Resort's new lift brings more zip

Whitefish Mountain Resort’s new Bad

Rock chair lift has spurred the inception of a new zip line that

promises to be one of the biggest and baddest on the tour.

The new line will be about 1,200 feet

long and likely soar up to 300 feet above the ground, which is on

par with the current longest span offered. The cable will run from

the top of the Bad Rock lift above Russ’s Street toward the east

side of Chair 4, and will go over a current zip line and the chair

lift.

“We wanted to grow the tour,” resort

spokesperson Riley Polumbus said, “and this one will add a lot

more. It’s giving us a new angle.”

The new line brings the total tour up

to seven different spans, but the tour time will remain the same

because the addition of the Bad Rock lift eliminates a longer

hike.

“The lift makes the tour more

accessible to more people,” Polumbus said.

The zip line tour is one of the

resort’s most popular summer attractions, with a total of 12,000

tours estimated for this summer. The resort reported about 9,500

tours their first year.

“It’s been our busiest summer yet,”

Polumbus said. “We’ve been doing about 200 zip tours a day. It’s

wildly popular.”

The resort poured the foundation for

the upper zip tower this week and hopes to have the span open by

next summer. The span doesn’t have a name yet, but Polumbus guessed

it might just be called Bad Rock.

“You’re looking straight at Bad Rock

canyon from there,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”

The new Bad Rock lift is expected to be

open for the upcoming ski season. Skiers will be able to leave the

Base Lodge, ride the new lift up and ski over to the upper village.

The resort hopes it also alleviates congestion near the Base Lodge

on busy days.