The Monster at La Ronde in Montreal has won a landslide victory in the Tournament of Thrills competition hosted by Six Flags to determine the best roller coaster in North America.
The contest kicked off on May 25 and included 16 roller coasters in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Monster won the title with an overwhelming majority of 71% compared to only 29% for the X2 coaster of Magic Mountain in California. In fact, 12 500 users voted for the Montreal ride compared to 4 300 for the California attraction.
The Monster is the highest wooden double-tracked roller coaster in the world. It offers two different paths, a circuit of 1 218 meters and the other of 1 227 meters. The ride takes passengers up to a height of 40 meters before diving to the ground at speeds of 96 km/hr. The Monster holds 112 people for a 3 minute thrill-seeking ride.
The La Ronde roller coaster was built by William Cobb & Associates. The first route was opened in 1985. They wanted to ensure that the ride was popular enough before building the second route, which opened the following year.