Resort Roster Fills for World-Record Zip-Line Challenge

Seeking to break the record of 122 crossing a line in less than an hour, ACE Adventure Resort in West Virginia has seen 180 participants sign up from as far away as Florida and Mississippi.

Sooner than anticipated, ACE Adventure Resort, a 1,500-acre commercial outdoor wilderness park in Fayette County, W. Va., has filled its roster for a June 3 challenge to the Guinness World Record for zip-lining, reports The State Journal, a West Virginia business newspaper. Officials also are planning to host more participants than they had first calculated, according to Beth Gill, Marketing Director for the resort.

“A week after the announcement, we began to realize that the response to the challenge was growing far faster than we had expected,” said Gill. “But that’s a good thing. It means we have a better shot at surpassing the 2010 record and making it difficult for any challenge to be mounted for some time.”

The resort was expecting 150 participants, but 180 have signed on to break the Guinness World Record for the most number of zippers to race along a length of cable in less than an hour.

“Given the length of the zip line and the time it takes for one person to make it across, we think we can achieve three zippers per minute,” said Gill.

The current world record was set by a German adventure outfitter, which sent 122 participants along a rope slide in the Black Forest in 2010.

Space for spectators along the route is very limited, Gill said, so the event will be broadcast live onto screens at the resort’s tent near its visitor center. Though the entire zip-line course extends for more than a mile along the rim of the New River Gorge, only one segment of the course will be in play, she added.

Enthusiasts from as far away as Florida and Mississippi have signed on, with the majority of participants are from West Virginia.

Spectators will not be required to register for the event but will be required to obtain a parking pass at the resort visitor center. Information and updates on the event can be found through a special “record” link at www.aceraft.com.

Tags: ACE Adventure Resort Beth Gill Black Forest Guinness World Record New River Gorge The State Journal West Virginia Zip lining