A giant mountain swing is sending visitors soaring more than 2,000 metres above the Swiss Alps as ski resorts look for new ways to attract visitors beyond the winter season
The Balanc’Air swing opened earlier this month(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Thrill-seekers can now soar over the Swiss Alps on a giant mountain swing that launches riders over the edge of a cliff.
Visitors to the Villars ski resort can now brave the BalancAIR swing, a 12-metre-high attraction perched 2,110 metres above sea level that sends up to three people at a time soaring out above a dramatic Alpine drop. Riders are strapped into saddle-style seats fixed to a structure resembling an Alpine Ibex before being hauled backwards to a 90-degree angle and released high above the valley below.
Alexandra Henchoz, 37, admitted she was nervous before testing the attraction with her husband and 10-year-old daughter. She said she: “I had a bit of a pit in [her] stomach” before she was strapped in to the harness.
“But once it is happening, it is just incredible. You feel like a bird flying,” Alexandra added.
The swing, which opened earlier this month, forms part of the resort’s efforts to attract more visitors outside the traditional ski season as Alpine destinations adapt to the effects of climate change. Martin Deburaux, head of the Villars-Gryons-Diableret ski area, said: “We are really trying to diversify our offering.”
The 12-metre swing “provides us with a source of attraction that can function independently of snow conditions”, he said. Although the resort has enjoyed record winter visitor numbers over the past two seasons, Martin said warmer conditions meant planning for the future was essential.
He added: “But we know we are facing climate change. We are looking for substitutes to conserve jobs, the dynamism and the tourist economy built up around our ski lift facilities.”
The resort currently welcomes more than 700,000 visitors during winter but around 100,000 over the summer, now busses hope the new attraction will help draw more visitors outside the ski season in a bid to boost off-season tourism.
Among those giving it a go was Marc Truffer, 70, who admitted the experience left him both frightened and amazed. He said: “It was so scary… I didn’t even scream.
“It took my breath away going down, but then the view was magnificent.”