Challenge Course, High and Low Elements

Challenge Ropes Course Ropes Course High Elements
Balance Pole Learning Themes: Giving and receiving effective coaching Building trust among team members Individual insights about risk taking Achieving greater success with team support		Click image for QuickTime Movie
Description: The Balance Pole is a 35-foot pole that has a round disk secured on the top. The objective is for climbers to explore and decide the level of risk they would like to take and set a goal for themselves. We encourage climbers to look at the pole in 3 steps. The first step is to go as far as they can go. If they make it to the top, try to stand on the disk at the top of the pole. If this is accomplished, they next step is to go for the hanging ball that is suspended about 6 feet out from the top.
Giants Ladder Learning Themes: Value of effective planning Exploring the dynamics managing task, relationship, and process Achieving results through partnership Balancing individual goals with team goals		Click image for QuickTime Movie
Description: The Giants Ladder is an awesome 8’ wide, 70’ high ladder suspended between 2 redwood trees. The rungs of the ladder are between 3 and 7 feet apart. Participants hold the safety lines for two climbers ascending the ladder at any given time. Climbers find that they achieve greater results by supporting each other and receiving coaching from their teammates on the ground. The Giants Ladder is designed for groups to have an opportunity to practice planning, goal setting, and implementation. It is not about physical abilities of individuals, but the capabilities of teams to assess resources, create a strategy, and execute to that strategy.
Zip Line Learning Themes Individual risk taking Value of support when taking a "leap of faith" To have a fun filled, high adrenaline experience while possibly screaming		Click image for QuickTime Movie
Description: The Zip is an event that will not be soon forgotten. The challenge is for participants to climb 65 feet in the air to a platform in the trees and take a "leap of faith" off of the platform culminating in an exhilarating 400-foot glide that will eventually lead them safely to the ground. As with all of the events, challenge is by choice. For some individuals climbing the tree may be the challenge and for others it could be standing on the platform and looking down. Some may want to take the last step and soar out of the trees. It’s up to the individual to decide what they would like to accomplish in this event.
Climbing Wall Learning Themes: Effective team coaching and communication skills Exploring risk taking in a team environment Negotiating partnerships for team success
Description: The Climbing Wall is a 35-foot redwood wall with rock handholds and 2 belay stations for participants to hold the safety lines for two climbers at a time. It is the responsibility of the climbers to communicate their needs to the team, and for the team members to listen and give constructive coaching to the climbers. Climbers are encouraged to stretch themselves as they choose their own level of risk. They can climb sited, blindfolded or tethered to another climber. The choice is theirs.
Ropes Course Low Elements
Spider Web Learning Themes: Value of effective planning Importance of collaboration across boundaries Exploring communication and leadership in teams
Description: Two to four (depending upon group size) large webs of string with various shapes and sizes of holes are set-up beside each other forming what is similar to a boxing ring. A group is divided into subgroups with one project leader per small group. The objective is for the groups to establish a goal for the maximum number of people they can pass through two webs in 6 minutes, and then, to implement their plan to achieve their goals. Inherent in this activity is the confusion of competition or cooperation between the groups. The activity is set-up so that the more cooperative the groups are, the more people they can pass through the webs.
Wild Woozy Learning Themes: How group support influences goal setting Effective coaching for different learning styles Risk-taking in a team setting Communication in partnerships
Description: Two diverging cables are suspended at waist height (imagine a V shape). The goal is for two participants at a time to work together to traverse as far down the diverging cables as they can. Each partner stands on one of the cables, facing the other on the opposite cable. Clasping each other’s hands, partners move along the cables. Ultimately, with spotting from the rest of the group, the pair travels as close to the ends of the cables as possible.
Trust Falls Learning Themes: Elements of building trust Contracting based on expectations and needs The relationship between support and risk taking in teams
Description: Trust Falls requires participants to rely on their team as they fall back from a chosen height on a ladder and are safely caught in their teammates’ arms. While participants are trained in the safety protocol, they develop their own process to maximize team resources. The bond within the team deepens as each person relinquishes their fear and trusts in the process and in their team. Managing group process for success
Team Wall Learning Themes: The relationship between support and risk taking in teams The value of communicating individual expectations and needs
Description: The objective is to get everyone up and over the wall. The wall is 12’ high wooden wall, smooth with no holds or features. The activity is declared complete when each participant has safely ascended and descended the wall. A number of constraints and guidelines are maintained to assure challenge and safety.