Mieders Alpine Coaster

[jimsig]

Looks like quite the thrill ride. They have brakes, this quy choose not to use it

[SMLCHNG]

O M G !!!!! That was awesome!!!

[lime rickie]

It does look fun. My 25 y.o. self would have done that in a heartbeat. My almost 50 y.o. self says it looks pretty bumpy and rough and my back might not appreciate it.

[ScarletB]

Reminds me of the Alpine Slides we have at ski areas here - although that was a LOT faster and to me, more terrifying. YIKES!

[popcornjack]

THAT WAS SOOOO COOL!!!!!

[dnw]

SCARY!

[Bicycle Bill]

Reminds me of the Alpine Slides we have at ski areas here - although that was a LOT faster and to me, more terrifying. YIKES!

According to this website — http://www.ausflug.tirol.at/xxl/en/frei ... index.html — the Mieders Coaster is still open, or at least it was last summer (2011). The run covers 2.8 kilometers, and drops 640 meters (roughly, 2100 feet).

I remember riding the Alpine Coaster at Cascade Mountain outside Portage WI (near Madison WI) back in the late 1970s. It *WAS* pretty much the same, but when you've only got a vertical drop of maybe 450 feet to play with, of course it's not going to be like coastering down a slope in the European Alps.

-"BB"-

[jayparrot46]

wow

[FINSUPinIdaho]

According to this website — http://www.ausflug.tirol.at/xxl/en/frei ... index.html — the Mieders Coaster is still open, or at least it was last summer (2011). The run covers 2.8 kilometers, and drops 640 meters (roughly, 2100 feet).

I remember riding the Alpine Coaster at Cascade Mountain outside Portage WI (near Madison WI) back in the late 1970s. It *WAS* pretty much the same, but when you've only got a vertical drop of maybe 450 feet to play with, of course it's not going to be like coastering down a slope in the European Alps.

I have never laughed as hard as when we pulled into Alpine Valley on the bus for the JB show last June and someone pointed to a bump and said "That's the ski hill right there"...

[pair8head]

Can we go back to about the half way point and pick up my stomach please?

[Bicycle Bill]

According to this website — http://www.ausflug.tirol.at/xxl/en/frei ... index.html — the Mieders Coaster is still open, or at least it was last summer (2011). The run covers 2.8 kilometers, and drops 640 meters (roughly, 2100 feet).

I remember riding the Alpine Coaster at Cascade Mountain outside Portage WI (near Madison WI) back in the late 1970s. It *WAS* pretty much the same, but when you've only got a vertical drop of maybe 450 feet to play with, of course it's not going to be like coastering down a slope in the European Alps.

I have never laughed as hard as when we pulled into Alpine Valley on the bus for the JB show last June and someone pointed to a bump and said "That's the ski hill right there"...

That's pretty good; but you should see the "hill" for the Highlands of Olympia (Olympia Resort) outside Oconomowoc, WI:

That's it. A man-made bump about 200 feet high (and I think they measure to the bottom of the pond there in order to get that much) on what is otherwise probably some of the flattest real estate in Wisconsin.
By comparison:
Alpine Valley = approx 240 foot vertical drop. And according to their website, they have not one, not two, but THREE quad chairs servicing it — plus three triple chairs and one double chair. Uphill capacity does not seem to be a problem with them.....
Cascade Mountain (mentioned earlier) = approx. 460 vertical, with a total of twelve lifts including a detachable quad.
Mt. La Crosse (my home area) = 510 foot vertical. ONE double chair to the top of the bluff, and two additional double chairs servicing stations at lower points on the hill.

But size doesn't always count. Buck Hill, located actually within the city limits of Burnsville, MN with a vertical drop of less than 300 feet, was the original home slope of Cindy Nelson, the bronze medalist in women's downhill at the 1976 Olympics.

-"BB"-