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third slot, Session Mode, is from 3 p.m. to closing time (5 pits and skatepark features in The Barn, a zipline, and a host of
p.m. Sunday through Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday), with other summer activities to offer.”
as many as 25 participants at a time helping or challenging WreckTangle is open to participants aged 5 and older,
each other. with a minimum height requirement of 36 inches and a
With all that pushing of limits, Hauser says she is weight restriction of 40 to 250 pounds. Only two or three
delighted and more than a bit surprised to have made it employees are needed to staff the facility, including one float-
through the inaugural season of the WreckTangle almost ing “coach” available to help people who are struggling or to
entirely without incident. give technique tips to more advanced participants.
“For as wild as it looks, we really haven’t had any injuries The resort created a set of essential eligibility criteria for
on it beyond some scrapes and bruises and a twisted ankle the WreckTangle and posted it on the website so people have
or two,” Hauser said. “I’ve been really pleased. For such a an idea of what to expect when they show up, Russo added.
high-activity sport, it’s been really safe. Some other resorts “We have people sign a waiver like we do for any other activi-
have been building ropes courses, where you’re always roped ty, but the truth is that even though it’s a challenge course it’s
in with a climbing harness, but to me this seems a little more inherently safe. There are nets underneath everything, you’re
hip and modern, and more in line with what we’ve been never falling very far, most of the features are padded, and for
doing here through our partnership with Woodward.” things like the zipline we’re using industry-standard equip-
Mike Russo, Copper Mountain’s senior risk manager, ment and an airbag,” he said.
confirms that there were no injuries of note over the For the moving features, the resort sought the expertise
WreckTangle’s first summer. “I think we prepared appropri- of its lift operations team to help ensure the proper emer-
ately from a risk management side,” Russo said. “It certainly gency stop switches were in place, and involved that team in
posed new challenges because it is unlike anything else we have the overall operations plan to help determine what kind of
up here, but it also felt like a natural step since we already have staffing, supervision, and maintenance was appropriate.
a climbing wall in our base area village, trampolines and foam Russo said that after watching kids in the beta-testing
process (including his own son) and bringing in some actual
ninja athletes to give a final round of feedback, he was ready to
sign off on bringing the Woodward WreckTangle to Copper.
“The one thing we knew is that you don’t know what
All New Premium you don’t know until you get people in there and they start
using it in ways you hadn’t anticipated,” he said. “Thankfully,
Digital Signage it’s been a big success all around.”
The facility will reopen in June 2018, and Hauser
expects that one or more WreckTangle courses will be
CPS (Computer Panorama & opening at other POWDR resorts in 2018.
Parking Guidance System) “We figured it was going to be a hit, and it certainly was.
Kids would see it and just come running. It sells itself!” she
said. “It shows—in terms of diversifying summer activities to
iSKI App Service & be a more stable year-round resort—that there are still a lot
of good ideas out there. I’m looking forward to bringing it
Interactive Trail Map back in 2018, and we’re going to keep it really dynamic and

fresh by changing up some of the obstacles from year to year.
Rest-assured: We’ll have something new to humble you with
MediaCam 3.0 when you come back.”

As much fun as we had on our inaugural visit, my kids and
(Live Streaming)
I fully intend to take her up on that challenge.

Colin Bane is an action sports and adventure travel writer
based in Denver, Colo. He works behind the scenes with
ESPN’s X Games Research team, and is a regular contributor
to The Journal, Snowboard Magazine, Westword, Mountain
Magazines, and dozens of other publications.

44 | NSAA JOURNAL | EARLY WINTER 2017