(From left to right: Robert Nickell, John McEnHill, and Joanna Nickell)
Former Chamber of Commerce leader, John McEnhill, is still somewhat amazed at how he ended up owning Buffalo Mountain Ziplines. He had announced plans to retire from his position as Executive Director in 2020 to pursue a business concept, but those plans were put on hold during the pandemic as he pivoted toward helping the Chamber and its members navigate the pandemic challenges.
He had been considering options for owning and operating a business for several years, but the pandemic also impacted his business concept, so he began pursuing other options. Eventually, McEnhill put in several purchase offers for commercial real estate in Floyd County.
“These offers helped clarify what was or wasn’t a good fit for me,” McEnhill recalls. “I had looked at the Buffalo Mountain Ziplines listing several times over several months until one day something clicked, and I asked myself, why not?”
McEnhill put an offer in to purchase the zipline business in July of 2021 and closed at the end of October. “It was definitely a challenge to keep up with my Chamber responsibilities and manage the time-consuming process of purchasing a commercial business during a red-hot real estate market,” he says. “There was a longer than usual wait for appraisals and land surveys due to the backlog caused by high demand. I was blessed to have a great agent and loan officer helping me along the way.”
Prior to closing, McEnhill spent about a month at the business with Robert and Joanna Nickell, who started Buffalo Mountain Ziplines in 2019. “They were great mentors, they trained me to be a tour guide and provided me with the technical and safety information I needed to manage the business. I inherited a well-run business with a great reputation and a great team.”
McEnhill continues, “I also had an epiphany moment during my orientation period when I was out on the zipline course with a group of guests. It was that buying the business was absolutely right for me and the lingering doubts evaporated. I was meeting new folks from all over who came to have fun. I was outside getting great exercise and working with great people on wonderful property, and I was having a great time.” (above: safety orientation).
McEnhill took ownership right about the time the zipline season would have normally ended, so he decided to extend the season as late as he could, which ended up being New Year’s Day, 2022. Luckily, there was a mild fall in 2021, but there was also an early winter. Before finishing the season, the team at Buffalo Mountain ended up doing tours on some pretty cold days, with guides and guests alike all bundled up for warmth.
McEnhill’s professional background includes retail store operations, facilities management, paralegal work, and nonprofit management. Through his Executive Director positions at both the Floyd Center for the Arts and the Chamber of Commerce, he has developed strong ties to the regional business community. These include many of the resources to which he referred the Art Center incubator tenants and the Chamber members. His experience with creating and managing the Floyd Visitor Center in partnership with Pat Sharkey, former Floyd County Tourism Director, makes it easy for him to provide his local zipline guests, as well as his traveling guests, with helpful information.
“I was able to get into a groove running the business after the Nickells left,” says McEnhill. “Then the real winter weather finally arrived shortly after the start of the new year, and we had snow on the ground for almost six straight weeks.”
As zipline tours are not done during periods of high winds, heavy rain, heavy fog, or icy conditions, the big snow this January effectively shut down the business for several weeks.
“I was glad to have a two month pause after a very hectic fall managing both the zipline business and the Chamber before my retirement at the end of 2021,” McEnhill remembers.
At the annual Chamber dinner, one of McEnhill’s last events before retiring, the Chamber Board surprised him with the 2022 Chamber Business Leader of the Year Award. They also established a scholarship in his name, with the award based on community service. McEnhill plans to continue his eighteen-year involvement with the Chamber by returning to the Board as the First Vice Chair for 2022. Former Floyd Farmers’ Market manager, Melissa Branks, has replaced McEnhill as the Chamber Director.
(Floyd County Chamber of Commerce 2022 Officers from left to right: Vickie Spangler, Treasurer; John McEnhill, First VIce Chair; Melissa Branks, Interim Executive Director; Karin Grosshans, Second Vice Chair; Lori Saltus, Secretary; and Craig Chancellor, Board Chair)
With the 2022 zipline season having started at the beginning of March, McEnhill is looking for additional tour guides. Guides will have a flexible work schedule, with benefits including an allotment of free tours for family and friends. Education for new guides is expected to consist of three days of training, provided by Robert and Joanna Nickell. Though they have sold Buffalo Mountain Ziplines, the Nickells remain in the zipline game. The couple owns Universal Zipline Technologies, which provides new guide training, builds zipline courses, and provides annual zipline course inspections.
