the island. It is a beautiful place.

 

One more zip-line comment, to quote wsantelope, who was dead on! "You suit up in your harness and then drive by van [bumpy up hill ride!] to the "Start" where you walk down into the jungle on some pretty steep but fairly sturdy stairs (There are a few loose ones). You do need some agility on this excursion but if you are in at least moderate shape you should do fine.....Just make sure you don't have a knee or other leg disability and you will be A-OK. " 3/5 of us have had knee surgeries due to sports and we approached the steep downhill stairs & trail gingerly. Totally worth it though!

[Preds]

It was our first time to zip March 12 and we chose Jungle Canopy. 50 dad, 45 mom, 21,17,14 daughters. It was a blast! We were nervous on the first 2 lines :eek:, but by the last few lines all of us were hanging upside down with no hands :D. We didn't land on every platform very gracefully and even slammed into a few, but we wanted more! Our amazing zip-guide, Calvin, was about 14 years old and we felt completely safe with him. They group you in sets of four so our 21 went with another guide who she enjoyed as well and since that group was directly in front of us we got to see her in action too. email teelfam@verizon.net and I'll try to send you some pics since I don't know exactly how to post them here.

We had Calvin as our guide last month. There were 6 of us, so it was tight on the platforms, but we had a blast nonetheless. Calvin was awesome, and amazingly strong for his size! I'm not at all surprised to hear another good review with him.

 

At the beginning, we were joking about a 14yo "guiding us" with our life's at "risk" in his hands, but at the end he acquitted himself very well. We had a great time with him!

[Irish708]

Hi, haven't seen tipping the guides mentioned. Expected, and if so, how much ?

 

Thanks!

[WarmBloodedMom]

You might read the threads posted today about the death last week in Roatan. I was actually a passenger on the NCL Spirit with this lady that died. There is also a story on MSNBC about it today. :(

 

I've personally done the zip lines in Roatan where this 44 year old mom died last Tuesday, March 18th and the ones in Belize. They were both great fun and even my 9 year old daughter loves them. Unfortunately the lines broke (we actually had friends in our party that were there) and she fell and broke her neck. Another passenger was an RN and rushed down to help but even he said he could tell she wasn't going to make it. The story on the ship all week was that she lied about her weight. I think it's relatively safe (and fun!) but pay close attention to the restrictions as far as weight, age, and ability levels. I hope this helps!

[july72807]

can you bring your camera to the zip line? i have seen video on you tube and wonder if they took a video camera, a camera should be fine, but then again not sure where you would put it?

[Preds]

can you bring your camera to the zip line? i have seen video on you tube and wonder if they took a video camera, a camera should be fine, but then again not sure where you would put it?

We had cameras, but you move so fast it's very difficult to get clear pictures (particulalry since the jungle can be dark and it's hard to get a good focus on a quick shot). A small video camera where you can capture stills would lprobably have been better.

 

Generally we traded the camera back and forth, and had someone from the platforms taking pics (either from the front or the back).

[Preds]

Hi, haven't seen tipping the guides mentioned. Expected, and if so, how much ?

 

Thanks!

We tipped Calvin $20 for myself, wife and 2 children. I'm not sure what the other couple that was with us tipped.

[Jeanne B]

We tipped $5/pp.

[Irish708]

Thanks :D $5 pp for a tip was about what I was thinking......

 

 

Just read through the zipline death thread........ how tragic...........

I was scared before that, and more scared now....... however, can't let that stand in my way, and am still planning on doing it. As someone on that thread posted, you would think all zipline companies in Roatan would step up their safety precautions..

[USFcrew]

Yes you can take your cameras although they're not responsible if it is broken or falls. We used South Shore and they provided a camera guy who takes photos and prints them out on a 5x7 and puts them ina souviner frame for $10 USD. or $20 dollars for a CD w/ all photos.

[AggieFamily]

can you bring your camera to the zip line? i have seen video on you tube and wonder if they took a video camera, a camera should be fine, but then again not sure where you would put it?

 

We took our bulky, overly expensive, digital camera on Jungle Canopy. We just flung the camera strap across our chest and managed just fine with it. One hand on camera and one hand on rope. Sometimes the bulky camera rode in front, sometimes it was on our backs. We just tried not to crash into the platform camera first :eek: . We did not have to self-brake so we could have taken photos while we were hanging upside down. That would make for some fun video!

 

Preds is correct, lighting & speed made photos tough. Our daughter's extra-slim digital camera (tucked in her cargo pants pocket) took equally good fuzzy shots as ours! To do it again, we'd go with a slim video camera and, like this time, accept the possibility of dropping it.

[marvin1155]

I did it last week at south shore canopy and it was great, the funny thing is that i'm terrible affraid of heights. also for me, since im not so fit, i was tired by the end but still had a wonderful time i did mine with roatan tourist info center, had an wonderful time

[Irish708]

:confused: Ok, just when I think I'll be ok with this, I read something else that sets me back:rolleyes: . Ok on the no Self brake ( I'm sold on that ) and being on Jungle Canopy, how do you stop without killing yourself ? How do you stabilize yourself on these what appear to be rickety, small platforms ? I read somewhere that they unhook you and re hook you, Is there somewhere you can cling to for dear life :eek: ? Do you just come full force at the guides, and hope they are bigger than you to absorb the shock:D ? Know I'm being dramatic, but really need to know !

 

As always, thanks a bunch to all of you !:)

[Preds]

:confused: Ok, just when I think I'll be ok with this, I read something else that sets me back:rolleyes: . Ok on the no Self brake ( I'm sold on that ) and being on Jungle Canopy, how do you stop without killing yourself ? How do you stabilize yourself on these what appear to be rickety, small platforms ? I read somewhere that they unhook you and re hook you, Is there somewhere you can cling to for dear life :eek: ? Do you just come full force at the guides, and hope they are bigger than you to absorb the shock:D ? Know I'm being dramatic, but really need to know !

 

As always, thanks a bunch to all of you !:)

At Roatan Jungle Canopy, the guide goes first and catches you as you come in. They control your speed on the line by shaking the cable (I'm not kidding).

 

As for the platforms, you're ALWAYS clipped to a cable, whether it be at the station or the zip itself. There are 2 lines from each harness, one that clips into the roller that gets attached to the cable, and a safety line that gets clipped to the caribiner of the 1st line before you zip. When you reach a station, the guide will unclip the safety line first, move it to a new cable, and once secured, unclip your main line, move it over to the new cable, then unclip your safety and clip it back to the caribiner of the main line.

 

Our guide was a young man who was incredibly strong for his size. He made sure everyone got to the station without incident and at a speed that was reasonable. The shaking of the cable to slow us down surprised me, I have no idea if that's a safe practice or not, but that's what they did.

 

The recent death at Gumbalimba is certainly sad and tragic, but we still don't know how or why the cable failed. One positive to Roatan Jungle Canopy is that it's not that high off the ground (highest point is something like 45 feet). Many of the stations were only 15-20 feet off the ground.

 

We REALLY enjoyed this excursion, and would do it again, just be cautious and inspect the equipment and the cables before you jump.