One of the first things I built when I bought the local climbing gym was a low ropes course. I was the director of the Orange County Challenge Course for about 4 years when it first opened and wanted to have something more to offer kids during our summer camps. Camps were 5 hrs long for five days straight, there’s no way the kids could climb the entire time. The first time I ever set any part of it up was at a festival downtown GJ where I only set up one string but it was a big hit.

To build it I used 4X4 wood posts and made custom brackets for the rigging. I continued to work as a welder for almost 2 years after I bought the gym so I was able to make several things for the gym. I couldn’t set anchors in the ground so instead I made a plywood platform and filled up 55 gal drums with water which kept the platform from pulling up. To keep the platform from sliding I drilled a couple of ½” holes in the concrete and put a piece of round bar trough the wood and into the hole. Don’t tell my old land lord though. The first time we used it at that festival I spanned the gap with 2X4s to keep the platforms from sliding.

For the summer camps we set it up in the parking lot with 4 corner post allowing for 4 challenges at a time. I had about 16 different challenges so each night I would change a couple out so it would be different every day. The kids had a blast and for some it was their favorite part of the camps.