Since it's an element suspended by a pulley at a certain height, building a zipline at home requires some know-how and, above all, getting the right safety gear to make it completely safe and fun. What every proper zipline needs is:
- A steel cable.
- A pair of cable clips.
- A couple of carabiners.
- A steel pulley.
- A come-along (cable tensioner).
- A high-resistance rope.
- A bar, like a broom handle, to hold onto.
- A seat, which could be a wheel or a plastic disc.
The steps you should follow to set up your own zipline are as follows:
- Take the height of the person or people who will be using the zipline as a reference. If there’s a height difference of more than 15 cm, it’s best to adjust it each time a different person uses it. If the difference is smaller, use the tallest person’s height as a reference.
- Add about 75 cm to that and use that height for the tree or post where the zipline will be attached.
- Measure the distance between the two anchor points, which will also determine the zipline’s height. For this, you should consider the following measurements:
| User height | Height of the lowest anchor point | Height of the highest anchor point, according to the following distances between anchor points | ||||
| 24.5m | 21.5m | 18.5m | 15.5m | 12.5m | ||
| 1.2m | 2m | 2.9 | 2.75 | 2.6 | 2.45 | 2.3 |
| 1.4m | 2.1m | 3 | 2.9 | 2.75 | 2.6 | 2.45 |
| 1.5m | 2.3m | 3.2 | 3 | 2.9 | 2.75 | 2.6 |
| 1.7m | 2.45m | 3.35 | 3.2 | 3 | 2.9 | 2.75 |
| 1.8m | 2.6m | 3.5 | 3.35 | 3.2 | 3 | 2.9 |
We’ve no doubt you’ll end up with an amazing zipline that’ll make you the coolest neighbour around. But if you want to gather ideas or simply check out first-hand where to find Spain’s most incredible ziplines, have a look here at all the options available.
