FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. --  Winter weather adds a little zip to the zipline experience at TreeTops Canopy Tour, according to the New River Gorge attraction's first group of snow-going clients.

"With the snow hanging in the trees, it was a beautiful scene everywhere you turned," said Mat Currey of South Charleston, part of a group of seven Charleston-area friends who rode TreeTops' mile-long series of 10 ziplines through hemlocks and over rhododendron last Saturday.

"We were told we were the first ones to zipline in accumulated snow," said Larry Field, whose 40th birthday celebration prompted the outing. "It was absolutely beautiful. We had a great time. It was my best birthday ever."

TreeTops, a joint venture of whitewater outfitters Rivermen, Class VI and Adventure Mountain River, opened in May with three-hour tours via cable, harness and trolleys across Mill Creek Canyon at the rim of the Gorge on land adjacent to Rivermen's headquarters.

Those riding the ziplines travel at speeds up to 35 miles an hour on platform-to-platform glides of up to 800 feet, sometimes at heights of more than 70 feet. Guides make sure participants' safety harnesses are attached to cable at all times, and use hand signals to show them when to brake for landings on treetop platforms. The Mill Creek course also involves crossing several treetop-level swinging bridges, a rappel and a several short hikes.

"We were booked solid through June, July, August and the first part of September, giving 19 tours a day," said guide Geoff "Tiny" Elliott. Instead of closing for the year at the end of whitewater season in October, a decision was made to experiment with keeping TreeTops open year-round.

Thanks in part to mild weather, "we had a good November," said Class VI managing partner Dave Arnold. "But going through the winter will be a question mark."

A smaller number of guides are on hand for winter customers and the diminished amount of daylight has curtailed operating hours.

"We ran 19 trips a day during the summer, but we can only handle eight trips a day now," said Elliott. "Our last run starts at 1:30 p.m. But we've had many days this season that have been booked up and we've had to occasionally turn people away. Even now, you should call for a reservation."

During the winter, TreeTops is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but can open on those days for groups of eight or more.

Now that the whitewater clients are gone, "a really high percentage of our clients are West Virginians," he said. "I know one guy from the area who has come here eight times."

Field and his group spent a night in a cabin at the Class VI-Rivermen-Adventure Mountain River complex before taking their snowy canopy tour.

"Larry and I had done a zipline tour in Jamaica, and before TreeTops was built, we'd talked about Fayetteville being a good place to have one here. This course is a lot better, and getting to try it out when it's snowing, with three or four inches of snow on the ground, was great."

TreeTops "is a lot faster and higher than the place in Jamaica," said Field, "and the guides are friendlier and more knowledgeable about their surroundings. You learn things about the forest you're going through, like how they are treating the hemlocks to keep them from dying" from an insect infestation.

Those zipping in a snowstorm may want to bring ski goggles, since visibility can be diminished, and dress for cold or wet weather.

For details on hours, cost and reservations, call TreeTops at 877-811-5321 or visit www.newrivergorgecanopytour.com.