Page 62 - Flathead Beacon // 6.15.16

WEEKEND OUTLOOK
Summer appeals to all of the senses. e sight of colorful wild owers, mul-
tiple shades of green trees, blue lakes and snowcapped peaks of Glacier National Park—all of which can be seen from the
summit of Big Mountain. e
feeling of warmth from the sun and coolness from the breeze as you ride Chair 1
to and from the summit. e smell of evergreen trees as you hike along the Danny On Memorial hiking trail, and the sweet taste of huckleberries, freshly plucked. e sound of mountain bikes whizzing down a trail, or your kid gigging on the Alpine Slide.
en there’s the sixth sense. Your sense of adventure.
Summer is the ideal season to unleash your sense of adventure and seek out experiences that are either new, invigorating or both. We’re for- tunate to live where we can discover all manners of adventure in forests, on lakes and rivers and in the mountains. Up here on Big Mountain, we’ve got plenty of adventure, all of which begins this coming Saturday, June 18 when we o cially open for summer!
Let’s start with the one that has adventure in its name: the Aerial Adventure Park. If you have not tried this yet, what are you waiting for? When you’ve looked at it, you thought, “ropes course” which is close, however the Aerial Adventure Park is more recreational. Yes it will challenge you mentally and physically, depending on the degree of di culty you choose. ere are ve courses from easy to most di cult so you have the chance to build up to the hard stu . What’s fun is that you will encounter challenges and then get to cruise from tree to tree on a zip line. If you liked climbing trees as a kid, this will knock your socks o .
From climbing trees to ying above them. Who hasn’t dreamed they could y? Our zip line tour will give you the chance to live that dream as high as 300 feet. Take in the view, feel the breeze in your hair as you soar across ski runs, through and above the trees on seven di erent zip lines.
Riley Polumbus
WEEKLY ON-MOUNTAIN NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016
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wildlife (at a safe distance of course).
Families can make this adventure educa-
tional and fun by stopping by the Summit Nature Center sta ed by US Forest Service Rangers. Ride the Scenic Li ($8 one way or $15 round trip for adults, $11 for age 65+, $10 for age 7-12, free for
6 & under) up to the summit and nd the Nature Center on the lower level of the Summit House. Children ages 7-12 are invited to become Junior Forest Rangers, and families are encouraged to borrow an Outdoor Adventure Pack from the nature center and explore the outdoors.
If you’d prefer your forest adventure to be ac- companied by a guide, you should try Walk in the Treetops. If Indiana Jones got together with Swiss Family Robinson and made a nature tour (minus the spiders and snakes and being stranded on a tropical island) this would be it. Glean knowledge from our guides about our forest’s ecosystem
on the half-mile hiking trail, then you’ll wander through the forest canopy on the boardwalk suspended high in the treetops. Must be 54-inches tall with a waist 42-inches or smaller to t in the harness and reach the safety cable you need to be hooked into for safety.
Finally, last but not least... the White sh Bike Park also opens this weekend with the exception of a couple trails where snow needs to melt. New this summer we will add bikes on the Bad Rock li since we’ve added three new trails in that area. In fact, there’s so much going on down there we’re calling it a zone—the Bad Rock Zone. Advanced riders will nd a couple options o that li and those new to the sport will have a place to begin their adventures in mountain biking.
Never tried downhill mountain biking? Nothing says sense of adventure more than trying something new! Starting in July we will o er a “Learn to Downhill Bike” package that includes lesson, bike rental, helmet rental, leg/arm pad rental and li access all for $99. I will have more on this and all things Bike Park in the next issue of Inversions so stay tuned!
Where will your sense of adventure take you this summer? We’re open 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. daily through Labor Day (September 5) and Friday- Sunday through September 25.
THE SIXTH SENSE OF SUMMER
© Noah Clayton
We also o er an abbreviated 5-Zip Tour if you’d prefer. It’s an adventure you’ll want to experience with at least one friend or loved one since our zip lines are all in duplicate so you get to y side-by- side with someone. Don’t be surprised if your fear of heights is overcome by your competitive nature as you challenge your zipping partner to a race across the sky.
If either of these adventures inspired you, please note we o er early season pricing on both through June 30th. e aerial park is only $39 for adults and $29 for youth 7-12 and zip lines are $63 for the 7-Zip tour or $55 for the 5-Zip. Regular summer prices go up to $47 (adults) and $35 (7-12) for the Aerial Adventure Park and $79 (7-Zip) and $69 (5-Zip).
We also o er adventures of another kind
for the younger adventure seeker. One milestone for kids around here is reaching the height of
48 inches—the height you need to be to ride the Alpine Slide solo. Not that kids under 48 inches who have to ride with an adult or another bigger kid (approved by a parent) will have any less fun. In fact, they may go faster! If the Alpine Slide isn’t appealing to a child’s sense of adventure, it’s at least appealing to their sense of fun because they
want to do it over and over again. at’s why we o er a 4-Ride Pack for $25 and 25-Ride Pack for $135 (because one ride is never enough—but it is $8 if that’s all you do). All multi-packs are fully transferrable so all your family and friends can slide.
For the younger kids, say age 4 and up, Spi- der Monkey Mountain o ers a place to climb and slide to their hearts content all while their parents camp out on the Base Lodge patio with their favorite summer beverage. is two-story tower designed by geniuses who know how to tire out kids, will give your child a safe place to practice the climbing skills while gaining con dence, two traits they will use when reach they age 7 and can go in the Aerial Adventure Park. Only $10 for the day.
Another fun way to tap your sense of adven- ture is to spend some time in the forest. e Flat- head National Forest surrounds us and provides 2.4 million acres of public land in which to seek adventure. Our mountain o ers one of the nest trails around—the Danny On Memorial Hiking Trail. At nearly four miles in one direction, hikers ock to this trail for its wild owers, huckleber- ries and scenic vistas as well as the chance to view
OPENING DAY: SATURDAY, JUNE 18
SUMMER STARTS NOW! Come up for Zip Line Tours, Scenic Lift, Aerial Adventure Park, Alpine Slide, mountain biking, hiking, Walk in the Treetops canopy tour, and more. Take advantage of early season pricing on Zip Line Tours and Aerial Adventure Park! Full details online.
BIKE PARK SEASON PASSES ON SALE
ADULT (13-64): $199 SENIOR (65+): $114 JUNIOR (7-12): $114
Winter 15/16 Season Pass Holders SAVE! If you had a season pass last winter you can purchase a Bike Park Season Pass for $179/Adult and $102/Junior & Senior through June 30. Full details online.
Photo © GlacierWorld.com
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JUNE 15, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM