HARDWICK – The installation of a “mega-slide” at the peak of Buffalo Mountain will be complete on April 1, much to the delight of many tired hikers who just can’t bring themselves to make the trek to the bottom.
courtesy noto
The slide is the first addition to the Hardwick Town Forest approved by voters during the March town meeting. A recent petition submitted to the Hardwick Town Clerk requests a revote of that article. The question will be taken up by the select board at its April 2 meeting.
“We may have gotten a bit ahead of ourselves on this one,” said the town’s new Select Board Chair Daisy Flame.
To use the slide, residents will be required to sign a liability waiver, as descent speeds of 50 to 60 miles-per-hour have been recorded during test runs.
The slide comes in the wake of several helicopter dispatches to the peak of Buffalo Mountain, of which the select board says the town simply cannot afford any more for the rest of the fiscal year.
The hikers claimed heatstroke, heart attack, panic attacks and more to justify their air-lift transportation, all being later diagnosed with general fatigue by EMS and hospital officials later on.
The Hardwick Conservation Commission plans a contest to name the new attraction, noted an item on the town website.
A select board member, who preferred to be anonymous, said “I mean I get it, the best part of the hike is the way up. No one really cares about the descent. You’ve seen it all already. But we just can’t airlift anyone else, it’s an economic responsibility thing.”
A woolen mat will be provided for those who choose to descend from Buffalo Mountain via slide, as well as wind goggles. Both can be deposited at the bottom, to be sanitized and later trammed back up to the top. The tram station located at Wright Farm Road will complete construction shortly before the slide’s opening, to the chagrin of many Lamoille Valley Rail Trail users, who will have to walk around the site.
Recently residents have noted the feature snaking through the woods on the face of the mountain above Hardwick and have suggested the tram might transport riders to the top for a small additional fee. Both Flame and interim Town Manager Dopie Ruxpin said no one had suggested that and they will pass the suggestion along to the yet to be formed Buffalo Mountain Stewardship Committee.
A blow up inflatable will be placed at the bottom, before the landing pond is constructed. The pond will cycle into the Lamoille River, all natural, in lieu of constructing a pool in the area.
The slide feature is the first of many rides and attractions planned for the re-envisioned town of Hardwick, said Ruxpin.
