The History of Alpine Slides

The alpine slide is a young ride with old roots. Europeans have tobogganed down snowy hills for centuries, but a dry summer version that ski areas could run on a green slope only took shape in the 1970s. From there it crossed the Atlantic, spread through American ski country, and eventually inspired the rail-mounted mountain coaster.

A summer toboggan from the Alps

In German-speaking countries, both alpine slides and mountain coasters are often called a Sommerrodelbahn, literally a summer toboggan run. The idea was simple: take the thrill of a winter sled run and give ski areas something that would draw visitors after the snow melted. Encyclopedic histories of the ride describe the alpine slide as the first form of summer toboggan, arriving in its present form in the 1970s.

German engineering drove the early designs. One frequently cited innovator, Josef Wiegand, wanted a ride that used the natural shape of a mountainside rather than building a tall structure to create drops and turns. His company installed its first alpine slide in the mid-1970s, using stainless steel tracks. Concrete and fiberglass channels later became the more customary materials for alpine slides.

The leap to North America

New England ski history gives the arrival a specific home. According to New England Ski History, Bromley Mountain manager Stig Albertsson installed an alpine slide at the Vermont ski area in the mid-1970s through his Alpine Slide Corp., which licensed the concept from Demag, a German company that had developed the design earlier in the decade. Bromley still runs a triple-track Alpine Slide and describes it as North America's first triple-tracked alpine slide.

The ride made sense for American ski areas for the same reasons it did in Europe. A ski hill already had the slope, the chairlifts, the parking, and the base lodge. Adding a slide turned a quiet summer property into an attraction, and the concept caught on quickly across the country.

Slides that are still running from the early years

Several slides that riders enjoy today have long histories. Ober Gatlinburg says its Smoky Mountain Bobsled, also known as the Alpine Slide, has been delighting visitors since the mid-1970s. Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain in Big Bear Lake, California, opened in the early 1980s. In Colorado, Winter Park, Purgatory near Durango, Breckenridge, and the Howler Alpine Slide on Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs are well-established summer attractions. Visit Park City describes the slide at Park City Mountain in Utah as one of the longest alpine slide tracks in the world, at more than 3,000 feet.

The slides that did not last

Not every early slide survived. The most famous example is the alpine slide at Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey, at the ski area now called Mountain Creek. Its history, as documented in detail by Wikipedia, is a cautionary tale: the slide ran under a chairlift, generated many of the park's early injuries and lawsuits, and was eventually torn out. Mountain Creek later introduced an alpine coaster, which keeps riders on a rail.

Colorado lost a beloved slide too. The Golden History Museum records that the Heritage Square Alpine Slide in Golden, with two tracks each about half a mile long, opened in the late 1970s and closed for good in the mid-2010s. The Heritage Square amusement park itself later closed. Older guides that still point riders to Heritage Square are out of date.

Enter the mountain coaster

By the mid-1990s, engineers were working on a different answer to the same question. Instead of letting a sled run freely in a trough, they locked the cart onto a tubular steel rail. Encyclopedic histories credit the company Brandauer with installing the first alpine coaster at a resort in Abtenau, Austria, in the mid-1990s, followed less than a year later by a Wiegand coaster sold under the Alpine Coaster name.

Coasters brought new possibilities. Because the cart cannot leave the rail, tracks can be elevated above the ground, can include steeper drops and tighter spirals, and can run in conditions that would close an open slide. Many coasters also include a lift that pulls riders up the hill on the track itself, so no chairlift is needed. In the United States today, mountain coasters often share a hill with alpine slides: Park City Mountain, Breckenridge, Purgatory, Snow King Mountain, and Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain all list both kinds of ride.

The alpine slide today

Alpine slides have not disappeared in the coaster era. Several operators continue to invest in them. Breckenridge Ski Resort's local tourism office describes the resort as excited to reopen its Alpine Slides, and Crystal Mountain in Michigan opened its Crystal Coaster Alpine Slide, a double-track slide with two 1,600-foot tracks. Many riders prefer the slide's simple, hands-on feel: you sit low, you feel every curve, and the speed is genuinely yours to choose.

The ride also keeps its place in the culture of summer mountain towns. At Steamboat Springs, proceeds from the Howler Alpine Slide benefit young athletes of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. At ski areas from Vermont to Oregon, the slide remains the attraction many families remember first, often ridden a few laps at a time between hikes, lift rides, and lunches on the deck.

What history teaches riders

The lessons of the early slides are built into today's rules. Operators space riders apart, prohibit bumping and racing, set height and weight limits, and close the track when it is wet. Those rules exist because the open trough rewards control and punishes carelessness. Read the riding fast, riding smart page for how to enjoy the speed within them, and the slide vs. coaster page for how the two rides compare.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Summer toboggan
• New England Ski History, Bromley Mountain
• Vermont.com, Mountain Adventure Park at Bromley
• Ober Gatlinburg, Smoky Mountain Bobsled
• Wikipedia, Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain
• Wikipedia, Action Park
• Golden History Museum and Park, Heritage Square Alpine Slide
• GoBreck, Epic Discovery
• Crystal Mountain, Crystal Coaster Alpine Slide
• Howler Alpine Slide