“I am looking for a mix of high school and college students,” says McEnhill, “as well as some adults that can work early season and late season when students have gone back to school. We have some great guides that stayed on after I bought the business and some that are returning over the summer from college that can help mentor new guides.”
McEnhill’s plans for the future of Buffalo Mountain Ziplines will include outfitting the residence attached to the property to host social occasions for family and friends, as well as for business gatherings. This building may also be used for short term lodging. In addition to the lodging plans for two-footed visitors, a dog zipline has been recently added to allow guests to secure their pets outside along the tree line during their visit.
Going forward, collaboration with other outdoor businesses will be a key part of McEnhill’s business plans. Among these collaborations will be the continuing of promotions such as the “Sip and Zip” partnership with local wineries.
“I am excited about doing the ‘Play Hard, Rest Easy’ campaign with two new partners,” says McEnhill. “Buffalo Mountain Adventures and The Buffalo Hemp Company.”
The Buffalo Hemp Company has quickly become one of Virginia’s premier hemp retailers with locations in Floyd, Roanoke, and Blacksburg, along with a growing e-commerce presence. Buffalo Mountain Adventures provides customized guided adventures for small groups and is opening an outfitter store in Floyd.
Plans after the first year of new ownership include consideration of adding a few primitive campsites, as well as adding meeting facilities to better host business gatherings that are seeking group outdoor activities. McEnhill is also considering other recreational uses for the property, such as orienteering and geocaching, that coordinate well with its main purpose of ziplining.
Conservation of the eighty acres of land and its wildlife is a priority as well. For this, McEnhill’s partner, Dan Tallman, is taking the lead. Tallman has already installed numerous bluebird boxes, along with a wood duck box adjacent to the large pond. Tallman is also planting native Pawpaw trees, eliminating invasive, non-native vegetation. He also plans to work with one of the returning zipline guides, a forestry major at Virginia Tech, to place tree identification signage for guests while also developing additional trails on the property. A commitment to sustainable development includes plans to add solar panels and wind turbines, as well as careful guidance for the construction of additional facilities on the property.
Managing this new business is something that McEnhill feels very comfortable with. “The Nickell family and the awesome team of tour guides earned top, five-star reviews from Google and other rating websites,” he says, “as well as a ‘2021 Travelers Choice’ award from Tripadvisor. My challenge is to maintain this great reputation while carefully adding more to the mix.”
McEnhill goes on to say, “I see this stage of my life, in my 60’s, as benefitting from all my skills, experience, and the connections that I have gained thus far. I love having my own business!”
Buffalo Mountain Ziplines provides family-friendly zipline tours to groups of up to ten at a time. Tour guests can be as young as three years of age, with the oldest participant thus far being the ninety-one-year-young, Floyd resident, Kay Clemens! (91 year old participant, Kay Clemens, with friends and family.)
The zipline course has eight ziplines with the longest stretching well over 2,000 feet, taking about ninety minutes to complete with a full group. Safety is the most important priority, which is stressed during the guest orientation. It is also implemented with redundant measures, such as making sure guests are clipped to a cable at all times during the zipline tours, except when on the ground. Each tour has a sending guide and a receiving guide who ensure each guest goes out on the line safely and reaches the end of each line safely. The training for guides covers contingencies for weather, as well as riding in tandem with guests who need assistance, such as young children. Guides are also trained to help nervous guests become comfortable with ziplining. The ziplines are inspected daily before any tours begin.
Buffalo Mountain Ziplines is happy to host large groups of thirty or more and has already had the pleasure of hosting scout troops, international students from Virginia Tech, and corporate team activities. In 2021 alone, almost 1,100 group bookings were accommodated. Prior planning is required for these groups so that extra guides can be called in. The guests of large groups are divided into smaller groups that go out on the line about a half hour apart.
Tour bookings can be made online and booking in advance is greatly encouraged. Guide scheduling and availability is arranged according to pre-booked tours. Due to this model, walk-in guests can be accommodated when a tour booked to arrive soon has available space, or when guides are already on site and booking times are available same day. This type of availability is best during peak months when Buffalo Mountain is hosting as many as eight tours per day. Guests are asked to arrive a half hour before the start of the tour time to be fitted with harnesses and gear in time for the tour to begin on time.
Buffalo Mountain Ziplines • John McEnhill
3253 Black Ridge Road SW, Floyd, VA• 540-200-5234
www.BuffaloMountainZiplines.com
Zip@BuffaloMountainZiplines.com