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Holiday Valley Adds Non-Skiing Attractions

Business First - by James Fink

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The latest investment by Holiday Valley Ski Resort will see the Ellicottville skiing and golfing center adding two new attractions including a “Mountain Coaster.”

In the works is the “Adventure Park” in Holiday Valley’s Tannenbaum area and just off of the Spruce Line slope. The adventure park includes the Mountain Coaster and aerial park — both of which are aimed at attracting more people to the resort during non-skiing season.

The coaster and aerial park should be operational later this year with the aerial park slated to debut by June. The project will be privately financed, although Holiday Valley’s parent company, Win-Sum Corp., is expected to meet with the County of Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency about an abatement package.

The cost of the project is still being determined, said Jane Eshbaugh, Holiday Valley director of marketing.

“It will help attract more visitors to our region and give them a totally new outdoor experience,” said Dennis Eshbaugh, Holiday Valley president.

The Mountain Coaster, designed by Wiegand Sports of Utah and Germany, will give riders a roller coaster-like experience, Jane Eshbaugh said.

Riders will go up a course next to the Spruce Line slope and then travel down in a car where they can control their own speed using hand brakes. The course alternately zig-zags and spirals at different points.

The aerial park requires participants to navigate their way across a series of platforms and bridges built above a four-acre section of the Tannenbaum area.

“This isn’t about strength,” Jane Eshbaugh said. “It is about strategy and balance.”

Participants wear a protective harness that safeguards them if they fall off of the course.

The aerial park is designed by Outdoor Ventures Group of Southport, Conn.

Construction on the aerial park will start later this month, Jane Eshbaugh said. It is due to open in April.

The Mountain Coaster ride construction will begin in April and be ready to welcome its first rider later this summer.
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