Challenge Ropes Courses

Are you ready to test your mind, body, and spirit? Challenge ropes courses are built with low and high elements that are great for personal development and team building. Kids, adults, school groups, families, and business teams all benefit from time on a challenge ropes course. It’s a fun and powerful way to get a stronger sense of personal accomplishment and self-esteem, as well as increased teamwork and camaraderie.

Low Elements

Challenge groups to work together to accomplish tasks. Low ropes are great for workgroups, school groups, teams, families, and individuals who value collaboration. The low elements of a challenge ropes course incorporate real and imaginary obstacles, close to the ground, to promote communication, group collaboration, and team building. They consist of a series of games, trust activities, and problem-solving initiatives. As the group progresses throughout the day, you will observe each individual developing a caring attitude for their team. It is truly an experience to watch this transformation among groups as their collective trust develops, overpowering the need for competition and rivalry. This group-oriented experience emphasizes the following principles:

-Relationship/Team Building/Inclusion
-Skill Building – group cohesion leads to increased creativity/development
Communication
-Leadership Development
-Problem Solving/Decision Making
-Conflict Resolution

High Elements – Climbs and Ziplines

Develop trust in yourself and others as you complete high element challenges that require thoughtfulness and concentration above the ground. High elements consist of a series of challenges, like ziplines, catwalks, climbs, and “leaps of faith” that occur 20-40 feet above the ground. Experienced and skilled facilitators are attached by a rope and belay system to the individuals who move through each element at their own comfort level and their own pace. Using a belay system enables the belayer to hold the entire weight of the climber with just a small amount of force and easily hold or lower a climber as needed or desired.

How do Challenge Ropes Courses help children?

Children build leadership and teamwork when they participate in a Challenge Ropes Course. They participate in observing, discussing, organizing and summarizing the accomplishments of the team challenges. This process helps them to develop and sharpen important life skills like problem-solving, decision-making, goal-setting, cooperation, responsibility, integrity, and self-discovery.

As students work together as a team to achieve a common goal, they’ll experience greater self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as increased trust and social cohesion.

How do Challenge Ropes Courses help companies?

The corporate challenge ropes course is designed to foster the development of skills of team productivity, collaboration, and team cohesion. A Challenge Ropes Course is a powerful experiential learning tool for any company looking to develop stronger relationships between its team members. Some benefits of taking your company through the challenge ropes course include:

-Increased productivity
-Re-energized teams
-Uncovering and development of leadership styles
-Improved conflict resolution
-Strategy development
-Collaboration

A corporate Challenge Ropes program follows a sequence of fun but challenging group activities that begin with simple tasks and culminates in complex challenges. This sequencing helps foster and develop the practice of skills fundamental to team productivity and cohesiveness, such as trust, communication, risk-taking, decision-making, and conflict resolution.

Both Mother Lode River Center and Coloma Resort have zip lines and offer challenge ropes courses. You can contact them directly for more information; see the directory listings.

Thanks to Mother Lode River Center for the photos & article.

Activities & Education