What is a ropes/challenge course?

The Complete Ropes Course Manual, Fourth Edition, defines a ropes or challenge course as an experiential adventure program that offers groups and individuals the opportunity to participate in a series of activities involving mental, physical, and emotional risk-taking. The course consists of an aesthetically designed series of ropes, cables, and poles (or trees) combined in such a way as to simulate the challenges that might be found in a natural setting. Safety and cooperation, as well as individual achievement, are essential to the program. These qualities are emphasized by trained instructors who guide groups through the course. The experience includes a variety of sessions planned around the various obstacles in order to examine and share common reactions, insights, and emotions such as joy, fear, fatigue, compassion, laughter, and love.

The current ACCT (Association for Challenge Course Technology) standards require an annual inspection by a qualified challenge course professional (or more often if needed based on significant changes in environmental conditions). A visual inspection should be conducted by course facilitators before any and every program begins. A course manager or other trained staff member should also conduct a quarterly "hands-on" inspection of your course. Finally, a "hands-on" inspection should be conducted annually by a qualified challenge course professional, usually a professional vendor member (PVM) of the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT).

This is a question not easily or briefly answered. As Jim Wall likes to say, "It all depends on if you're looking for a Ford, a Cadillac or something in between." Some factors that influence the cost of a course are the type of course you wish to build (low course, high course, climbing/rappelling tower or some of everything), how many course events you want, if you wish to build the course in trees or attached to utility poles, and also on your location. The best way to get an idea of your cost, is to call our office and talk to us. If you have no idea what you even want, call us anyway! We would love to talk to you about your needs so that we can come up with a course design that best suits your program.

There are many aspects to course maintenance including environmental considerations, wood items, metal items, and the operational equipment used on your course such as harnesses and helmets. A comprehensive list of maintenance tasks that might be needed for all of these aspects would take up too much room here, but you may consult The Complete Ropes Course Manual, Fourth Edition, for more detailed information. You may also want to work with your vendor on developing a regular maintenance plan so that you aren't faced with sudden and large maintenance expenditures.

Of course this depends on what type of course you are having built. Generally, it doesn't take nearly as long as you might think. For example, a Cornerstone Course, which consists of a 3 pole/1 face climbing tower with 4 attached traversing high course events and 1 exit event such as a Zip Line, can be built in approximately 5-6 days.

Aside from minor things like installing fencing (if desired), adding mulch under course events, landscaping, and other relatively minor tasks that are typically not included in course installation, there are several other things that should happen before you run a group through your course for the first time. After you hire your challenge course staff, or designate your current staff members who will serve as your facilitators, the most important thing you will need to do before operating your course is to schedule and successfully complete facilitation training for your course. With very few exceptions, training is included in installation projects proposed by Cornerstone Designs and will provide you and your staff with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully facilitate and manage your challenge course events. Before operating your course, you will of course need to make sure that your course and program are properly insured. You will need liability insurance, and you will want replacement insurance. Call your human resources department to see if you will need worker's compensation for course facilitators. Check with your current insurance company or companies to see if your current policies will suffice or if you will need additional policies. If not included with your course installation, you will also need to obtain a copy of, and be prepared to follow, the current standards of a professional challenge course trade organization such as the ACCT (Association for Challenge Course Technology). You can always order a copy of the current ACCT standards from the ACCT website at www.acctinfo.org. If you have questions about how to comply with any standard, call us, and we'll be happy to help.

Some good tools to have on hand to perform basic course maintenance include a ratchet handle and 3/4 inch socket, 10 inch curved jaw vice grips, 10 inch or 12 inch adjustable wrench, 3/4 ton come-along and havens grip, 2 1/2 pound hammer, claw hammer, loppers, and a hand saw. Please remember that you should NOT perform any maintenance yourself unless you are comfortable and competent in doing so. If you have any doubts whatsoever regarding whether or not an event is in proper working condition, it is always best NOT to use the event until you have consulted a qualified challenge course professional (see question # ) and received verification of its integrity.

Proper training and experience can help ensure that organizations get started in the right direction and maintain that course through years of programming. Quality training can help ensure that your participants have a meaningful experience on your course, and it will serve as a critical part of your risk management program. Having trained and qualified facilitators is good for you, good for your participants, and good for your organization.

