NEWS: Northstar-at-Tahoe looking to add alpine coaster

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20100304/NEWS/100309948/1066&ParentProfile=1051

 

Construction on an alpine roller coaster at Northstar-at-Tahoe — an idea drawing public scrutiny based on noise and environmental concerns — could begin as early as May 2010, according to environmental documents. On Feb. 18, the Placer County planning department received an environmental noise assessment and an environmental questionnaire from Booth Creek Ski Holdings (which manages Northstar). Both reports describe the coaster as a two-person toboggan that could be controlled by riders and reach speeds of up to 25 mph.

 

“Pending regulatory approvals, project construction is to commence early May 2010 in order to allow for operations by mid-July 2010,” officials wrote in the questionnaire. The questionnaire states the coaster would start at an elevation of 6,745 feet and descend to 6,342 feet with a curving descent of 4,260 feet worth of track stretching 15 feet off the ground. It also states 620 feet of track will cross a nearby 100-year-old floodplain (a piece of land periodically flooded to support nearby wildlife); because of support structures that do not require excavation, the floodplain will not be affected.

 

“The proposed coaster is consistent with the definition of outdoor commercial recreation, a land use that is allowed with the approval of a minor use permit,” said Paul Thompson, a Placer County deputy planning director, on Wednesday.

 

Next, county planning staff must make an environmental determination. “Both the use permit and the completed environmental document will be considered by a hearing body at a public hearing at a future date,” Thompson said.

 

Noise concerns

 

David Landis, an area homeowner who originally voiced concern over the coaster, said he would be “severely disappointed” with Placer County if it approves the coaster and hinted toward possible litigation. “If Placer County and its supervisors don't have an environmental impact report, we will be filing a lawsuit,” Landis said. Landis said he's talked with Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery, who represents the Tahoe region, saying said he's concerned the noise assessment does not take into account for “screaming children and families.” “I have a meeting next week with Paul Thompson and with Mike Wells from Planning and will be asking for more detail on this project,” Montgomery said in an e-mail to Landis.

 

Safety concerns

 

According to articles in the Post Independent, the Sun's sister newspaper in Glenwood Springs, Colo., a woman filed a lawsuit against Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, where a similar coaster exists. The woman reportedly said she struck another toboggan stopped on the track and severely injured herself in July of 2006. Both parties later settled out of court.

 

Another story from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel in Colorado reported a woman sued the park in July 2009 after she and her daughter were allegedly flung from the ride and dragged along the tracks, suffering serious injuries. According to that story, as of October 2008, the park reportedly had more than 400,000 visitors who rode the roller coaster in question, which resulted in six accidents.

 

In a Thursday phone interview, Steve Beckley, owner of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, said since his park opened in 2005, the ride has run more than 700,000 times with an average of 125,000 rides per year. He said his coaster has about 1,000 feet less track than the one proposed at Northstar. He said the only problems with the ride happened when riders weren't obeying the rules. “Overall, the safety of the ride is very good,” he said.

[cfc]

I wonder how much it will cost to ride this thing. Northstar is pretty pricey, even by Tahoe standards. They just opened a four- or five-star resort up there, too.

[scooterdoug]

I could not care less how much it costs. At least we're getting a coaster, ANY KIND of coaster here in the Reno/Tahoe area. I mean, there's absolutely nothing here, NOTHING! At this rate, I would settle for an SLC.

-Doug "Going through serious withdrawals during this off-season" Heim

[USCoaster]

I was up a Northstar a couple weeks ago visiting some friends who were up there and the new Ritz-Carlton is amazing. Its accessible via a really long winding road up the mountain (with 2 or 3 tunnels under ski runs) and a short brand new free gondola up from the Village. As for pricing, I think Northstar will probably price it around $20 for 1 ride, and maybe discounts for multiple rides. I just checked and last year, Park City in Utah was charging $20 a ride and Wisp in Maryland was charging $10 a ride. Given Northstar's location, I assume they will go with the higher pricing.

[Columbia]

At least they aren't opening up a real bobsled run. That crap costs $200 per run in Park City! (And scary as hell, too!)

 

So is it just me, or is this an alpine slide similar to the ones in Park City, UT (Summer) and Action Park (Mountain Creek) in Vernon, NJ? Cause if it is, noise concerns sound a little sketchy to be litigating over. Then again, if you live up there, you usually have the cash to litigate to your hearts content.

[larrygator]

Alpine Slides do not run on tracks. Your vehicle is on wheels and runs in an open trough.

 

Alpine Coasters, also known as Mountain Coasters, run on tracks.

Alpine Slide

Mountain Coaster

[Columbia]

Ah, gotcha! That makes sense now, thanks!

 

Why not just fill it with sand like all the quiet Beemers? : p

[TheCoasterTaco]

I'd love to see one in the Northstar area since my family owns a cabin near Tahoe and Truckee. There isn't any in the Tahoe area and I believe there should be at least one due to all the resorts there. Plus, it would bring more publicity during the summertime.

[cfc]

I think Boreal Ridge used to have an alpine slide, but they took it out years ago.

[USCoaster]

I'm sure anybody who has been on an Alpine Coaster can confirm or deny this, but from the various on-ride videos on the web, the Alpine Coasters don't seem to be very loud. I think a lot of the complaining from residents near Northstar are assuming this will sound like a normal full sized roller coaster complete with +/-32 screaming riders instead of a little 2 person sled on a track. While there may be some noise, I think most of the current reactions from the locals are probably uninformed and could be solved with some video of similar installations.

[larrygator]

I've been on two mountain coasters. The cars themselves are very quiet, quieter than the motor on the lift and the screams of the riders.