As temperatures begin to warm (for some of us), we start to get out and about around our sites to make note of preparations that need to be made for summer. One area that can be quite daunting to inspect is our ziplines and challenge courses! For many of us, these programs carry our sites’ greatest risk and liability, so we want to be especially diligent to ensure their safety. The inherent risks associated with our challenge courses do not mean we have to leave every task to our yearly inspection. In fact, only paying attention to the condition of your course once a year could leave your site open to liability lawsuits if an accident occurred. The good news is that many of items on the checklist below can be done by any trusted staff or maintenance crew member. Many of these tasks are very quick, very easy, and can even wind up saving you money over the long run! I hope these questions can help you frame your management and preventative maintenance schedules on your challenge course / zipline / rock wall beyond your yearly inspection.

Gear:

• Everything still in good shape?
• Anything obviously broken?
• Are your ropes free of knots, glazing, sheath damage, frayed ends, etc.?
• Have you had any winter visitors in your gear boxes or gear sheds?
• Did any of your gear “age out” over the winter?
• Do you have a reliable vendor to replace your gear?
• Lead times for buying gear are getting longer and longer!
• Have you set up a gear log?
• Keeping track of how old your gear is important! Many manufacturers have specific guidelines on retirement ages.
• Have you set up a user log?
• Keeping track of how often your course is used and who is facilitating it is important information for thinking about wear and tear!

Staff / Process:

• Have you scheduled a yearly inspection?
• Have you planned in-service training / refreshers for you or your returning staff?
• Have you set up training for new staff?
• Were there any issues you identified last summer with the process for your course?
• Trip / hazards, elements too easy / hard, sequences that didn’t quite work out?
• Anything you want to change or try new?

Elements:

• Are there any obvious signs of damage or intrusion to your course? Human made? Natural damage?
• Are your warning signs and preventative access measures still in good shape? (Signs, locks, doors, etc.?)
• Any woodpecker holes on poles or wooden elements?
• Are there any trees or tree limbs that might need removal from around your course or zipline?
• Are there any obvious rust spots on cables or metal equipment?
• Have you waterproofed your wooden decking recently? You can do this with deck sealer products like clear Thompson’s Water Seal.
• Does any of your wood decking need algae removed? Water and a new plastic bristled scrub broom do wonders!
• Does any of your wood decking need replacing? Replace like with like and use treated lumber!
• Are there any nails that have backed out?
• Are there any rock holds that are loose?
• Do you have a supply for wood chips?
• Have you spoken with your Inspector / Builder about any problems you have encountered?

Jeff Wilson is Assistant Director at Camp Lake Stephens in Oxford, Mississippi. Thanks, Jeff, for creating this handy checklist and for helping our colleagues also address "spring cleaning" their challenge course areas. We're all in this together; UMCRM is blessed that our members so willing share their time and expertise.