Everyone needs the "basic training" necessary to have the skills to safely operate your ropes course, including both technical skills and "soft" skills. When it comes to training, the variables include the breadth of the training and the depth of the training. For example, the breadth of training might focus only on low course elements, only on high course elements or on both low and high course elements. A related idea is that the training might be limited to program planning, sequencing, or facilitation (topics often referred to as "soft skills"), or it might focus primarily on knots, belaying, or lowering techniques (topics often referred to as "hard skills" or "technical skills"). On the other hand, the depth of training might be limited to basic training, the initial set of skills needed to operate your course, or it might be focused on more advanced training that goes beyond the basics and builds on those skills you already have (i.e. advanced technical skills or challenge course manager training).

Well, now this is indeed a long story, and one that only Jim Wall can properly recount. However, a slightly less interesting, though basically accurate version of it exists in the summer 2002 Tower Talk newsletter. We'll send you a copy if you like, but basically, it goes like this: Approaching a tollbooth on his way to build a ropes course, Jim was asked why he had such a big net (cargo net) on his trailer. Jim's reply? "There's a big elephant out of the Detroit Zoo, and I have to go catch it!" After Jim had had his fun will tollbooth attendant #1, he discovered upon arriving at the next tollbooth, that his story had apparently been shared; he was waved on through the next few tollbooths. Jim realized that this was the most credibility he'd ever had with a job, so from then on, if he knew that someone would not understand what he really did for a living, he would just claim to be an elephant catcher...MUCH easier, don't you think? Not everyone knows what a ropes course is, but they sure know what an elephant is. The story grew as CDI's builders were at an airport in Oklahoma with a LOT of gear including Action Packers, duffel bags, and other things whose contents clanged loudly. A curious traveler approached and asked Jim what they did, as she was trying to settle a bet with her husband. She won the bet, guessing that they were hunters. Hunting...catching....close enough, right? Jim opened up one box with evidence to support his claim (no, he didn't have a gun). Almost unbelievably, a perfect opportunity to perpetuate this story presented itself at the Newark Airport as Jim Wall and Kate, a former intern, saw on the news that an elephant was on the loose from the Boulder Zoo. Kate pulled off her Cornerstone hat, graced with our elephant logo by then, and showed it to a woman sitting next to her who became convinced that Kate and Jim were indeed off to catch that elephant. Now, Cornerstone's employees are known as elephant catchers. Upon completion of a job, we will often say something like, "The elephant is in the bag." If a job is unexpectedly troublesome (torrential rain, heavy snow in May, shipping disasters), we sometimes say, "Now that was one slippery elephant!" It is still unknown to many CDI staff whether or not these stories are really true. Would Jim really be so bold? Others of us have known Jim a little longer and don't question it for a minute. You be the judge.

The Adventure Group (TAG) is a collaboration of companies offering a full range of services for ropes/challenge course programs including course design and construction, inspections and maintenance, staff training and development, and equipment selection and purchase.

At a minimum, you will want to choose a professional vendor member to build your course. These vendors have had their work professionally reviewed, and they have the necessary insurance requirements such as liability and workers' compensation. You may also want to review their work by asking for references and requesting photos of recent projects. Some of this information may be available on the vendors' websites. You will also want to choose a vendor who has sufficient staff available to respond promptly to any questions you may have. If you can find a vendor with whom you are comfortable and is also relatively close to you, this may save you some money with travel expenses and also help with ease of scheduling. HOWEVER, go with your gut, and don't hesitate to choose a vendor who is slightly farther away if you have a better feeling about them.

Certification is currently being offered by several ACCT Professional Vendor Members (PVM). This certification is not an ACCT Certification, but one that is reviewed by ACCT as part of their PVM Accreditation Process. CDI was approved in August 2007 and is currently offering certification on all levels. Please visit our Staff Training and Certification page for additional information.

The management of risks is an important part of your ropes course program. It includes proper training for your staff, internal and external inspections of your course, and approved equipment selection and usage. It also includes implementing measures that will reduce the likelihood of unauthorized use of your course. This latter concern involves removing access points for high elements, taking down low and high course elements (when practical), and properly marking your course for authorized use only.

CDI requests that an organizational staff person be on site. This person does not have to be involved in the physical work but will provide "local" knowledge in the event of an accident, broken tool, hardware store location, etc. Ideally, this person will have considerable knowledge of their organization's requirements and can provide feedback to our building crew if required.

