Staff! (What Happens If I Get Stuck?)

Guest Blog by Gloria Gasser, Monitor Trainer at The Adventure Park at Nashville

As a Park Monitor, I hear this question often. As a Monitor Trainer, I’m proud that my answer can be “Our staff are trained to help in any way needed, whether you need coaching from the ground, a simple hand up, or to be lowered to the ground.”

Here at The Adventure Park, we want you to be able to explore nature, get out of your comfort zone, and test your limits. It’s reassuring to know that there’s a helping hand if you need one. That’s why we make sure that we are prepared and ready to assist as needed. Monitors at The Adventure Park have completed a curriculum and obtained certification through the Aerial Adventure Academy, which trains operators across the country.

But what does that actually look like? HOW can we actually help you?

Assists

When a climber needs help and a Monitor engages with them, we label that an “assist.”

When a Monitor approaches the climber and answers questions, offers instruction, or provides encouragement, we call that a verbal assist. Verbal assists are the most frequent and will come before a physical assist. Often, the Monitor’s input allows the climber to figure out the issue and continue climbing.

We love empowering our climbers to help themselves whenever they can,  and we celebrate their accomplishment!

Physical Assists

Sometimes, a climber doesn’t feel up to dealing with the issue on their own, and that’s when our staff will leave the ground to perform a physical assist.

As part of our Monitor Level 2 training, our staff learn several different kinds of physical assists including tow assists, platform assists, and bridge assists. Let’s take a look at what each of these mean.

Tow Assist

Tow assists are one of the ways our staff can assist if someone isn’t able to pull themselves to the end of a zipline. Many of our climbers are able to assist themselves, but everyone needs a little help sometimes! For this assist, the Monitor can zip out to the climber in a controlled manner, attach a rope to the climber, and then pull them back to the platform. Easy peasy!

Platform Assist

A Monitor will perform a platform assist if a climber decides they can’t continue or needs to come down. The monitor climbs to the platform where the climber is waiting and attaches an assist device to the lifeline. After setting it up, the Monitor will attach the climber to the device, double check the system, and then lower the climber to the ground. The assist device keeps the descent speed nice and slow.

Bridge Assist

A Monitor will perform a bridge assist when a climber wants to come down but is still between platforms. It’s essentially the same process as the platform assist, except the climber and the Monitor will both be on the bridge (a.k.a. the element).

Adventure Park staff are trained for even more types of assists than these. We are confident that we can handle any situation, so come on out and push your limits knowing that we’ve got your back!

Want to try your hand at an assist?  Come work with us… we’ll train you too!