April 2021 Big Bear Today Magazine

Big Bear Today April 2021—Page 11
Sled, snow, coaster at Alpine Slide
Choose from two unique
rides,longtime favorite Alpine
Slide and new Mineshaft Coaster,
neither found elsewhere in California, both
letting riders control their own speed.
Really it’s three interactive rides
counting family inner tubing on Alpine
Slide’s snow play hill; how you slide, when
you slide, with whom you slide all
determine how fast tubers go. Toss in the
Putt `N Around go-kart track and there’s
four attractions at Alpine Slide that allow
families to go as fast or slow as they want.
Mineshaft Coaster at Alpine Slide, a
mile-long stainless steel track on which
riders negotiate turns and drops aboard
karts they control, opened last summer, first
ride of its kind in the state. Two up tracks
on a motorized
bullwheel pulley
system provide the
uphill lift, including
a long one out of a
cool new start house
at the bottom.
The real fun is
on two downhill
tracks, as carts hit
speeds up to 27 mph
across three 200-foot
bridges, into two
100-foot tunnels,
through S-turns, over a few whoop-didoos,
and around three 360° corkscrew
turns. The whole ride is elevated above the
ground, at times two dozen feet up and at
a minimum four feet, really giving riders a
sense of speed as surroundings blur by.
It’s a roughly nine minute ride—faster
drivers can get closer to seven minutes—
that elicits amusement park-style screams
from many riders, only this is no park ride
where there’s no guest interaction. On
Mineshaft Coaster guests go faster or
slower by applying brake. Rider in back
controls the cart’s braking mechanism and
is required to keep at least 80 feet from the
sled in front.
Mineshaft Coaster features “Smart
Cart” technology with a computer
controlled, fail-safe magnetic braking
system that gently applies brakes if a cart
approaches too close to another. Plus each
ride is equipped with speed governor and
centrifugal brake to control top speed.
Each cart has specially designed,
lockable seat belts and shoulder restraints
to assure rider comfort at all times. Plus
carts have energy absorbing front and rear
buffers. Mineshaft Coaster is open daily
year-round and tickets are $20 per person,
children $10.
Alpine Slide bobsleds, only track west
of Utah, offer more self-controlled fun in
an experience that gives rides a small taste
of Olympic bobsledding. Lean into banked
turns with the sled almost perpendicular
to the ground and whip out into a tuck
through straightaways to and experience
some of the same gravitational forces
found In Olympic
sled events.
Apply brake to
go as slow as you
want or let the sled’s
Soaring
Eagle
teflon runners and
ball-bearing wheels
roll freely down the
two side-by-side
quarter-mile cement
tracks. Banked turns,
long straightaways
and more await
riders and every time
down is different. Bobsled rides cost $7
each, $30 for five-ride book.
Alpine Slide’s Snow Play Area is also
open till the white stuff is gone. off after
the January storms. There was tons of snow
before the weather arrived, thank’s to the
area’s ski resort quality Lenko snowguns
lining the slopes, and now it’s piled two
stories high. It’s daunting to see all the
white stuff piled up! There will be inner
tubing at Alpine Slide through Easter at
least.
The enclosed 210-foot long Magic
Carpet uphill lift has been busy, taking
guests and their tubes to the top of all the
snow—just step on and step off. Nightly
grooming like at the ski resorts ensures
smooth tubing on perfect corduroy snow.
Night Tubing under the stars was
introduced at Alpine Slide years ago and
You’re in control on the new Mineshaft Coaster at Alpine Slide
has become wildly popular. Guests love
sliding on snow that gets another fresh
groom after the day session. There’s new
glow lighting and the snow gets faster and
faster as the evening progresses.
Tube daily from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. with
evening sessions Fridays, Saturdays and
holiday periods from 5-9 p.m. Lift passes
for all sessions are $35 and include inner
tube rental.
Soaring Eagle is a zipline-like
experience with a couple notable
differences. Riders sit instead of lie down
and ride up to the top tower backwards.
Plus guests don’t have to apply any brake
or use any skill set, since it’s an amusement
park ride rather than zipline, so they’re just
along for the ride.
What a ride it is! Between the two
"Still haunted by our Ghost George"
towers riders soar 500 feet—close to two
football fields!—and reach speeds up to
26 mph, with a vertical drop of about 125
feet. It’s the first ride of its kind in
California with the nearest other one atop
the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. There’s no
bulky shoulder harness to wear so guests
feel, well, as free as birds while they fly.
Double seat belts secure up to two
riders and they shoot to the top tower
facing the ground, almost as fast as when
they’re coming down, an experience that’s
as exhilarating as the descent. Soaring
Eagle costs $12 per rider.
Bundle Soaring Eagle flight, go-karts
and miniature golf for $22, a steal of a deal.
Alpine Slide is at 800 Wildrose Ln.
Call (909) 866-4626.
Fine Dining in a Rustic Stone & Log Retreatt
Fine Steaks • Seafood • Prime Rib • Lobster
Welcome Back!
Enjoy Great Food
in a Historic Setting
Outdoor Dining
Under our Pine Trees!
www.CaptainsAnchorage.com
Est. 1947 by Andy Devine
as the Sportsmans Tavern
Open Nightly 4:30 p.m.
Seating is Limited for your Safety
Molekule Air Purifiers
for Safety of Customers & Staff
Rare Photos, Memorabilia,
and More!
Advance Reservations
Highly Recommended
Even non-Olympians enjoy bobsled-like rides at Alpine Slide