Each organization should develop its operating manual tailored to your program. In addition to any local procedures that your organization already has in place, your manual should discuss as a minimum: "adequate preparation and planning for activities, conduct of specific activities or types of activities, appropriate curriculum, competent instruction, sufficient client supervision, appropriate safety procedures, care and use of equipment, emergency response, and other critical issues the organization might need to address" (ACCT, 2004, pg. 31)

Simply put, an Emergency Action plan is your organization's plan for an emergency (severe weather, incidents, near misses, etc.). The plan spells out the roles and responsibilities for staff, actions that need to take place on your course, and who to contact in the event of an emergency. Risk Management is a broader concept and includes both the identification of potential incidents, accidents, injuries, or loss and the accompanying plan for their avoidance. That plan will be a part of your operating manual and will spell out how to operate your course, how to utilize legal forms and documents, and how to put specific actions in place to avoid or manage the risks. For a more comprehensive discussion on Risk Management, see Chapter 3 in The Complete Ropes Course Manual, 4th Edition.

The single most comprehensive resource is the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT). This organization hosts an annual conference and publishes Challenge Course Standards. Recently, certification standards were approved that address challenge course managers' training and experience. This document will outline the standards associated with being a challenge course manager. Selective ACCT Professional Vendor Members (PVM) will be offering training designed to prepare CCMs for the upcoming certification. Overall, continuing your professional growth by attending conferences and seminars, keeping up with professional reading, and participating on appropriate list serves helps ensure you keep current with best practices within the industry.

Proper training and experience can help ensure that organizations get started in the right direction and maintain that course through years of programming. Training is helpful in several ways. Quality training will help ensure that your participants have a meaningful experience on your course and it will serve as a critical part of your risk management program. Having trained and qualified facilitators is good for you, good for your participants, and good for your organization.

Everyone needs the minimum "basic training" necessary to have the skills to safely operate your specific ropes course, including both technical skills and "soft" skills. When it comes to training, the variables include the breadth of the training and the depth of the training. For example, the breadth of training might focus only on low course elements (spotted only), only on the high course, or both low and high course elements. Also, the training might be limited to program planning, sequencing, or facilitation (topics traditionally referred to as 'soft skill') or it might focus primarily on knots, belaying, or lowering techniques (topics traditionally referred to as 'hard skills'). On the other hand, the depth of training might be limited to basic training, those initial set of skills needed to operate your course, or it might be focused on more advanced training. Be sure to consult the training requirements associated with the various levels and types of certification.

The ratio of staff-to-participants is somewhat dependent on the size of your course as well as the idiosyncrasies of the course and your emergency procedures. CDI recommends at least two facilitators for a low course program (one may be less trained if the group is small). Regardless of the type of high course, there must always be a minimum of two facilitators. The overall ratio of facilitators to participants on a high course for a dynamic high course ratio is 1:10, while a static course is 1:7. NOTE: The exact number of facilitators is dependent on your clientele, your course design, and your facilitators' proficiency. Be sure that your program's operating manual thoroughly addresses this topic.

As the old saying goes, "Make sure you are comparing apples to apples.", or perhaps more correctly "Don't compare apples to oranges." Either way, you can see that in your bid process you want to be sure that there is enough data in your request that the proposals you receive will result in you comparing "apples with apples." A bid request can have a variety of components to it and can be structured how you deem most appropriate for your organization. However some of the most common and useful facets to help you define your proposal include the following: a) a detailed ropes course design, including course layout; b) individual element names, descriptions, and illustrations/photos when possible, c) training requirements, d)any additional equipment and or supplies you would require for course construction if not included in the bid (e.g. rental equipment, poles), and lastly e) annual inspections if you want them included for a pre-determined amount of time.

You should choose a "qualified challenge course professional" to install your course, conduct your annual inspections, and ideally provide your facilitation training. But what exactly IS a qualified challenge course professional? This would be a person who is very experienced, has a good reputation within the challenge course field, has appropriate insurance coverage, has knowledge of and applies the appropriate standards and has the ability to provide some type of warranty for his or her work. A more detailed discussion of qualities found in a qualified challenge course professional can be found in Appendix C of the current ACCT standards (p. 54).