I had never ziplined before, so what better way to start than with the Interzip, the world's only inter-provincial zipline! With 1400 feet of cable across the Ottawa River from Ontario to Quebec at 120 ft in the air, this was a great way to initiate myself to ziplining... it was also emblematic of my 50 New Things theme for this year: one is never too old for new challenges.
We arrived on the Quebec side, right after the Chaudière bridge, where the registration desk was located. We had reserved our tickets for a Sunday evening, the last group to leave, so there were few people; we were scanned through and harnessed in a few minutes. On the zipline, participants travel at about 30-40 km/h, so we were told to leave everything behind: purses, bags, sunglasses, car keys and phones, anything that could come loose and fall in the river. Once our group was ready, we had a first debrief and were shown how to reach the Interzip tower. From the registration desk, it was a short 10 minute walk to the tower across the bridge and onto Chaudière island, home to Zibi, a new Ottawa neighbourhood, being developed where a paper mill was once operated on the traditional land of the Algonquin Nation ("zibi" means "river" in Algonquin, and "chaudière" means "cauldron" in French referring to the nearby chutes and rapids).
At the tower, we received our safety debrief, properly geared up in our harnesses, and clipped all the belts. Two people can travel at once, so we all found our pairs and readied to climb the 4.5 stories to the top. When I'm excited, I tend to run, and joyfully hopped from step to step. Luckily there were people before me and the rhythm slowed down. Good thing too: the view is gorgeous! The Parliament buildings are in full view to the East, and to the West are the Chaudière Falls with the Ottawa Hydro power dam - I had never quite seen the Falls this way and thought wistfully of my phone tucked safely in my bag back at the registration desk. Soon enough, it was my turn! In a few seconds, I was clipped in and off I went!
The first seconds are dizzying! The height alone is surprising at first, but the evening was clear and calm, and the ride was smooth. I sat up taking in as much as I could in the 40 seconds I had: the river below me, the adorable inlet to the South, the Parliament beyond, Gatineau in front. It was much less harried than I had expected. I was comfortably and effortlessly sitting back, enjoying every bit of it. Alas! The trip is short, and I braced myself for the landing as the pulley snapped into the braking system and I was released by the landing crew from the cable. From there, it was a short walk back to the registration desk to return the gear.
I did have one disappointment. I had read that it was possible to purchase a video and photo package. I was more than happy to dish out $20 to avoid the hassle of fiddling with my phone camera. It turns out, only a video is available, and not only that: it's unreliable. Whereas my friends got their footage, there was none of my experience, and nary a photo to buy. I've a mind to buy another ticket, just to take the pictures!
Here are some tips
1) Unsurprisingly, dress comfortably with shoes that hold well (no flip flops).
2) Leave bags and purses in the car or at the registration desk. There will be no room for them once you're harnessed.
3) Do bring a light-weight camera or your phone: just make sure you have an easily accessible pocket to tuck it in before launching (a breast pocket in a jacket is ideal). Obviously you take a risk dropping your device by filming your own video or taking photographs over the water, especially as you prepare to land (you'll want both hands on the bar), but you can take gorgeous snaps on your way up the tower.
4) Do be prepared for a bit of exercise: the walk is short but the harness is clumsy to walk in; there are 9 flights of steps up 120 ft; and there is tucking for a safe landing at the end. It's not much, but enough to feel invigorated!
