Wildlife
Soaring® Tree Top Adventures is located in the heart of one of the country’s most scenic areas. Along with that natural beauty comes a wide array of wildlife: elk, deer, mountain sheep, bobcats, mountain lions, turkeys, bears and many other species call this area their home.
We consider it our duty to protect and nurture this habitat. Two dollars out of every zipline guest’s admission is donated to the Durango Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund. Soaring and our guests have fully funded the construction of an aviary for the protection of native birds, and continue to provide to this very worthwhile cause. (Two images of bear cub rehab: A malnourished, abandoned bear cub found at Tall Timber in late Fall. Cub was captured and brought in to Durango Wildlife Rehabilitation and released into a bear sanctuary).
In addition, there is no hunting allowed on our 180-acre property. So it is not unusual for our guests to spot wild animals casually strolling the property!
The black bear is indigenous to the mountains of this area and several bear families make their homes nearby. Staff members experience bear sightings frequently during the season and on lucky days our guests, ziplining through the treetop canopy, will look down and spot one of these grand creatures peeling nuts off of the scrub oak which lines the forest floor. A herd of about nine Mule deer are home on property and make their rounds daily through the property. Smallest but very prevalent are a variety of hummingbird species, which make a lot of noise and frequently perch on the zipline cables. So keep your eye out for the variety of magnificent creatures that make Tall Timber, and Soaring, their home.
Trees
There are no intrusions or stresses of any kind to any of the trees that support Soaring’s zip line platforms. Each platform is suspended from patented “tree hugging” system, that allow the trunk to sway in the wind and permit the tree to expand as it grows. After inspection of the zip line course for stress to the old-growth Ponderosa Pines, David B. Temple, president of Animas Valley Arborist, has said, “These old girls won’t even know you’re here.”
Soaring Canopy Tour Patents
Soaring America, LLC has a Federal patent to a unique mathematical formula that allows guests to leave one platform and arrive at the next without having to slow down manually. With this patented “non-braking” formula, guests come into the receiving tree where they lightly step right up onto the platform. Guests do not need gloves as they do not need to brake on the zip lines or, for that matter, ever touch the cable at all. Taking the guess work out of the adventure opens the age range up to a broader range of ziplining participants—ages 4 to 94 have enjoyed the thrill of Soaring Tree Top Adventures.
Soaring America has a second Federal patent on the tree-hugging suspension of its platforms in the trees. The entire course is built without any hooks, bolts, screws, or anything else penetrating the trees. There is nothing that even penetrates the bark of the old growth Ponderosa pines. It is a unique patent that allows the platforms to be suspended in the trees without any harm to the trees at all. Sap flow and growth will never be impeded by Soaring’s eco-friendly system.
Arborist Feedback
“Soaring should be commended for the creative and non-invasive approach to providing a recreational opportunity for the public to experience an eagle’s eye view of some of the best arboricultural treasures Mother Nature has to offer. I am particularly excited when people are encouraged to involve themselves with and appreciate trees. I am very impressed with the ecologically minded attention you have given to the project. Nothing that Soaring is doing is impacting the health of the trees.”
– David B Temple, President, Animas Valley Arborist, Inc., member, National Arborist Association and International Society of Arboriculture