Dramatic Video You Have to See

This is an amazing video. Théo Sanson completed this 500 meter walk in Utah between The Rectory to Castleton Tower in Castle Valley. The landscape is breathtaking and his daring is beyond anything we have at the Upward Enterprises ropes course.

Wholistic Woman Retreat at Upward Enterprises Ropes Course

Being Brave…Ready, Set, Go! ~ by Carol deLaski

Harnessed by strong cables, I found myself in an unusual position  high in the trees… facing upwards and glimpsing patches of blue sky.  A team of eight women had pulled me into this position and awaited  my decision to release the cord which would drop me into a free-fall  swing through the tree tops. Butterflies swirled in my stomach and  my breathing grew rapid as I allowed myself to fully experience this  strange suspension in the air. Time felt suspended, too, as I savored  this momentary mixture of calm and electrifying anticipation.

 Encouragement from the women below wafted up to my ears and I  knew I had the full support of my team. “You can do it!” and “Go for  it!” let me know that they believed in me.

To read the complete story of the Wholistic Woman Retreat adventure at the Upward Enterprises team building ropes course, click here.

Team Building - Opening Your Mind to a Different Way of Viewing the World

From The Happy Show exhibition, created by Stefan Sagmeister currently on exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center through September 23, 2013.

At the Upward Enterprises ropes course in Buckeystown, MD we are always encouraging or team building groups to look at the world in a new way.

Never be Afraid to try Something New at the Ropes Course

What an inspirational story of a man who was born without legs and arms. Yet despite this, nothing stops him from living life to the fullest. Take a page from his book next time you are at our ropes course in Buckeystown Maryland and you feel the butterflies in your stomach. Don't be scared. Just stretch your wings and fly.

 

Is zip lining a safe activity?

Is flying safe? If you select your zip line operator with the same confidence as your airline operator then the risk you take should be minimal.

The zip line industry has been hit hard in the last few months with some bad press involving zip operators who function outside industry practices with little or no standards.

Yes, zip lining is safe if your operator follows the industry standards and maintains the daily and monthly checks that they should perform to ensure that they are not putting their staff and clients at risk. If you are looking to zip line be sure to find out the qualifications of the company you choose to hire to ensure your safety.

Here at Upward Enterprises, we go above and beyond assuring that all industry standards are met and you have a trained staff member with you at all times when you are the zip line at our ropes course. I encourage my clients to ask about the safety rating and procedures that we enforce to keep them safe.  I have a display of my last inspection and trainings to hand for the client to see. I insist that clients fully understand the protocols of our course and if they chose not to adhere to them, they will not ride.

Zip lining is fun and very rewarding so let's keep our industry safe from both the operator's side and as clients get the answers to questions that will keep everybody safe.

Upward Enterprises Volunteers at the National Kidney Foundations Over the Edge event.

Its always nice when we can use our experience in the ropes course industry to help with a charitable cause.  We were contacted by the National Kidney Foundation who ask if we could help with their 'Over the Edge' event on June 18th.  The Over the Edge event, held at the Canton Crossing Tower in Baltimore, Maryland  offered  participants the opportunity to rappell down a 200ft (17 story) building to raise money for the foundation to fight kidney disease.

John

Clive, Larry, Sean and John went  to Baltimore on Friday the 17th to take part in the pre-training with the Over the Edge staff and to be shown the ropes! They all got to rappel down the building during the training, which was an added bonus that they all enjoyed.  During the training day, the event had a few VIP's come along and rappel down the building too.

On June 18th, the day of the actual event, 56 participants took part and each rappelled down the building and altogether raised an amazing $82,244.00 for the charity. 

Clive's wife Liz also took part in the event and raised $1100 before she went over the edge in memory of her Father who passed away from kidney failure in 2005.

Clive

The view from the 17th floor balcony was quite breath taking, when you first walked out onto the balcony.  Best advise was to not look down too much before you rappelled.

Each of the participants were geared up with full body harnesses and helmets and went through a brief training on how to use the various equipment before being taken to the balcony for thier rappel.  Some people were a little nervous, but everyone made it to the bottom with no problems.

Sean

We were so pleased to be part of this fun and exciting event and look forward to helping out at next year's event. For more information go the the National Kidney Foundations website. 

Larry

training training training

I have just gotten back from a 5 day high ropes course training in New England. I have been holding back from these trainings and tests because of the "Do I need this or not?" syndrome.

In the end I decided to sign up. I am glad I did the training simply to convince myself that I am on the right track and to consolidate the things I am teaching my staff and protocols that I insist they apply.

High ropes course rescues are a key skill that we hope we never have to perform. However they are essential to practice and by doing so you increase your familiarity that could make the difference during the real thing if it were to occur.

We think we know best sometimes and are somewhat complacent when it comes to reacting to adversity. How would you react in an emergency high ropes rescue? Do you set up for the worst case scenario? Are your staff competant in their skill set? Or even, do your clients ask the pertinent questions about the level of credentials that you hold as a ropes course manager and operator?