Mini High Ropes Course Part 2 / Mini Parcours Teil 2

Yet another rainy and cold morning found us flipping through our Sommer Card guidebook again. We discovered another parcours center, this time in Ramsau, which not only had a forest site, but also an indoor site in a converted tennis center. We called, they were open, there was no waiting time. We headed right over.

This mini course was lower than the one in Gröbming, only about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet off the ground, but offered some more difficult challenges, mirroring the adult course overhead. Nikolas went through the course once and then took a break, watching a couple men up among the rafters. One of the men had trouble on the same piece of equipment that Nikolas had struggled with, little log swings that swung more and more wildly the more frantic you became. Ultimately the man lost his footing and his grip and found himself hanging safely from his harness up near the ceiling. The "rescue" from one of the spotters was particularly intriguing, with quick climbing, fancy footwork, a special pulley, and a rope ride back to the floor. It was all very calm and quiet and there was never a sense that any part of it was dangerous at all.

After that, Nikolas was eager to get back on the course and after having seen the rescue scene, he seemed to have a greater understanding of and interest in his clips. He unclipped and reclipped like a pro, always looking ahead to see where his next clip change should go. He even became more aware of his ropes, turning his body this way and that to avoid becoming tangled, and untwisting the ropes when they became wrapped around each other. After another two trips through, it was time to go.

Both of our trips to the mini parcours centers were great fun, but I guess you needed to be there to really get the excitement. Here's a clip from the course which, in watching it now, is really only slightly more interesting than watching paint dry...

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