Special Report: Soaring with confidence: A behind-the-scenes look at safety measures for Mt. Bachelor zipline

(Update: Adding video, interviews with zipline workers, Mt. Bachelor rep, zipline users)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- When it’s time to put the skis away, Mt. Bachelor gears up for zipline season.

“We’re a very unique course, because we tear everything down. We ski in the winter, and then we put it all back up and operate the zipline in the summer.” Said Mt. Bachelor ZipTour Manager Kori Coggin.

This is the fifth year Mt. Bachelor has offered their summer ZipTours. The course is maintained through daily and annual inspections.

“Everything that’s used is inspected daily as far as the towers, cables, and then all the equipment after each tour is inspected.” Coggin said. 

There are state regulations for ziplines operating at fairs carnivals and amusement parks in Oregon, but the Mt. Bachelor zipline is exempt because it’s operated on U.S. Forest Service land and operates under a federal use permit. 

"We adhere to ASTM (American Society of Testing Materials) standards," said Mt. Bachelor Director of Marketing and Communications Lauren Burke said.

Federal safety regulations have to meet or exceed the state's safety standards. 

Guests who want to ride the ZipTour are required to be a minimum of 10 years old and weigh between 50 to 260 pounds. They are asked to step on a scale at check-in to confirm the weight requirement. The resort also requires closed-toe, sturdy shoes.

New and returning ZipTour guides are required to go through three days of in-house training. 

Coggin said, “We train on all of our spiels - hooking up, taking off everything in the course. You know, we train on a lot of kind of fun facts about the mountain, all of our safety precautions, things like that, our rescues." 

Returning ZipTour guide Victoria Griffith says she’s covered the course more than a hundred times, monitoring conditions frequently. 

“When there's ice there, there's wet on the cables, obviously we can't ride it, because the brakes can't be applied correctly,” Griffith explained. “So we definitely look at the weather to make that call.”

At the beginning of the ZipTour, guides show guests how to properly wear a harness, helmet and trolley backpack. 

After watching an informational safety video, zipliners are directed to the "demo zip," where guests learn to control their speed as they zip through the air. 

“The demo is a chance for us to see that the guests understand how to use the equipment safely and properly before they get out onto the big course," Coggin said. 

The multi-stage tour launches at the top of Pine Marten Lift, at an elevation of 7,800 feet. Zipliners drop a another 263 feet during the second stage of the tour.

The final and longest stage features the “Broken Top Drop,” which has an 866-foot vertical plunge spanning 3,443 feet. Many guests say this part of the tour is the most terrifying. 

“The first two were fine, tjat third one, though! That drop just looked a lot nastier. I was like - I don’t know about this one!” said zipliner Drex Carratala, who was visiting from California. 

The zipline was open for a limited time last weekend, but officially opens for the summer season on June 27th. You can find more information here.