The Goliath Zip Ride
Our Go Below® Ultimate Xtreme™ adventure trip features a staggering nine separate underground zip lines, including the worlds deepest underground zip line at 1,230 feet below the surface, and also the worlds longest ever underground zip line - Goliath.
Goliath is special not just because its the worlds longest underground zip line at 420 feet (130m), but it's also the worlds first underground zip line that is run as a Zip Ride.
Part of the Goliath Zip Ride. You can just see the tiny
people at the top of the cliff waiting to come down the line!
What's the Difference between a Zip Line and a Zip Ride?
An ordinary zip line is a steel cable that the rider travels along by force of gravity, from top to bottom, to (usually) hit a braking system at the bottom to bring the rider to a halt. The ride is uncontrolled until the braking system comes into effect. They cannot by design be very steep (unless there is a long run-out at the end) otherwise the speeds attained would be beyond braking control and a crash would result.
About 1/2 way down the line en-route to the chamber floor.
Enjoying the pleasant ride!
How does the Goliath Zip Ride Work?
Our Goliath Zip Ride runs on a very steep cable, situated as it is in a very long and deep chamber. Although it would be possible to set it up to free-run on the line with a conventional braking system at the bottom, the result would be a very short ride with alarming acceleration at the start, followed almost immediately by a rapid and uncomfortable deceleration at the bottom.
We find that a much more enjoyable journey is experienced if we operate Goliath as a Zip Ride. Riders sit on a swing seat (just like the seats you see at public playgrounds) attached to a moving trolley. The rider's harness is clipped in to a safety attachment, then the trolley is lowered down the cable at a moderate speed, using a second line running behind the rider that feeds through a friction brake to keep the system under control. Riders can be stopped mid-way, or even pulled back up if we wanted to (which we don't especially - it's heavy work!)
On the long journey down, riders are able to look around and enjoy the surroundings of the massive chamber, and even take photographs. The huge chamber walls all around are adorned with ancient rusty miners ladders, chains, pulleys and inaccessible tunnels. The riders legs are quite literally dangling in free space until the bottom station is finally reached.
Coming into land! A rider whizzes past on the seat near the
bottom of Goliath, ready to continue the adventure.
Goliath Zip Ride Specifications
- Cable Length: 420 feet
- Vertical Drop: 130 feet
- Cable Type: 13mm galvanised 7x19 IRWC, RHOL
- Cable Static Tension: 240 KG
- Cable Tension with 100kg Adult Rider: 460 KG
- Cable Minimum Guaranteed Breaking Strain: 11,038 KG.
- Main Anchor Type: Four 600mm High Tensile Galv M30 thread rods
- 3D Y Hang Control Anchor Type: M20 Stainless thread rods
- Trolley Type: Twin wheel Zip-Speed Trolley with 3" stainless rollers and double bearings
Read more about our Go Below® Ultimate Xtreme™ trip here
