An unfinished zipline attraction towering over U.S. Highway 2 near Columbia Heights will not open this summer as planned, according to owner and developer Reno Baldwin, who said he is hopeful visitors will be zipping through Bad Rock Canyon by next spring.
Motorists along the narrow corridor of U.S. 2 near Hungry Horse may have noticed the 70-foot structure just north of the House of Mystery and Montana Vortex – both popular visitor attractions – and wondered about its provenance.
Baldwin, the former owner of Great Northern Raft Co., said he has been designing the blueprint for Glacier Zipline Adventures for five years, and recently entered into a five-year lease with the Montana Department of Transportation, which owns the land’s right of way, for approximately 40 acres of land.
The zipline tour will begin atop a platform on the 70-foot tower visible from the highway, and ferries harnessed visitors to other platforms affixed to trees along the course. In order to gain enough elevation to complete the tour, Baldwin’s contractors built spiral staircases on old-growth larch trees, which visitors must climb up to access the final platforms.
Baldwin said the ziplines and platforms are not bolted to the trees, but use a weight-sensitive winching system that fastens to the trees and increases tension as weight is applied.
But the logistics of constructing multi-tiered zipline attraction were more complex than Baldwin envisioned, and a projected July 2014 opening was not practical, he said; rather than rush the project he opted to delay the opening until next April.
“It took a lot more time than we anticipated,” he said. “When you’re building at those heights, you don’t realize how much more time it is going to require.”
Baldwin will pay $20,000 per year to the Department of Transportation, a fee that will increase by 15 percent after every fifth year the lease is renewed. He is also required to keep the grounds clean.
In addition to the 70-foot tower, the lease allows for a well, a septic drain field and signage. It also allows brush clearing and minor site leveling under the ziplines.
Still, some residents and business owners have raised concerns about traffic hazards and distracted motorists along the constricted stretch of highway, which has seen half a dozen fatalities through the years.
House of Mystery owner Joe Hauser complained in an email that the zipline attraction, which sits about 10 feet from one corner of his property, compromises wildlife habitat, Native American cultural sites and a well-established business. Hauser also raised safety concerns, and wondered why the project required no public review process, but was told that leasing a parcel of “surplus land” does not require public review.
Ed Toavs, the Montana Department of Transportation’s administrator for Missoula, said Baldwin must build and maintain a 24-foot approach to the highway that complies with MDT standards. Access to the leased property is currently shared with a state fishing access site.
Baldwin said he intends to hire a dozen seasonal employees to help guide the interpretive zipline tours above the treetops, who will offer visitors a thrilling ride and an opportunity to learn about the scenic corridor.
“It really is quite a thrill to look down off of that tower,” he said.