Britain’s biggest ski resort has taken a giant leap to becoming a year-round visitor hotspot with plans approved for a series of daredevil zipwire slides.
Glenshee, which is missing out on what could have been a lucrative winter sports season, wants to diversify into a leading “adventure tourism destination” and give thrillseekers the chance to whizz through the air across the 2,000 acre site.
The first part of a new masterplan for the Perthshire ski centre – three double zipwire installations – has now been approved by the Cairngorms National Park Authority.
The Zipwire Safari will allow two riders to simultaneously slide from the top of the Cairnwell Chairlift to the ski centre base.
It will be the first development of its kind in the UK.
Unique attraction for thrillseekers
According to plans submitted to the park authority (CNPA), bosses want to build a series of zipwire rides of more than 7,000ft in length.
Convener of the Cairngorms National Park Board and independent Perth and Kinross councillor Xander McDade welcomed the scheme.
“This will allow them to attract more summer tourists to support their winter operations and provide greater year round employment,” he said.
Planning committee convener Gaener Rodger added: “The project is a great fit with what the business is already offering and would certainly attract more visitors, supporting the local economy.
“In a year when the snow cover has been so fantastic but ski centres have had to remain shut is extremely frustrating so if we can do anything to support these businesses via the planning system then we must.”
CNPA planning officer Stephanie Wade said: “The proposal for a zipwire attraction at Glenshee meets with our policies around supporting economic growth and particularly tourism and leisure developments and will have very little impact on the landscape in the context of its location within a ski centre.
“Like most ski centres in Scotland, Glenshee has been adapting and diversifying in recent years to help the business to become a year round visitor attraction and a development such as this, while meeting certain conditions, is one that I am happy to recommend for approval.”
Skiing for nearly a century
Skiiing began at Glenshee in the 1930s. The first mechanised uplift was put in place after the Second World War, using simple rope tows, driven off the rear wheel of a tractor.
The Cairnwell Chairlift and a small café was completed in December 1962, just in time for a fruitful snow season.
Despite regular setbacks caused by poor weather over the years, operators have installed 21 chairlifts and surface tows across four mountains and three valleys, making it the UK’s biggest snowsports area with an uplift capacity of 15,460 per hour.