Breaking Zip Line World Records Right Here in New River Gorge Bridge Country

Zip lining has become a very popular activity over the last few years, especially here in the hills surrounding the Gorge. There are 4 zip line attractions near the Bridge. And the Bechtel Summit Reserve Boy Scout Adventure Base is building one for their scouts as we speak. In fact, our Bridge Day high line is a modified form of zip lining, so we know a little something about it. And this week, one of our zip lines did something really special. The ACE Adventure Resort zip line set a world record.

The Previous Record

The previous world record for zip lining was set in Waldklettergarten, Germany in 2010. At that time,122 zip liners took on a 164 foot zip in one hour. It actually took 2 tries to set that record; (apparently there are a lot of rules to document a world record).

The folks at ACE Adventure Resort were out to not only break the record, but to shatter it. They devised an achievable plan to have 180 folks zip line in one hour.  The biggest challenge was harnesses; they only have a limited number. This meant that the ACE team had to ‘recycle’ the harnesses, bringing them back to the beginning of the zip line to be used over and over.

The Result

ACE Adventure Resort now unofficially holds the world record for most zip line riders on a 203-foot zip line in an hour. The record still has to be certified by Guinness before it becomes official. Quite a few participants made the trek from out of state, but a majority of the zip liners came from right here in the Gorge. In fact, Natalie Tennant, the WV Secretary of State, took part in the hour of zipping.

Did you take part in breaking the record?