The world’s first combined slide tower and diving platform has opened at Austria’s “ultimate outdoor playground.”
The lakeside installation at Area 47 in Tyrol brings added adventure to an area already famed for its whitewater rafting and extreme sports.The 27.5-metre-high construction was installed by the German company Wiegand Maelzer.
Users enter at lake level, and climb up the tower to encounter a series of stainless steel slides. The 3.5 and 5.5-metre-tall slides are relativey tame, however the further up the tower visitors head, the more intense the slides get. Located 11.5-metres up is a kamikaze slide, crossed with a high speed 270° twist slide. Next comes a 15.5-metre-high waterslide, 100-metres long with an added “jump” section. From here intrepid guests can climb to a 20-metre platform and plunge themselves down a freefall slide, reaching a speed of up to 80km/h.
The slides were manufactured using high quality stainless steel at Wiegand’s premises in Rasdorf, Germany, and feature no joints. Such construction means they are smooth, safe and maintenance free. Also fitted to the tower are diving boards at 2, 5, 10, 20 and 27.7-metres-high. The latter two are designed for use only by professional divers, and Area 47 will host the finals of the World Diving Championships soon.
For those afraid of climbing to such heights, Wiegand Maelzer has also installed a Cannonball atttaction next to the same lake (pictured below). The first of its kind in Austria, riders are shot from the base of the structure straight into the pool using 1.5 m3 of water and 1.2 bar of pressure. A poolside clmbing wall is also featured. Fall off, and in you’re in the water!
