Flying Squirrel

I attended a retreat for Leadership Pocatello. They bussed us to Twin Falls to the College of Southern Idaho. They have a high ropes course. I was really excited when we pulled up because I love challenge courses and I am not afraid of heights. We spent the morning with team building exercises which were fun. Fortunately it is a really great group of people.
This is the tape game....try to get the tape off other peoples nose w/out hands (Don't I look excited?)

This was a trust game....he was pretty trusting!

After these games we participated in The Flying Squirrel. It was so fun! I was in a harness, tied to a rope, strung through a pulley. On the other side of the rope was my entire Leadership class. On the count of 2 I ran one way and on the count of 3 they ran the other way. It flings you clear up into the air swinging. What a blast! I loved it.

We then moved to the high rope activity. The task was to climb a 12 foot ladder that was leaning against a telephone pole. At the top of the ladder you could then climb the pole using staples sticking out of the sides. You climb to the top of the pole which is 30 feet in the air. The pole gets smaller as you go up and it sways quite a bit at the top. At the top of the pole you have to stand up on the pole and then jump to a trapeze that is 6ft out in front of you. Then you release the trapeze and your belay team slowly lowers you to the ground. I was not scared about this at all. I watched half the class do it. I watched grown men brought to tears at the thought of this task, because of their intense fear of heights, and then it was my turn. I suited up in the helmet and harness and started my way up the ladder. I have never been afraid of heights so I was confident in my ability to complete this task. I was fine going up the pole, but as I neared the top and there was nothing to hold onto, I had a small panic attack. My stomach was turning, my heart was pounding and I was shaking, which made the swaying of the pole even worse. I just wanted to climb down! It was such a vulnerable position. You had to support your weight with your hands on the top of the pole and then keep your balance as you placed one foot on the top of the pole. At that point you are crouched on the top and it is hard to get your balance. My arms were shaking so bad just because I was so scared! I brought my other foot up and slowly stood up. I MADE IT! Now I had to get down. Every fiber of my being wanted me to stay right there on that pole. I had to force myself to jump off, even though I knew they would not let me fall. I think it was one of the scariest things I have done. I jumped out into the air and they lowered me to the ground. Whew! It was a great experience, but I don't think I would want to do it again! When they emailed the pictures to me, my heart started pounding just looking at them....that is how intense it was.