Sunday, November 15, 2009

Blog 5-Ziptrek


This summer my family spent a few days in Whistler.  Since it was the summer, there wasn't enough snow to ski/snowboard, so we did other outdoorsy things.  One of the things we did was the Ziptrek, which is an ecotour where a person gets strapped to a set of cables that sort of interlace and cross over Fitzsimmons Creek.  You get a ton of amazing views on it. I don't know how to describe it, so this is the link explaining more about it: http://www.ziptrek.com.
The really cool thing about this trek, besides it being super eco-friendly, is that it is based entirely on physics concepts.  The wires are attached to the trees at downward sloping angles.  The rest is left up to gravity.  However, you have to be of a certain mass so that you don't get stuck in the middle.  This pretty much just uses basic kinematic equations.
At the end of the cable, the guides set up a hook and then "reel" each person in.  The concepts involving momentum were used to create this system.  The hook is set up a certain distance away and increases the time and distance that a person  travels while slowing down after flying over the creek, thereby decreasing the force exerted on the person.  The hook system makes stopping much more comfortable for the person on the Zipline.
The picture above is my dad stopping on the Zipline.  I think Matt will like it.

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