Zip-lining in the Philadelphia area: Almost flying

Steve Kortanek likes adventure sports. He's already tried parasailing and downhill mountain biking. So when the chance to zip-line in Delaware's Lums Pond State Park became available, he didn't hesitate to pack up his family and go.

And then he found himself jumping from a tree platform and speeding along a 700-foot wire, more than 40 feet in the air, across a pond where kayakers paddled calmly. He came to a stop amidst mulch chips and grass, wiping his clothes and smiling.

"You really do feel like you're flying," said Kortanek, 46, of Wilmington. "There is a lot of speed and freedom."

Zip-lining, often packaged as part of "canopy tours" that include climbing trees, swinging from "vines," and tackling obstacles, has experienced "explosive growth," said Steve Gustafson, owner of Experience Based Learning, which claims it opened the country's first commercial zip line, in Hawaii, in 2002. The website www.ziplinerider.com lists more than a dozen locations in Pennsylvania and others in New Jersey and Delaware, including this new one in Bear, operated by Go Ape as part of a public-private partnership with the state park.

"Eleven years ago, there wasn't an industry. Now there are an estimated 400 zip-line tours," Gustafson said. "I think it's a little bit of the Xbox syndrome: 'I want my excitement and I want it now.' "

Some of these zip lines are simply "one-off amusement rides," Gustafson said, like the ones offered onboard cruise ships. Until recently, Las Vegas visitors could travel at speeds up to 30 miles per hour along an 800-foot zip line above Fremont Street. (The company that ran the zip line, which has since closed, said it was always meant to be a temporary project.) What's next? Slotzilla, billed as the world's largest slot machine and the launching tower for a permanent zip line in the city's downtown.

Other zip lines, like the ones at Lums Pond, are more like adventures in the treetops that take hours to complete.

The professionally constructed courses are safe if the users follow all of the user guidelines, said Gustafson, who is also president of the Professional Ropes Course Association, which is now finalizing work on national standards. While there can be injuries, including broken fingers, it is very unlikely a cable will break, causing a fall. Most professional courses use cables that are five times stronger than they need to be, Gustafson said, meaning "I could send my Chevy Tahoe down that zip."

"You're more at risk going to Starbucks in the morning for your coffee," he said.

Still, that first step off the platform can be intimidating. After finishing her first line at Go Ape, Shanetha Reyes, 32, seemed relieved.

"It was good. I was hoping I didn't die and I didn't," said Reyes, of Newark, Del. "At first, I just thought I couldn't get up the rope [ladder]."

Reyes said she sees more adventures in her future.

"I'm getting to that age where I want to try new things," she said. "I'm done having kids. Let's go."

Rick Buckman, owner of Spring Mountain Adventures in Spring Mount, Pa., said less than 1 percent of guests have just quit midtour, and he has seen that initial fear before the "leap of faith."

"That's how most people feel the first time," he said. "Then they get comfortable and start doing tricks."

There's no need to be a top athlete to enjoy a canopy tour. Buckman said that "as long as you can go up a set of steps unassisted," you can do it. Dan D'Agostino, U.S. managing director for Go Ape, sets a minimum requirement that is a little more challenging.

"If you can go up a rope ladder, you'll be able to complete our courses, but you might use some muscles you didn't know you had," he said.

Age doesn't matter, either - at least old age. (There are minimum age requirements.) Buckman, a grandfather, said he zip-lines.

D'Agostino said a 92-year-old celebrated her birthday at the company's Rockville, Md., course. The Delaware grand opening saw a group of four grandparents in their 70s leading their grandchildren through the trees.

"Zip-lining is something a lot of people have on their bucket lists," Buckman said.

Amanda Broomall joined her husband Bill and a friend for a recent canopy tour to mark her 37th birthday. The Bear, Del., woman had gone skydiving when she turned 25, was grounded at 30 by a pregnancy, and wanted to do "something different" to mark the passing year.

There were some scary moments - "like when I flipped on the twisted bridge, but yeah, the harness was working" - and she got more of a workout than she'd anticipated, but she loved it.

"The last zip line, I landed on my feet," she said. "I'm the only one who landed on my feet.

And for her 40th birthday? "Probably an island. To relax."

About halfway through his family of four's outing, Steve Kortanek realized something: Everyone in the group was having a great time. Wife Alison, 47, had overcome early fears by following a guide's advice: Concentrate on the signs and don't look down. Andrew, 15, and Evie, 13, had become professionals, effortlessly moving from obstacle to obstacle.

"We didn't even think of it as a family activity," Kortanek said. "It was natural."

 Go Ape. Lums Pond State Park 1042 Howell School Rd., Bear, Del. 1-800-971-8271.

2-3 hour "treetop adventure," includes four zip lines. $55 for adults (18+), $35 for kids (10 to 17).

Spring Mountain Adventures. 757 Spring Mount Rd., Spring Mount, Pa. 1-888-304-5044.

Prices range from $35 to $119, based on time and day, course difficulty, and group size.

Reservations are highly recommended.

Closed-toed shoes are required. Wear clothes that can get roughed up and dirty. Gloves, open-fingered or not, are nice to have.

Be familiar with each location's height and weight requirements before booking a reservation. Spring Mountain, for example, says participants have to weigh at least 70 pounds and no more than 250 pounds.EndText