Alpspitzbahn Nesselwang Opens Floating Ropes Course

(eap) Germany’s Alpspitzbahn Nesselwang is expanding its summer tourism offering in the Bavarian Allgaeu region beyond classic hiking and cycling sports. The existing attractions “Alpspitzkick” (a mega zipline) and “Alpspitz Coaster” (a summer toboggan run) have recently been joined by the “Alpspitz Splash” – a floating ropes course of the “Aqua Chimp” brand (from the German company faszinatour). This was installed on the reservoir at the valley station of the mountain cableway to provide active climbing fun on the water for the whole family. The modular facility covers an area of 30 x 18 metres and consists of elements of varying difficulty, ensuring fun for both children and adults. The obstacles include a Ninja Line and a zipline, for example.

This new Aqua Chimp Park is the first that was installed on a snowmaking lake – there are now ten floating ropes course parks of this brand worldwide, which was only introduced to the leisure market a few years ago (c.f. EAP 6/2020). For Alpspitzbahn Nesselwang, this project was a further investment in securing the future: “To ensure the continued existence of our ski resort, we have to rely on sustainable and innovative concepts,” explains Managing Director Ralf Speck. “The use of the lake in summer is obvious. It is a more efficient use of infrastructure and staff, even outside the winter season. I see the new attraction as part of the solution. Winters are certainly not getting any better and there is no such thing as guaranteed snow any more. This makes it all the more important to look ahead, rethink and remain open to new ideas,” says Speck.

In many parts of Europe, this expectation is reflected in the growing trend towards developing attractive summer tourism offers for mountain destinations, for which leisure attractions such as ropes courses, rides, themed playgrounds and slide parks play a key role – read more about some exciting concepts in our focus article “The mountain is calling” in EAP issue 4/2023. ■