Preparing For The Seasonal Shut-Down Of Your Challenge Course

With the recent time change and the days getting shorter it’s time to prepare your adventure facilities for the winter. This winterization is particularly important this year when COVID-19 has disrupted much of our usual processes and procedures. Some sites never operated, some sites were in the midst of opening, and some sites have operated on a reduced scale. No one quite knows what the next few months will bring but everyone wants to be ready for 2021. Here’s a to-do list to help you on your way.

1. Consider your access prevention needs. Many sites have had to lay-off staff and many sites are closed altogether. This means the opportunity to notice when a rope ladder or cargo net has come undone are significantly diminished than previously. In addition, members of the public are constantly searching for new and interesting places to go that are closer to home and your site might be their new favourite walking route. Think about whether you should remove the Beanstalk that you normally leave up over the winter. Are your ladders locked up? Should the lazy lines on your climbing wall or tower be removed?  

2. Actively manage your life safety equipment. If you didn’t operate this year, it’s likely your equipment hasn’t been touched (by humans) for 12 months or more at this point. Don’t just leave it in it’s boxes and bins. Shake it out and make sure it’s still dry and undamaged. Take out your 2019 or 2020 inspection report and see if anything was due to be retired. If so, retire it now rather than storing it for another winter. Make a list of what you will need to purchase in order to be ready to operate and be ready to order once that decision has been made to open. Manufacturers tend to produce only enough gear to fill orders, if you wait to order until May, you may find that the item you need is back-ordered for weeks and weeks. Finally, make sure your gear is going to be secure and dry.

3. Make a maintenance plan. With the leaves down, now is a good time to grab your most recent inspection report and go for a walk. Make a list of what will need to happen for you to operate. Are there elements that need repairs? Is there a tree that needs to come down? Is there a large branch that came down and needs to be cleared away? Almost every site we have visited has had significant vegetation growth in their belaying and spotting paths. Decide who is going to need to complete what tasks. Consider the benefits of completing maintenance now – that way you won’t be competing with other sites for the limited number of inspectors and installers that are available.

Planning (let alone acting) in the midst of the on-going uncertainty is genuinely difficult. Doing what you can to set yourself up for future success is one way to regain a bit certainty. Please reach out to us is you need a copy of your inspection report or would like some assistance with planning.

By Kathy Haras, Ph.D