Zipline enthusiasts get ready for the next attraction coming to the North Shore
By Suzy Hamilton
If you like hurtling through the air at 100 mph down a mountain valley attached to cable, this is for you.
A proposal to build a recreational zipline adjacent to Kokanee Creek Park has received a licence of occupation to build a zipline park on 44 hectares of land above Kokanee Creek.
Brothers Todd and Jay Manton are set to begin construction of Kokanee Mountain Zipline that has been in the making since 2013. Todd has extensive experience in the ziplining industry, Jay is a construction engineer who said his brother “knows ziplining cold”.
“If everything clears, we’re hoping to start building the end of April,” said Todd, who has mid-July-early August as a start up date.
The plan calls for a 2.5-3 hour tour with two guides on six zip lines; the longest one is 2,000 feet, with a half kilometer hike in between two of the lines.
Participants will be shuttled up from a landing 2.2 km up Kokanee Glacier Road to a take-off area near the West Kokanee Forest Service Road at 4 km.
According to the application, the ziplines will cross Kokanee Creek in several locations. At the mustering point, a c-can office building and equipment storage, washrooms, and a parking area for staff and customers will be built.
No servicing of the site will be required. A solar power source, with a backup generator, will be installed at the staging area to provide electrical service to the office building and equipment room. Portable toilets will be provided at the staging area.
“We’re going to make this as eco-friendly as possible,” said Jay, who is handling the building of the park. “The less trees we take out the better,” he said of the 10 ft. corridor that will be cut through the forest to accommodate the towers and lines.
Kokanee Zip Lines hopes to sell 4-5,000 visits the first year and build to 10,000 tours in the future during their season, May to October, with a fee around $85-$89 per tour.
Basically a “family operation”, Todd said the park will employ 10-12 people.
“We’re going to use as much local material and labour as possible,” added Jay.
“The zipline will provide customers with an incredible adrenaline rush of flying high above Kokanee Creek and a view of the variety of natural flora and fauna, while at the same time encouraging preservation of the area’s significant natural resources and history,” Todd said in the application.
Good access, minimal impact on wildlife, water quality and other recreational activities, and the “outstanding views” are some of the reasons the area was chosen, according to the application.
The application received support from Nelson Whitewater Rafting, Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce and RDCK directors Ramona Faust (Area E) and Ron Mickel (Area F) — the latter the director at the time of the application.
“It is the chamber’s belief that Kokanee ZipLines will provide and important new piece to the tourism infrastructure in the Nelson area,” wrote executive director Tom Thomson.
“And the regional district has been nothing but great for us,” said Todd.
Manton, who is currently in university finishing a teaching degree, has a degree in Eco-Tourism. He has been zip lining for years and was lead guide for several years for Oyama Zip Lines in the Okanagan.
To view the entire application, go to web link.
