Starting a rec climbing service

Stant82

Stant82

New member
Location
Dallas
So my company wants to start offering rec climbing for scout groups, b-day parties, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, etc ...:)
I've got all the gear stuff figured out but still need some help on the "paper work' side of things.

The kiddos will just be going up and down and maybe a limb walk for the courageous ones. If anyone goes over 15-20 ft I'll be surprised.
What else would I need ?

Liability release form, template or good 'ol plagiarized version?

Structure or curriculum? How detailed?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
 
Stant82 said:
So my company wants to start offering rec climbing for scout groups, b-day parties, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, etc
Click to expand...

An inverted pinata might be fun for the kids: set the pinata on the ground but hoist the kid with the stick on a rig-n-wrench and swing her around like a flying spinning ninja. Everything is more interesting at great heights, and it's not necessarily a whole lot more dangerous.

A simple signed waiver by a competent adult or guardian should suffice. It's a shame that it doesn't.

Patrick Brandt has a lot of experience in getting groups of kids into trees. Nice guy too.
 
I sent an email to Patrick Brandt and he helped to fill in the legal part.
( Quote)
I have a 1 million dollar general liability policy from Veracity in SLC, Utah for "Guided Tree Climbing". It costs me about $1200 per year and is in addition to my tree work liability insurance. You can see my climb waiver at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzpiRKfhhZ4FZ3RvY1JjMUJNWDQ/view. Feel free to use the same wording if you want to. I developed mine by borrowing from others.

The minimum length of climb I do is a 50 minute climb. I use a traditional blakes hitch system with a prussic foot loop. When people sign up for a private climbing lesson I help them progress from the Blake's hitch to a hitching climber pulley or zigzag. I don't teach much SRT - mostly because by the time someone is confident on DRT they can usually buy a rope wrench and teach themselves SRT.
(End Quote)

I think this will give me the start I was looking for!
 
Yeah, there's an entire protocol already created around facilitated rec climbs, first by Peter Jenkins/TCI in Atlanta and also used by Tim Kovar/Tree Climbing Planet and an association of rec instructors and facilitators GOTC as mentioned. To southsoundtree's point about lowerable DdRT systems, there is an established rescue protocol that doesn't require that a DdRT system be lowerable, it's not practical to have base anchored settings for a group climb with say 6-8 rope stations (this is common), the rope spaghetti would be overwhelming. You want to have one rope set at a high point that is your dedicated rescue system. Rescue typically consists of talking people thru anxiety or some minor difficulty from the ground, different set of problems/mindset then working climber rescue scenarios.

As far as how high you hang ropes... as high as you hang them people will climb to the top, you just want your rescue rope higher. I frequently have climbers go to 60' or more on a single pitch setting. Height of the rope set is primarily a time regulator, if you want people to be on rope no longer than a half hour don't set your ropes higher than 30'. If you want them to have a deeper/longer experience, give them a high setting. There's more to it as well, check out all the links and names referenced.

Limb walking more than a few feet off the rope's plumb line is risky for novices in a group climb, you can't protect them from swing back from your position running the climb on the ground. If you're facilitating one-on-one up in the tree with them, yeah you could take them on a limb walk.

Consider taking a rec facilitator course, as an arborist you can modify/enhance your facilitating approach after you learn what many others have learned doing this for 30 years or so. Also recommend contacting Paul McCathie, Isle of Wight, UK, he's a Kiwi expat arborist who launched a very successful facilitating/instruction business, his perspective is useful for the working arborist considering a rec climbing business launch: https://www.goodleaf.co.uk/treeclimbinginstructor/
-AJ
 
Last edited:
I'm also considering this myself. I have a couple from church coming over tomorrow night to try climbing. So, I may find there's no way I'd do this but I doubt it. I love explaining things to people & having them try it will be a huge plus to that process.

--andrew
 
southsoundtree said:
Be surprised by nothing!!!!
Click to expand...
This was a year ago. The youngster got to about 35 feet and told me he was scared of heights. With a bit of instruction and encouragement he was dancing on the limb. He spent about 45 minutes in the tree. His parents were trying to coax him out sooner. I told them to send him around in 10 years and I would have a job for him. This event is a yearly fundraiser and is coming up again in about a week. I expect to see him again.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20161022_110149379.webp
    IMG_20161022_110149379.webp
    963.3 KB · Views: 30
> Liability release form, template or good 'ol plagiarized version?
---------------------------------
I learned the hard way about these release forms and their limitations. If minor children and under-age young adults are involved, their rights cannot normally be signed away by their parents or guardians or even by themselves. Another aspect of this is even if the children are not present or actively involved, and it is one of the parents who gets hurt (and has signed a release), the parent can still sue on behalf of the kids at home, with the reason that their injury, involving lost wages, emotional upset, etc., impacts their children. Best protection, if something reaches court, is lots of favourable testimonials from other professionals and positive feedback from previous customers, as well as a constant emphasis on safety all the time and throughout the sessions, so there is no doubt left at all that you did everything possible to ensure a safe experience. And of course, every single bit of equipment must be beyond question and of an approved brand and design. Just my tuppence from hard experience! But good luck with this. The fact that we live in a lawsuit-happy country should not deter a man of courage who believes in what he is doing.
 
Meant to say, just joined today! Great forum. I ended up here from a recommendation from Gordon after buying one of his Bulldog Bones. I am just a rec climber, not a pro arborist or anything like that. But I live where there are great trees, Pacific NW.
 
Hi Burrapeg

Welcome!

Thanks for your inputs about the limitations of wavers.

I consider them a notification to me if I ever sign one. Not A protection from liability for the company
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom