Skyline Ziplines, based in Whistler, British Columbia, is known for building some of the fastest and longest zip lines in the world, and also engineering systems that aim to make zip lining safer.
Founded by the late Kevin Smith in 2004, Skyline’s goal has been to develop error-free zip line operating systems, including such things as its automated launch products aimed at reducing collisions on the line. This work continues in the hands of Smith’s sons, company president Isiah and vice president Noah, who recently chatted with Adventure Park Insider about taking over and continuing to build the family business.
API: Talk to us about how Skyline’s reputation for building high-thrills, high-speed “sky travel” attractions reflects the culture of the company as well as your own personalities.
Isiah: That statement reflects how we want to portray the company, but with the addition of safety as top priority. Absolutely, thrills, high speeds, long lines, etc., are a big part of what we strive for, and we are always looking to one-up the competition—and ourselves—when it comes to innovation, operational efficiency, throughput, and reliability. But more now than ever we continue to see the need for safety to be a driving force, particularly as more vendors enter the industry.
Noah tends to be the [source]for new and exciting ideas for builds and products, while I am more of the safety guy throwing out the concerns and necessary steps we need to take to get to the final product or vision. We are very active people whether it be snowmobiling, mountain biking, enduro riding, or water sports. I think this excitement for adventure and the unknown in our daily lives translates over to Skyline.
Noah: My dad started the company 19 years ago after he hired this company to build a big, long, fast line for an adventure tourism business we owned in Whistler. And once the cable was up, we didn’t have the braking systems or the trolleys that were capable of handling these speeds. So, my dad was an innovator, and I guess kind of crazy when you think about it, but he decided to build out all his own components and equipment so that we could handle high speeds.
API: What have been some of your favorite builds—the ones that exemplify what Skyline is all about—and why?
Noah: We built the zip off the Calgary Olympic ski tower and that one was the fastest braking zip line in the world at the time (brake impact at 74 mph). Calgary was that first one that really showed people what Skyline could do. Since then, they’ve slowed it down because it was quite scary for people that had never done zip lines.
Isiah: I’d go with Hanazono Zipflight in Japan for its length, speed, and line profile. The third line starts high above the ground, then skims you along the tops of trees, out into the open, back through a corridor in the trees, and finishes on a 65-foot tower on the shore of a lake. I just feel it has everything we look for in an amazing zip line, not to mention it’s nearly 2 kilometers long.
Noah: That one’s also special because my dad initiated it before he passed.
Isiah: Mega Zipline Iceland is our most recent build, and it is truly magnificent. This line flies over a waterfall and down through a valley, crossing a river 10 times as it swerves back and forth below you. And you can fly both prone and seated, which allows for two very different experiences.
Zip line takeoff from the top of the ski jump tower at Canada Olympic Park.
API: You’ve done work in more than 30 countries. Can you talk about the differences between building zi
Isiah: Every country is different and poses its own unique challenges. The largest difference is in the engineering phase, as countries all have their own unique permitting process, building codes, inspection policies, and safety standards. When it came to building in Japan, for example, they have their own standards for electronics, steel, etc., that we had to learn and alter our designs to suit.
When it comes to operations, things don’t tend to vary so much, but what you do see is a wide variety of cultures, and people’s reactions to the ride and experience from one country to the next are very cool to see and be a part of.
We are definitely seeing more interest globally and get inquiries from new countries all the time.
Noah: There’s a lot of canopy tours but there’s not a lot of mega zip lines, and that’s what we specialize in—the bigger boys; longer, faster, higher. I think that’s why we’ve done so well in the U.S. Obviously, we had a little bit of a slowdown during Covid, but it’s coming back really strong from our standpoint.
API: It’s been said that your work treads the line between traditional zip lines that you might find at a summer camp and the kind of high-tech attractions you might find at an amusement park, where the guest is pretty much taken out of the operational picture. Do you think that’s accurate?
Isiah: I’d say, more now than ever, we are pushing for a hands-off experience for guests, so I see us more on the amusement park side than the traditional side. This is not to say that we won’t build a zip line for a summer camp, but we’re gonna make it as automated as we can to minimize the possibility for human error.
skyTECH Universal E-Launcher at Interzip, connecting Ottawa and Gatineau.
API: Are we getting to the point where zip lines are getting too big, long, high, and fast for the user to have an active role in the ride, particularly braking?
