CASCADE MOUNTAIN COASTER - Portage, Wisconsin 1970's

This ultra rare video clip will give you thrill seekers a glimpse at what use to be the world's longest Alpine Coaster at the Cascade Mountain Ski Resort in Portage, Wisconsin back in the 1970's. To ride the coaster, you took a chairlift to the top of the mountain where you then boarded your individual coaster car which ran along a narrow track down the mountain. There were plenty of steep drops, curves and high speed straightaways. Just what the doctor ordered! The video quality isn't that great but it's good enough to see how much fun this ride was. The coaster only operated for a short period so many of you probably never even knew it existed.

videographer: Clarence Hinze

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Portage
• Wisconsin
• Ski
• Cascade
• Mountain
• Roller
• Coaster
• Alpine
• Slide
• World's
• Longest

[youlldietrying]

That music is tragic. I'm pretty sure it was used in "Rollercoaster" in Sensurround

[abigllama]

@meatlesss Thanks for the information. Just curious do you remember how they got the sleds to the top? There's a part of the video that looks like a guy manually pulling a bunch of them up somewhere. I suspect with the speeds and the drops these would have to have some sort upstop wheels to keep them on the track. Too bad these are gone, but I can't imagine anyone would be able to get insurance for something like this now.

[meatlesss]

@abigllama I road this very coaster. I grew up in Chicago and we used to go to Wisconsin for the summers. I was in my teens and I remember I had my little brother on the front of it with me. He was all of 3 or 4. All you had was a brake to somewhat control your speed, but you were pretty much at the mercy of the track. Nothing to strap you in, no helmets, nothing. Just get on and go. Those were the days...

[abigllama]

@Hattie The Song Mtn attraction was an alpine slide which is different. Info on Whittier which closed in '85 can be found on the nelasp site. It says they had an alpine slide. The NH Lost Ski Area book they sell on that site lists an old pamphlet that shows the summer attraction having the exact came sleds and track as shown in the mountain coaster video above. So deff was not an Alpine Slide.

[HattieLovesCattie]

@abigllama There is one video on YT of a slide at Sing Mtn in upstate NY.It closed in 2000 I think coz it was too fast or something.There is a new alpine coaster now next to the slide ( which I have been on ) at Attitash near Jackson,NH.What info did you find about Mt.Whiter in NH?When was it running?

[abigllama]

Anyone out there actually ride this thing? This predates the current crop of mountain coasters poppung up and looks deliciously dangerous! Of this particular type I'm only aware of a small handfull of these ever existing in the mid to late 70s.. This one at Cascade, one in upstate NY and another at Mt. Whitier in New Hampshire. The pictures of the cars look similar to an alpine side with a break lever in the middle. This video got me tracking some of these down but there's no info out there

[HattieLovesCattie]

@leeschofieldfamily I only rode the alpine slide at Winter Park in 1992.They didn't have the " alpine coasters " at that time.There is one in Glenwood Springs and at Park City.Park City has the only " metal " alpine slide in the US too.There are many metal slides in Europe.The only " alpine coaster " on the east coast is at Deep Creek Resort in the mountains of Maryland,near Pa.Its here on YT.

[skieracs04]

Extremegirl, you Kaitlin? Haha

[TheXtremegirl1]

i am on the racing team at cascade now, do you know exactaly where that coaster was located at cascade? when and why did they take it down?

[HattieLovesCattie]

@leeschofieldfamily Its probably not running anymore.The only bobsled like a roller coaster is at Glenwood Springs,CO..I did ride the alpine slide in the early '90's at Winter Park.Its the longest slide along with the one at Attistash in NH.Go here to YT and type in apline coaster at Glenwood Springs.