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Two new ziplines open in Southcentral Alaska

Tourist phenomenon arrives in Southcentral with two new operations this summer

TALKEETNA — You stand on a small wooden platform on a swaying spruce tree staring down at the devil’s club five stories below. Then you look at the steel cable, no thicker than a finger, that you’re counting on to save you from a death plunge and wonder: “Is there a dignified way to back out?”

There isn’t. So you step into thin air. The harness grips you snugly. The rope lifeline holds. Greenery rushes by on all sides. You’re dancing in the sky to the tune of wheels whirring along the cable. Zzzzzzz!

Welcome to the world of ziplines.

Two zipline operations opened in Southcentral Alaska this summer. The cable-ride attractions have become increasingly popular in tourist venues around the world over the past few years. But the Denali Zipline Canopy Adventure Tour, in Talkeetna, and the Nitro, near the Matanuska Glacier, are the first such installations in this part of the state. …