Isiah: I feel strongly that human involvement should not be a factor in zip lines. Guests should not be involved in any kind of braking beyond bracing their bodies for a braking system or to step onto a platform at low speeds. I understand that human involvement can be done safely and that 99 percent of the time it is not an issue, but we try to design for the 1 percent, and it will always be there so long as there is human involvement.
You can also take it one step further and apply this principle to guides as well. We push for braking systems that reset automatically and that cannot be bypassed so there is no possibility for a guest to impact a compressed or disengaged braking system.
Noah: Our clients don’t touch anything or have to do anything other than get in the brake position.
Isiah: As more people get into zip lines, the insurance costs continue to rise due to an increase in the rate of incidents. This may be due to vendors/operators who either lack the knowledge to make the system safe or are simply cutting corners to save cost or offer a more attractive proposal to beat competitors who come in at a higher price point. The cheaper, less safe sites are driving up the insurance costs of everyone in the industry. At the rate we’re going, [operators]who are doing everything right will be forced to shut down due to skyrocketing insurance costs.
Noah: Safe Launch (the company’s electronic launching system) is not a cheap install. Depending on what the client wants, it can be anywhere from like $75,000 to $150,000 per segment. But insurance companies are looking at giving clients that use the system up to 25 percent off their insurance premiums, because it will eliminate operator error.
Isiah: What Safe Launch does is eliminate the ability for guides to prematurely launch guests, ensures they perform safety checks, and provides them with tools like gates and camera angles to help them perform their tasks safer and with more certainty. It is easy for underwriters to see the pros of this system. It can be compared to installing cameras or a security system in your house, both of which will get you discounts on your home insurance, so why should it be any different for zip lines?
Noah: We’re also coming out with a product called EZ Launch that works with guides to eliminate the potential for a premature launch when another rider is still on the line. It’s the cause of the highest claims in the insurance industry*, because you don’t have one client but two involved, and both of them end up hurting each other. With this system you can’t launch someone until the guide has taken the previous guest off. It’s a simplified Safe Launch, but it also won’t need the use of a solar panel or direct power.
API: Tell us about the different roles the two of you play in the company. Isiah, is yours more on the engineering side, for example, while Noah your focus seems to be more on marketing and project management?
Isiah: Noah sells the vision, and then it’s up to me to make the vision reality. I have a degree in mechanical engineering and worked extensively in manufacturing, engineering, and product design. Noah is very outgoing and does very well in social settings and can really help clients get excited about the vision of “what could be,” while I am more in the background figuring out the details. It’s a blessing and a curse because we complement each other at times by thinking differently, but also butt heads for the same reason.
Noah: I’m mainly focused on working with clients more at the very beginning stages and at the final stages. My team will kind of take care of the rest unless there’s something I need to deal with.
API: Skyline was founded by your dad, Kevin, who died a few years ago. Was it always a given that his two sons would keep the company going?
Isiah: I think it was always a dream of our dad’s to have us involved in the company, but I wouldn’t really say it was a given. He would have been just as excited for us if we had started our own business in a completely unrelated industry, but the fact that we love this work and pushed to keep it moving forward was a real joy in Kev’s life. Kev was a pioneer in this industry, and we’ve got some big shoes to fill—but it won’t stop us from trying anyway.
Noah: My dad and I are very similar; we’re both quite entrepreneurial and business-minded. I knew I wanted to be in the zip line industry with him if I could be. But I was also open to different options. With him phasing out of the business before he passed, I saw great potential with where we could take the business if Isiah and I did it together. Dad encouraged it, obviously. He was a big fan.
From left: Late Skyline founder Kevin Smith and his sons Noah and Isiah.
API: Do you feel like you’re preserving Kevin’s legacy? Has the company evolved in ways he might not have expected?
Isiah: There were things Dad did that don’t really suit our personalities, so we’ve slowly adapted the business to better suit our own personal styles. Kev could be quite stubborn about how he wanted to do things. I think one aspect of the business that Noah and I have really adopted is just listening. We want to hear from our staff and from our clients about the concerns they might have, issues they see, improvements they’d like to see. We are striving to make our products better, and I think taking criticism and feedback is an essential part of making that happen.
Overall, I know our dad would be happy to see us working together toward a common goal of making Skyline the go-to builder for the best zip lines in the world.
Noah: My promise to him was that I’d do everything I could to grow Skyline as big as I could in the next five years. Safe Launch was always his baby, because he did see that as the future of the industry. He never had the idea for EZ Launch. I think if we could get EZ Launch in 100 sites, make 100 zip line sites that much safer and save them the costs of insurance every year, I think he would be very happy with that
