Spain's tallest zip-line beats world speed record

A ZIP-LINE that opened in Aragón in March with the view to becoming the fastest in the world has achieved its goal – beating the long-held record by an ample margin.

When it was set up in the village of Fiscal (Huesca province) in the pre-Pyrénéen Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, the zip-line funded and run by Jorge Rabal was the steepest in Spain with a 400-metre slope and a 20% gradient, being 2,036 metres long (1.27 miles) and could reach speeds of between 130 and 160 kilometres per hour (81 to 99.4mph) as standard.

But the owner wanted it to become the fastest on earth, which meant beating the Italian zip-line that has so far reached a peak at 172 kilometres per hour (just under 107mph).

And now, a qualified instructor, with witnesses, has smashed the record by an average of 17 kilometres per hour (just over 10mph).

To get into the Guinness Book of Records, and to ensure it is not a fluke, such feats have to be successfully attempted three times and the median average taken as the absolute figure.

So although the zip-line descent reached 192 kilometres per hour (119.3mph), the actual record is now set at 189 kilometres per hour (117.4mph), since this was the middle of the three speeds achieved, the slowest being 181 kilometres per hour (112.5mph).

Rafael García, a zip-line and flying instructor from the Girolibre Aerodrome in Aínsa, Huesca province, made the three attempts wearing an all-in-one suit with minimum wind-resistance and a parachute for braking, as shown in the above photograph (from Tirolinaspirineos.com).

The zip-line cost €800,000 to set up, but Jorge Rabal was expecting to claw this back very quickly, and has not done badly at all to date: Even with the Covid-related restrictions in place at the time of its opening, the zip-line has so far been ridden by 2,500 visitors in three-and-a-half months.

Although residents in Fiscal were given a free ride before it opened officially to the public on Saturday, March 20, and some of them are likely to be among the 2,500, non-residents who whizzed down it from that weekend onwards would have paid between €33 and €38 per 'slide', meaning the entry fees taken so far total between 10% and 12.5% of the initial outlay.

Even allowing for costs and paying those who work on the installation, it should not be too long before Jorge Rabal's company Tirolinas Pirineos starts to make a profit – especially now the movement restrictions that were in place in March and April have been lifted and summer tourism season has started.

The fact it is now legitimately the fastest on earth is an even greater hook, as it adds extra anecdote fodder to people's visits.

According to Jorge Rabal, those who have experienced the sensation of literally flying for over two kilometres have nearly all given it five-star ratings.

As for the now-obtained world record aim, Rabal says: “Ever since this project started up, we wanted to do something really powerful that would show just how unique this zip-line is, so we started analysing some of the most famous ones on earth – firstly in South Africa, then in Puerto Rico and then in the United Arab Emirates.”

The layout of the mountainous landscape meant it was impossible for the Fiscal line to be the world's longest, but the sharp gradient led Rabal to suspect it might be able to beat the speed record.