Wake up!
Here in New England, it is not often that the first day of spring and the look out my window match up but it appears that Mother Nature and the Calendar have synchronized for us in 2010. While I may be speaking prematurely as far as the weather goes... Spring does mean something for all of you challenge course managers in the Northern regions: it's time to wake up your challenge course from its winter slumber. It's time to take a walk through the woods and see what surprises are in store for you after the winter storms dropped not only snow but also possibly limbs and trees. Here's a list of things to put onto your spring-cleaning to do list to make sure your challenge course is ready to go for that first program of year.
- The first thing you will want to do is to take that walk through the course and look closely for damage done over winter. As you take this walk, don't just look up at your element cables and structure... look down too. In a soft wood forest, branches shed under the weight of the snow and ice as well as the occasional treetop. Small branches rarely do major harm but large branches and tree shrapnel on the ground may be a sign to you to look more closely at cables and connections while setting up your equipment for the season.
- If you decided to take down your equipment at seasons end last fall, it is time to climb and hang your gear back up for the season. If you can avoid it... don't climb alone. All the winter day dreaming from your office desk chair does not count as practice for climbing on the course, so be prepared and climb with a buddy. Mistakes happen to the most experienced climbers. It is nice to have someone around who can help you out of a jam or throw you a prussic in your time of need. At very least... have a cell phone handy to call someone should you find your self in a time of need.
- Take your time while you are setting up your equipment and be intentional. You should be deliberate with every clip of your lanyard and every cable connection you look at. Take it all in. Do you have to put a wrench on every nut and bolt? No, but take notice. If you notice any damage, call your vendor prior to your inspection so that we aren't surprised during your inspection. We schedule enough time to complete your inspection but we do not always have the time to make repairs on the spot if we do not know about them in advance.
- Unpack your gear well in advance of your first program. There is nothing worse than getting your harnesses and ropes out the day before the first program of the season to find a red squirrel has found its way into the storage bin and made a nest out of your ropes. Give yourself plenty of time to shop. Budgets are tight and it would be a shame to waste you program's hard earned cash on overnight shipping.
- Make sure your rapid links and other connectors are lubricated if you did not get a chance to do that when you packed up in the fall. Lubricate rapid links if you didn't in the fall. A syliconized lubricant works great but most lubricants are fine if you are careful to wipe away any excess so it does not get onto your other equipment.
~Chris Ortiz
High 5 Adventure
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