A new tourist destination in the UAE leverages the strength properties of steel for the world's longest Zipline, providing a unique and immersive experience for extreme sports around the world.
The zip line is located over the Jebel Jais abyss, it is the largest mountain peak in the UAE at an altitude of more than 1680 meters above sea level, and has a length of 2 kilometers 831 meters 88 centimeters.
Harnessing the power of steel, Toroverde Ecological Park overcame incredible logistical challenges by opening the Jebel Jais Flight zipline in January 2018 and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest zipline on the planet.
Jebal Jais is the UAE's tallest mountain and the zipline starts at an impressive 1,680 meters above the ground. Even at the lowest point, visitors will find themselves 400 meters above sea level.
The environment that goes hand in hand with creating a zipline in these challenging environments was a challenging set of challenges for the engineering and construction teams.
The best of both worlds
“Virtually all of the construction was challenging,” says Ricardo Lizano, Toroverde's COO. “We are talking about the world's longest cable car, ending with a suspended platform 80 meters in the air, surrounded by very complex topography in huge rocky mountains.”
The Jebel Jais team spent only six months on the project. A combination of determination, engineering expertise is the key to what has enabled Toroverde to create this stunning example of modern mechanical engineering.
“With steel, you can make beautiful architectural things while meeting stringent design requirements with ease.”
“For the zipline, we used a custom compacted steel cable. We then used steel to create both the starting and ending platform, ”says Lisano.
“We decided to use steel in construction because it is a very comfortable material that offers the best of both worlds. With steel, you can make beautiful architectural things and at the same time easily meet strict design requirements. ”
Lisano points out that the biggest challenge was securing the cable in place from one side to the other - a space equivalent to 28 football pitches - and hanging the final platform.
"This is a nine-ton structure that hangs in the air, and there was no room for a crane, so we had to do it the old-fashioned way with working cables and hoists."
Global attractiveness
Users can reach speeds of up to 150 km per hour, and a special harness allows them to position themselves like birds in flight - just two of the features that help attract adrenaline lovers from around the world. Steel suspended platforms also feature an incredibly transparent deck, providing a breathtaking view anywhere during the experience.
“We've had stories of people traveling from Europe just to take the Jebel Jais flight, coming here straight from the airport, staying one night and then returning home. “There was a really incredible reaction - not only to the ride itself, but also to the location and the amazing steel platforms.”
Facts
- Rope weight : 6 tons.
- Location : 1680 meters above sea level
- Terms of implementation : more than a year
- Flight duration : 2-3 minutes
- Descent speed: 120-150 km /h
- Structure : two zip lines 2.83 and 1 km as well as a suspended platform
- Number of runs : two parallel
- Accidents : 1 helicopter (4 passengers) caught on the cable.
