Challenge Course

One of the integral parts of the Heber Valley Camp experience is to do one of the challenge courses. Each course includes a "high" activity and 6 "low" activities. We have 4 such courses at HVC with a 5th just starting in construction, hopefully to be ready by July this year.


The objective of the challenge courses is to give participants at the camp the opportunity to challenge themselves, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. We practice challenge by choice, which means that we will not in any way force an individual to do anything on the course that he is uncomfortable with or which will be dangerous to him for health reasons, and etc. That said however, we do encourage each participant to push himself maybe just a bit outside of his comfort zone.
The high courses seem to get the most attention. We have one where the participant crosses on two parallel wires one above the other about 25 feet above the ground and then rappels down a tree, another is a walk across a log about 20 feet long and 12" in diameter, again about 25 feet above the ground, followed by a zip line to get back down, another is crossing a wire with "vines" to give the passage some stability, and then descend on a zip line. The other course now running is a giant swing about 30 feet high. The new one being built will be like crossing a rope bridge with free swinging boards for stepping across, again followed by a zip line.

All activities are safe and never is a participant unattached from the belayer (a person who handles the climbing rope.) It is impossible to fall, as long as one remains attached, and they are not allowed to do otherwise.
Last week we spent 4 days at a special training facility in Provo, to be trained in facilitating these activities.
The missionaries at HVC have many, many stories to tell about those who have challenged themselves and have grown so much by so doing.
We look forward to helping out with those activities this summer, along with our regular camp host duties.

All of the enclosed pictures were taken at the Provo course last week.
We are hoping to do at least one of the courses during our reunion there next year.