I SPOTLIGHT I
DON’T LOOK
DOWN Defy gravity and vertigo in the river valley at Alberta’s first aerial park BY MARKWELL LYON
IN A WOODED oasis just off the
Whitemud , a n u nusua l tower barely pokes through the canopy, no doubt missed by the thousands of commuters who drive by it every day. And in a way, that overlooked protrusion is symptomatic that Snow Valley Aerial Park might still be one of the city’s best kept secrets. The adventure park and ropes course gives the vertically inclined a chance to test their climbing skills—and challenge their fear of heights—in a beautiful river valley setting.
The Name of the Game Surrounding the park’s 50 foot-high tower are some 100 elements, or “games” as staff call them, that taken together sort of resemble a supersized playground. These games lean heavily toward the acrobatic, though. Imagine tire tubes, rope ladders, steps and lines suspended in the air, which participants use to move from one elevated platform to another. Besides dealing with gravity, participants also need to rely on their strength, agility and imagination to complete each game. Like the runs on the nearby ski hill, the games are colour coded: green means 40 T8Nmagazine.com
easy, blue intermediate and black hard. They’re also arranged at different heights and typically increase in difficulty with elevation. Aerial park manager Ben Evoy describes the games as “challenge by choice,” meaning there’s no set route one must follow. “You’re not forced to do anything you don’t want to do,” he says, before joking, “unless you’re with a bunch of friends who peer pressure you.”
First of Its Kind Adding to the fun is the variety of elements, including a few custom-made for the park. As the park is operated by the same not-for-profit organization that manages Snow Valley Ski Club and the Rainbow Valley campground, many of these fit a ski or outdoors theme. One game is made up of a horizontal rope ladder affixed with slalom gates. Another, near the very top, features a canoe that you step in and out of; oars hanging above the canoe provide something to grasp onto with your hands. All while doing your best not to look down, of course. While aerial parks like this one aren’t new—they’re already well established in Europe and Asia—the concept is just starting to take hold in Canada, with most parks based in B.C. and Ontario. “We’re the only one in Alberta,” Evoy says.
