originally posted on 8/13/2021 1:17:59 AM
Image: Courtesy Glenwood Caverns. View full-sized image.
Ride Entertainment and Gerstlauer had teased of something big earlier in the year. Now it has been revealed — a coaster on top of a mountain!
Well, it’s not as if Glenwood Caverns (Glenwood Springs, Colorado) doesn’t have a few already, but this one should be spectacular from a view standpoint. Talk about a coaster using its terrain!
Defiance is the name for the new Euro-Fighter coaster from Gerstlauer. It will be erected by Ride Entertainment. And if ACE News can editorialize, Defiance is a cool name for a coaster. It also happens to be the original name of Glenwood Springs.
The usual characteristics of such coasters are still in play — the vertical lift, the beyond-vertical dive and eight-seater cars. Defiance will feature three elements following the drop: a non-inverting, twisting top hat; banana roll and inline twist.
Image: Courtesy Glenwood Caverns. View full-sized image.
A casual glance might make one think, “It looks short.” And for all intents and purposes, it is. But there is still much to love, especially for ACEers. The view as one crests the 75-foot vertical lift should be among the world’s best high in the Rocky Mountains. But that view will be brief, as the drop makes use of the mountainside and is much larger at 110 feet. From there, it’s the series of maneuvers, but the banana roll is rather rare to the United States. Enthusiasts will like the news that the cars will don lap bar restraints instead of over-the-shoulder harnesses.
For a park of its size, Defiance is a significant investment and one that will surely propel the facility into the major leagues. It joins the children’s Tivoli coaster by Zierer, the S&MC Hurricane model called Cliffhanger and the nation’s first alpine coaster. At 56 mph, it will easily be the park’s fastest.
There is a bit of marketing spin in regard to the steepest “freefall” drop in the western half of the country. One can argue that Cannibal at Lagoon (Farmington, Utah) has a 116-degree first drop that surpasses Defiance’s 102 degrees, but the distinction is allegedly that other coasters have trim brakes to dampen the drop, and this will be a sheer freefall plunge. ACE isn’t going to remotely touch that debate, nor get involved with Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger coming to Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio) and that claim of being the world’s steepest dive coaster (apparently not acknowledging HangTime at Knott’s Berry Farm [Buena Park, California]). It’s just easier to say everything is steep, and they all look like incredible fun. The elevation at the top is 7,132 feet.
Attendees at the upcoming ACE Summer Conference will be the first enthusiasts to get a sense of how the ride will fit into the park and how it will be a breathtaking addition to a property that already makes use of its setting.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
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