How Rocky Mountain Zip Line Grows Adventure Tourism In Alberta
Whether Darrel Bossert’s Rocky Mountain Zip Line succeeds depends not just on its own merit, but on the province’s willingness to make the jump to adventure tourism
by Bob Covey
“There has been such rapid economic growth and industrial development over the last several years, there may have been a tendency for other ministries to, for lack of a better word, forget about tourism,” says Bill Hodgins, TRP’s manager of tourism business services. “Part of our ministry’s role is to educate other ministries about the values that tourism brings.”
For its part, SRD acknowledges there are challenges to development, but Dan Grahn, head of the Industrial and Commercial Land Use Section, refutes the idea that tourism isn’t a priority for the department. Furthermore, he points to the three development nodes the ministry identified for tourism. In 2006, SRD queried local stakeholders on how best to meet growing demand to develop recreational opportunities in the Brule, Entrance and Overlander areas, which feature lakes, trails and sand dunes within minutes of Hinton. The process has yet to produce any decisions.
“If there’s concerns that we’re barriers to tourism, I’ll accept that,” Grahn says. “On the other hand, I believe we’ve made relatively effective [contributions] to the ability of the government to deliver on tourism developments on public land.”
Back at the zip line, Darrel Bossert tells Kayley Dillon, harnessed and ready to fly, that her nerves are actually “superhero powers” building up inside of her. Trust the system, he says. Step through the “fear door” and believe in yourself. Earlier, while she was photographing her boyfriend’s flight, Bossert’s speech on the zip line’s structural soundness garnered a distracted nod from the 25-year-old. Now that she’s seconds from hurtling into the atmosphere, Dillon is wondering aloud how her relaxing vacation went awry.
Out of the roughly 500 people who’ve braved the zip line, Bossert claims only three have decided to get out of their harness. Not about to be the fourth, Dillon runs down the incline and leaps. As if on cue, a transport truck blasts its horn from the highway. Bossert returns the salutation with a wave.
“We’ve had a four-year-old on the system, and we’ve had an 89-year-old woman try,” he says. “We get people you would never dream of doing this.”
Despite years of chasing approvals, meeting conditions and a lot of waiting, “never dreaming” about this business is something Bossert didn’t consider. Since starting 18 years ago without any idea of the time, energy and money he would have to spend to build his zip line, a dream was often all he had to go on. As he looks towards the Athabasca River valley and considers the work required over the coming months to get his log home closer to the eco-lodge he envisions, his walkie-talkie squawks. It’s Dillon.
“Kenrick is going to go into Hinton and get some more money,” she says with a laugh. “We want to go again.”
Knowing he’s opened another pair of eyes to the Yellowhead corridor, Bossert smiles broadly.
“Roger that!” he responds.
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