**History of Zip-line:**
– Ropeways have been used in mountainous countries for over 2,000 years.
– Technological advances in Europe improved power-lines ropeways in the Middle Ages.
– First recorded use of zip-line for entertainment possibly in 1739.
– Zip-lines were developed for mountaineering purposes in Tyrolean traverses.
– Zip-lines have been used in the Australian outback for delivering necessities and in conflicts by troops.
**Current Uses of Zip-lines:**
– Zip-lines are used for transporting crops in Yungas, Bolivia, and Ladakh, India.
– There is renewed interest in aerial ropeways for cargo transport due to low energy requirements.
– Gravity-fed zip-lines have been built in Nepal, Latin America, and India.
– Zip-lines historically used for transporting items in Australian regions.
– Zip-lines are also used for recreation in playgrounds and adventure activities.
**Operation of Zip-lines:**
– A pulley with a grooved wheel called a sheave is used in zip-lines.
– The zip-line trolley is the frame with the pulley that runs along the cable.
– Various devices are used to attach cargo or riders to the pulley system.
– Different mechanisms are used for safely stopping riders at the end of the zip-line.
– Safety precautions include riders being physically attached to the cable by a harness.
**Safety Measures for Zip-lines:**
– Riders are physically attached to the cable by a harness with a removable trolley.
– Helmets are required on almost all zip-line courses.
– Proper tensioning of the cable is crucial for tuning the ride.
– All zip-line cables have some degree of sag.
– Safety measures are essential to ensure a secure zip-lining experience.
**Records and Notable Zip-line Features:**
– The world’s longest zip-line is the Jebel Jais Flight in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, with a span of 2,831.88 meters.
– The second-longest span is at Parque de Aventura Barrancas del Cobre in Copper Canyon, Mexico.
– Notable steep zip-lines include Saint Martins Rockland Estate Rainforest Adventures, Letalnica bratov Gorišek in Planica, Slovenia, and ZipFlyer in Nepal.
– La Tyrolienne in Val Thorens, France, has the highest zip-lines at 10,600 feet.
– The oldest person to ride a zip-line was British great-grandfather Jack Reynolds on his 106th birthday at Go Ape in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria.
A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable by holding on to, or being attached to, the freely moving pulley. It has been described as essentially a Tyrolean traverse that engages gravity to assist its speed of movement. Its use is not confined to adventure sport, recreation, or tourism, although modern-day usage tends to favor those meanings.
