La tyrolienne : le grand saut au dessus des montagnes

This week, I continue my adventures with the zipline of the Prabouré mountain activity park, of which François Philibert is the director.

This zip line is not just any because it is the highest in the Massif Central. 110 meters high precisely.

A zip line reaching 80 km/h

In this summer period, I mingle with summer camps in Praboure. I am immersed in the middle of all these children, who are almost my height, or more. Difficult to differentiate myself and I am told that a bus of a hundred children is on the way. I do not waste time and I start to equip myself with my harness.

The suspense is at its peak

I wait in front of the zip line where I suddenly see the void. Emptiness isn't something that scares me, but I have to admit that it's not reassuring either. I approach. A dozen children in Indian thread waiting to pass, more or less excited. It's funny to watch everyone's reactions. Some can no longer stay in place and once in front of the zip line, you can hear them screaming with happiness. There's this girl, a little smaller than the others, who bursts into tears once she hangs on the zip line. She's so scared that she won't jump after all.

Nothing could be more normal, I have a whole catastrophic scenario in my head. But when my turn comes, I smile from ear to ear. And I can't wait. I'm hooked to the zip line and I sit in my harness, feet against the metal structure in front of me. I listen attentively to the few instructions given to me. And I jump.

Before the jump to infinity, and beyond!

A very quick jump from the start where I hear the wind buzzing in my ears and my cry echoing in the valley. I am seized with a nervous laugh seeing the trees under my feet and the magnificent view around me. It's a real feeling of freedom to soar through the air and it's impressive to gain so much speed in a few seconds. I travel a trajectory of about 800 meters and it seems that I went up to 55 km/h maximum. Already enough to breathe and take a deep breath. I can't believe the sight and my legs are shaking both with fear and especially with excitement. Once at the bottom of the zip line, when they untie me, I am still laughing. At least I arrive with a smile.

Courses for all tastes

The people who passed before and after me wear helmets. They will follow the rando-ferrata course. You can also do the ascent on foot, which takes about twenty minutes. Or we do like me, we wait wisely to be picked up by car.

Lucile Brière for La Gazette de Thiers and d'Ambert