| |
Mt. Cross Challenge Course
The Mt. Cross challenge course offers your group a chance to play, learn, and grow together in the beauty of the great outdoors. Nestled amongst the giant redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains our challenge course has a wide range of elements to choose from. A Mt. Cross staff member can tailor your challenge course experience to fit your group's specific needs and goals. We provide all the gear you will need and a staff of highly trained facilitators to run the course. Our challenge course is ideal for school groups, youth groups, church groups, sports teams, women's groups, men's groups, office groups... or just about any type of group you can think of... we would love to have you here!
Our Philosophy
Challenge by Choice - At Mt Cross our challenge course elemets are always "challenge by choice." This means the choice to particpate and the level of particiation is always put in the hands of the participant. Our staff encourages each participant to set a personal goal before he or she begins the element. So if you want to climb to the very top of our climbing tower that's great! But if heights aren't quite your thing and you just want to climb a few feet up and then come down that is fine too.
Experiential Learning -Our challenge course is experience-based learning. We do a lot of physical activity (which means we move about a lot, not necessarily taxing our muscles!) that will require certain amounts of teamwork and or problem solving. From these experiences we learn and grow. A lot of outdoor adventure is based on experiential leaning. Learning through doing with minimal instruction to the group creates an environment that allows participants to grow through realizing their strengths and weaknesses during the activity. It is our hope at Mt. Cross that each participant will learn more about themselves and the group as a whole during their participation in our course. Sequential Programing - The day is structured as a progressive experience moving through a sequence of Games, Skill Building and Safety, and Trust and Challenge. While the program is custom designed for each individual group, an underlying goal of safety and community where individuals can discover through experience is present in all our events. As mentioned above, this is a sequential program in which each previous activity builds a foundation for the next activity to take off from.
Commonly Asked Questions
What does Chall enge course at Mt. Cross look like?
Our Challenge course programs are usually full day events
led by trained Mount Cross staff. The day is structured as a
progressive experience moving through a sequence of Games,
Skill Building and Safety, and Trust and Challenge. While
the program is custom designed for each individual group,
an underlying goal of safety and community where individuals
can discover through experience is present in all our events.
As mentioned above, this is a sequential program in which
each previous activity builds a foundation for the next
activity to take off from.
What can we expect as a group if we come to Mt. Cross to use
the challenge course?
A typical day will run
from 9am-noon and 1pm to 4pm, come for all or half a day. See the sample below for an average day on the challenge course.
| Activity/Element |
Purpose |
| Ball toss |
A get to know the group game. |
Full Value
Contract / Stretches |
Primarily done for safety. |
| Marble Madness |
A great event to get the day rolling.
|
| PVC Challenge |
Discussions of team building and problem solving will
flow more freely after completing this event. |
| Nitro Crossing |
You're just getting into the swing of things
at this point. |
| (Lunch) |
|
| Islands |
This element will draw a group closer to each other. |
| Giants Ladder |
This is a chance to flex your muscles and use a partner to climb the giant's ladder. |
| Flying Squirrel |
This will be the culmiantion
of a your experience and may take your group to new
heights than they ever thought possible! |
What about the High Ropes elements?
We often get asked questions about our high elements or
high ropes course. We use our high elements as a culminating
point at the end of the Challenge Course experience. High elements, by their
design and nature are often centered on an individual and
apart from a group building dynamic. Low element activities
are the heart and soul of our community building process
which can lead up to a high element event and create a context
for us to use the high elements properly. For this reason
we incorporate them into the larger picture of community
building as a tool that can advance the group further in
their learning. High elements are a great way to cap off
an experience, but they are not our starting point.
What is the cost for the Challenge Course program?
The cost for a 6 hour session of the ropes program is
$45 per person, which includes lunch (with a group size of 25; if less than 25 check to see if lunch is being served that day). Some groups come for a weekend retreat and include the Challenge Course in their weekend's program and other groups come just for a day to use the course. If your group is attending Mt. Cross for an overnight retreat, the fee for our Challenge Course full day is $30 per person or $16.00 per person for a half day, in addition to your retreat package rate. We use these funds
to staff our challenge course events and to
help maintain the ropes course and equipment. We want to make
your experience at Mt. Cross as great as possible.
What are a few of the Elements that you have at Mt. Cross?
|
The Nitro Crossing consists of a rope/vine suspended from a cable strung between two trees, and a platform. The group starts from behind a line drawn in the dirt, and is told that they must swing from their start point, to the platform without touching the ground. The element is complete when the entire group has made it to the platform. |
The islands element consists of three platforms. Groups must use a combination of the 3 planks to cross between islands, and then return safely to the first platform. |
|
All Aboard consists of a platform placed on the ground. The element is complete when the entire group has made it to the platform without anyone or any part of the group touching the ground. |
The Wall is a 12 foot tall wall with a platform on the backside for participants to stand on. Spotting is a must, and each and every person is spotting for each other. The groups' goal is to get each participant up and over the wall. |
|
The spider's web is a variety of ropes strung between two trees, which resemble a spider's web. The group starts on one side of the “web,” and must successfully reach the other side without touching any of the “strands of the web.”. Each hole may only be used once. A spider placed on the web somewhere will watch over you, if it falls the group must start over. |
The Zig-Zag consists of 4 wooden planks supported by 4 wooden posts sunk into the ground. At the start there is a platform, which leads up to the first post and plank. The groups' must cross the entire path to complete the challenge. Any group member that falls off must go back to the beginning and start over. |
|
The giants ladder consists of five rungs strung on cables which resemble a ladder, reaching 25' into the air, and suspended on cables strung between two trees. Two participants, equipped with helmets and harnesses, each hooked in to a belayer and work together to climb to the top of the ladder and ring a bell. Participants use a variety of techniques to get to the top safely, and are then lowered to the ground by their belayers. |
The pamper pole consists of a living tree with a flat platform on top. Participants climb the tree by way of staples and stand atop the platform. Participants will then jump for a trapeze (which is adjustable) suspended from cables above. Whether participants reach the trapeze bar or not, they will be enjoy being lowered to the ground like a lofty feather. |
|
The flying squirrel consists of a modified belay system that has one participant on one end to the rope, and the rest of the participants on the other end of the rope. When the group runs one way, the “squirrel” runs the other way. When the slack is removed from the system, the single participant will be lifted into the air, and will soar with the rest of the squirrels around. |
This is not a comrehensive list of
Challenge Course Elements at Mt. Cross.
For a complete list and explanation of our Challenge Course Elements, please call
Mt. Cross and talk with our
Ropes Course Manager
831-336-5179 |
|
|
