12 May 2008
A mammoth of a ride from Vekoma
Italy's Gardaland amusement park opened for the season this year with the introduction of its new 'Mammut'-branded rollercoaster.
A custom built variant of Vekoma's Mine Train ride the attraction is inspired by an excavation site hidden amongst the glaciers of the North Pole.
It’s the end of the 1940s and a group of scientists has come across a perfectly preserved frozen mammoth during their scientific excavations. The site of the discovery is mountainous and icy and a special train has been be constructed to transport materials and men to it under arduous if not extreme conditions.
But there’s a twist in the tale...
During the excavation works, the beast, which has been extinct for many centuries, mysteriously starts to wake from its slumber. Panic and chaos reign at the base camp, as the scientists and technicians flee on the polar train.
Riders experience an environmental polar mission, departure from the base camp on the scientists’ research train, arrival at the excavations and the sudden escape as the mammoth awakes.
The train travels along a single 1km-long track featuring curves, three steep climbs of up to 48%, exhilarating descents and sixteen sudden changes of direction. Top speed is 31mph, maximum height is nearly 46ft and each of the three trains comprises six cars.
Mammut covers an area of about 5,000sq m, was assembled by attaching 1,672 bolts to the foundations and 3,600 bolts to the track joints, and absorbed more than 500,000kg of steel in its construction.
The ride's impressive scenery has been planned down to the last detail, with all the visible parts of the structure designed and assembled by Gardaland’s own workshops.
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