Since Danny and Buck Boren of Maui launched the first commercial zip line tour in the United States a decade ago on the slopes of Haleakala, the concept has literally taken off across the island chain and the country.
An estimated 2,000 people a day — or 700,000 a year — glide along treetops and across ravines in Hawaii, suspended in harnesses and pulled by gravity along cables strung above hillsides. The 22 zip line operations in the state attract all sorts of people, even those who say they are normally afraid of heights.
"It isn’t like jumping out of an airplane or bungee jumping, which kind of appeals to an adrenaline junkie," said Erik McLellan, general manager of Skyline Eco-Adventures LLC of Pukalani, Maui, founded by the Borens in 2002. "It fills an adventure niche in people, but everybody can do it, from grandparents to grandkids."
The number of zip line tours in the U.S. and Canada has shot up to more than 300 from nine in 2005, according to an October report by the Hawaii state auditor. The total soared by 50 percent in the last year, according to James Borishade, executive director of the Association for Challenge Course Technology.
While zip line tours thrive on the thrill of perceived danger, as riders zoom along at 35 mph or more, the state auditor concluded that the burgeoning industry has a good safety record in Hawaii and that the state lacks the resources or expertise to regulate it in any case.
"Despite risks inherent in thrill rides, there was insufficient data of serious harm to the public to warrant regulation," the report said. All 22 zip line operators are required by their insurance agencies to provide annual inspection reports, and "as a result, the industry is basically self-regulating," it said.
THE ISSUE of safety came into the spotlight on Sept. 21, 2011, when a platform tower collapsed while two workers from GoZip LLC were testing a new line at Honolii Mountain Outpost north of Hilo. Teddy Callaway plunged 200 feet to his death, and his colleague, Curtis Wright, was seriously injured.
In addition to Callaway’s death, eight injuries on the state’s trauma registry were attributed to zip lines from January 2008 through September 2012, according Daniel Galanis, epidemiologist in the Injury Prevention and Control Program of the Hawaii Department of Health, who reviewed the records for the Star-Advertiser. One patient was released from an emergency room, and the rest required hospitalization, with one needing intensive care.
The most recent accident to make the news came in June when a 43-year-old woman from Fremont, Calif., broke her thigh bone when she landed on a platform at Maui Tropical Plantation.
While serious zip line injuries are rare, they tend to weigh on people’s minds.
"It’s kind of like a shark attack," said Danny Boren, whose company has had no major injuries. "A shark attack gets all kinds of attention. It’s a natural fear, just like the fear of heights. The attack reinforces that fear, but it doesn’t make anything more likely."
Short zip line runs have long been part of campsites and challenge courses in the United States, but Boren and his father broke new ground by opening a stand-alone commercial tour in 2002. They had taken a canopy tour through a cloud forest in Costa Rica and thought it would be perfect for Hawaii.
Now their company is entering the heart of the urban jungle as zip line consultant for the $11 million "SlotZilla" attraction being developed by Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas. Due to open in June, the giant slot machine will feature two levels of zip lines, with the riders on the top lines flying, prone like Superman, above the neon glitter and glitz of the city.
Jeff Victor, president of Fremont Street Experience, said he selected Skyline because of the experience and expertise of its staff, including theme park industry veteran Mike Teske, Skyline’s director of technical services.
The new attraction is a dramatic change of pace for the Maui company, known for its commitment to ecology and donating part of its profits to conservation groups. It is consulting on design, construction and operations, but the ride will be built by another company and operated by Fremont.
"It’s really marrying two worlds, the major theme park ride experience and zip lining," Teske said. "It’s taking zip lining out of the hills and putting it in a high-capacity, high-guest-flow, urban environment."
In Hawaii most zip line tours are on the neighbor islands, with nine on Hawaii island, eight on Maui, four on Kauai and just one on Oahu. Prices generally range from $90 to $200 for tours, with a single zip advertised at $30 at Bayview Mini Putt and Zipline in Kaneohe.
Skyline Eco-Adventures also has zip lines at Kaanapali, Maui, and near Akaka Falls on Hawaii island, where a 3,300-foot line hovers above a towering waterfall. It also built a zip line course in the hills surrounding Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Tours usually start with short runs that get longer and faster as they progress down the mountain.
"It was my first time doing this, and I’m afraid of heights," Sally Stovall of Temecula, Calif., said last week after braving the Kaanapali Skyline Adventure tour, which has eight zip line sections, punctuated by a catered lunch halfway down.
"It was an amazing experience, that free feeling of just kind of gliding through the air," she said. "And the beauty, to be able to look out and see the ocean and the lush landscape, it was very scenic."
Stovall, 47, credited the staff for putting everyone at ease. "By the time we got to the first line, my fear was gone," she said. "My husband is a fireman, so he’s all about safety. We were very impressed. He just had the time of his life, too."
Aerial adventure course operators testified in favor of state regulation when the issue was debated at the Legislature this year, but the state opposed it for lack of resources. Legislators directed the auditor to study the issue and report back. Eleven states regulate zip lines and another dozen are considering it. Most of those that regulate zip lines rely on third-party inspections.
The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations investigated the GoZip accident and determined that the company had failed to take all necessary precautions to protect its employees. It said the tower was anchored in unstable soil and that the company did not ensure that the ground anchors could support the load. The agency cited the company for three violations totaling $13,500 in fines.
GoZip, based in Kapalua, Maui, is contesting the findings and trying to negotiate a settlement. Its president, John White, said he cannot discuss specifics of the case while talks are under way.
"We continue to be very committed to the health and welfare of our employees and guests," White said. GoZip, a tour operator, was founded in 2009 as a sister company of Experiential Resources Inc., which has built zip lines for 19 years and moved its headquarters from Bloomington, Ind., to Maui that year.
Nationally, new standards have just been developed for "aerial adventure courses" by ASTM International, which publishes a wide range of voluntary standards for product quality and safety. Skyline’s Teske led the subcommittee that came up with the standards. The Association for Challenge Course Technology also recently published a new edition of its standards.
"There are millions and millions of people that go on zip lines every year," said Boren, who served on the ASTM subcommittee. "It’s absolutely critical that the lines are built right and engineered right."
