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"The scariest part is actually the paperwork..."
This is the most infuriating winterspring I can remember. Since January, it has rained or snowed almost every day, temperatures have bounced between 20 and 68 degrees on consecutive days, and just a couple of weeks ago we got a record-breaking 20" snowfall. On top of that, Easter comes early, and the local parks are opening late. What's a guy to do to get a coaster fix around here?
Okay, so it isn't really "around here". It's 256 miles away, in McHenry, Maryland. Never heard of it? Me neither. It's a ski resort just south of IR-68, right off of US-219, just about a half-hour East of Morgantown, West Virginia. That alone makes for a statistically interesting trip, as the trip takes me through four states, but requires four border crossings as I move from Ohio to West Virginia to Pennsylvania to West Virginia to Maryland. 4 hours is usually too long of a one-way drive for a day-trip. But we were heading for a destination with only one attraction. Almost seems a waste of time, but we're coaster nuts! By "we" of course, I mean myself and April; we were planning to meet Pete (from Pittsburgh) at the resort. In fact, he got there a few minutes before we did.
Wisp Resort bills itself as a four-season resort, but once there it seemed obvious to me that it is very much a downhill skiing facility. The very tall, very steep, very snow-covered hillside kind of gives it away. Signs directed us to the far end of the wide parking lot, and on up the hill past the maintenance shed. Adjacent to a smaller parking area is a large...well, I don't know what to call it. It's got a frame structure like a building, but it's actually a large tent, a sort of a modern Quonset hut. I guess it is a "tensioned fabric building" The design makes for a rather large open space inside, most of which is taken up by long, high tables. Two sides of the building perimeter are taken by a small snack bar, and the ticket counter. The building is designed to accommodate a very large crowd of people, but for the moment the three of us were the only ones approaching the counter. We looked over the ticket pricing, and the person behind the counter asked if she could be of assistance. We indicated that we wanted to ride the coaster. She gestured towards the tables on the other side of the room and indicated that we needed to fill out release forms before buying tickets.
The form explains (without detail) that snow tubing and alpine coaster riding are "dangerous sports", refers to the rider's duty to ride responsibly, and contains the all-important (if meaningless) "hold harmless" clause. Conspicuously absent was any reference to ASTM F 770, even F 770:5, which is the famous Rider Responsibility clause. Interesting. I wonder if the ride was built to comply with ASTM F 2291 (the current design standard) and whether the State of Maryland considers it to be an amusement ride.
Anyway, April and Pete seemed a little unsure of the ride, so we split a 3-ride ticket for $25.00. Rides are expensive at $9.50 each, 3 for $25, or 10 for $75. We went outside and up the ramp to the ride. Thanks to the light crowd, they had five or six of the little coaster sleds lined up and ready to go. Each car seats one adult or an adult and a child. The cars are a little more substantial than the little plastic sleds on the Bailey Pipeline Express, with a metal frame and a plastic shell. The metal frame forms a full backrest with a tensioned fabric cover. The back seat has a retractable 3-point automotive style safety belt; the front seat has a retractable lap belt. A pair of handles extends upward from the sides of the car to provide a brake control: the handles are spring-loaded to the rearward braking position, push forward to release the brake. We sat down and strapped in, and within a few minutes, we were instructed to push forward to release the brake, then pull back to make sure the brakes work. Then push the handle forward and the ride begins.
Rather than go into great detail, I'll refer you to the QuickTime™ movie that should be playing at the top of this page. It's a long trip, a little over four minutes, 1,300 feet of stainless steel track to get to the 350 foot level. At the top, I shove the brake handle forward as far as it will go, and the little sled takes off down the mountain. Because the cars have brakes on them, the entire ride is downhill from the top to the station. There seems to be a governor on the car to keep it from going TOO fast, and this particular ride has a system of signalling lights that serve as a do-it-yourself blocking system. The ride zig-zags across the face of the mountain, and has a really nice section with a double-down that leads into a helix just before the end of the ride. There really isn't any significant air-time, but the run down the mountainside is a lot of fun.
After their first rides, Pete and April could hardly wait to ride again. For my second ride, I held the video camera in my right hand and operated the brake handle with my left to shoot the video you see on this page. Even that wasn't enough and we ended up buying a third ride. As we were leaving I tried to talk April into negotiating for one more ride (between us we had spent $75 on nine rides; $75 in a single purchase gets you ten rides) but she decided against it. Instead we headed for Morgantown for dinner to break up the four hour trip home.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Next: Next Park Visit: Coming Soon!
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