Half Pipe (roller coaster)


Half Pipe is a steel launched shuttle roller coaster located at Elitch Gardens in Denver, Colorado and formerly at Särkänniemi in Tampere, Finland. It is in height and consists of of track. It is currently one of two rides of its type offered in the United States.
Riders are placed in one of two cars on the train which is made to resemble a giant skateboard. Each car is a free-spinning circle that holds eight people. The track is essentially a giant, upright "U" and trains are loaded at the bottom of it. LIM engines accelerate the train up both sides of the track. A typical ride consists of approximately five to six cycles of the train traveling through the track.
There is another Half Pipe, identical to the others, on top of the Don Quijote store in Roppongi, Tokyo. It was completed in December 2005, but it never opened, and remains closed.
On October 5, 2013, the Elitch Gardens version apparently derailed "and crashed" early in the morning. The ride was closed for the remainder of the 2013 season, but later reopened the following season.
On November 13, 2019, the Särkänniemi version was reported as not reopening for the 2020 season.