High Ropes/High Hopes

[healer]

We are the 12/10 sailing of the Constellation and are trying to decide on excursions.

 

Has anyone done the High Ropes/High Hopes in the Dominica? We were wondering how strenuous it is?

 

Any information about this excursion would be great!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Schplinky]

I'm keen to know, also, having just registered to do it in January. Please post a review when you come home!

[canderson]

I'm keen to know, also, having just registered to do it in January. Please post a review when you come home!

Schplinky -- is this "High Ropes" just another way of saying "Ziplining"? If so, I imagine a bunch of folks could share their experiences from similar venues (e.g., Costa Rica).

 

If it's not ziplining, I'd be interested to hear a description of this shorex.

[Schplinky]

Seems like zip-lines plus a bit more adventure. The tarzan swing sounds scary!

 

 

From Shorex:

 

At the reception center, you are first provided with your safety gear. The trained guides will then conduct the mandatory safety briefing and demonstration before moving to the starting point. Climb the ladder to your first platform, and then travel on the trail, advancing from tree to tree via suspended platforms that are connected by ropes and cables, all integrated into the landscape. You will cross over varied formations of footbridges such as the Indiana Bridge, Monkey Bridge and the Duck Walk Bridge. A highlight of this adventure is a Tarzan jump for the daring. The course ends with a zip line that takes you across Dominica’s longest and largest river - the Layou River. The scenery from this aerial point is stunning - the experience is unforgettable. Throughout the course, the trained guides are available to provide assistance and ensure the proper use of your safety equipment. At the end this dramatic adventure, a much-deserved complimentary drink is served at our riverside bar, before returning to your ship.

 

Note: Maximum weight limit is 250 pounds. This tour is only suited for those in very good physical condition. Not suited for pregnant women or guests suffering from heart, back, neck, or shoulder problems, as well as guests prone to asthma and seizures. Wear comfortable clothes and closed toe shoes and bring along and a swimsuit if you wish to take a quick dip in the crystal waters of the Layou River. Minimum age for participation is 12 years old.

[canderson]

Does sound like a good bit of fun.

 

As to the exertion issue -- in order to go down, you first have to go up. That will require climbing. Our experience in Costa Rica was equivalent to climbing about 3 flights of stairs once, and a couple of shorter climbs along the way. If a person is in good enough shape to find that an easy task, there should be no problem.

 

The actual "point to point" part is even easier. You'll "step off" the platform and off you go, letting gravity do its work to get you to the next platform. There's a trick to this, though. You don't want to slow yourself down too much or you'll get stuck out there before you reach the next platform and have to hand-over-hand it a bit to finish the stage.

 

The trick -- one hand will be at your waist, but the other will be your guide hand along the cable. How you apply this hand is key to a couple of things...

 

First, that hand is up there to keep you from getting all sideways along the way. However, if you keep it close to you (close to the pulley, actually), it will take a lot of force to keep you straight. There just isn't any mechanical advantage. Adding force is what slows you down, and too much slow down gets you stuck.

 

Keep that guide hand BACK so as to gain a good mechanical advantage. By doing this, only a very light touch is necessary to keep you straight as you zip along the cable, and you won't have to worry about not quite making it all the way to the next platform.

 

Here's a real crude picture, but I hope it makes sense!

 

 

[healer]

I found this page in a Yahoo search.....hope this works.

 

http://66.218.71.231/language/translation/translatedPage.php?tt=url&text=http%3a//www.tourist-magazine-caraibes.com/page.php%3fid_art=32&lp=fr_en&.intl=us&fr=sbc-web

 

It had more info about the excursion. Sounds like it might require some physical exertion. The person writing this said "Surely if a 4-yr old can do this, I should".

 

For me, it sounds like the release of your zip line on the Tarzan swing might be tricky.

 

Any thoughts? Hopefully, you can cut and paste this link and be able to open it. I had to translate it from the search page. If not, just type in "High Hopes High Ropes" in the your search engine and hopefully it will return this specific one in the results.

[LadeeBug100]

We did a similar excursion in Quebec. It was a lot of fun. It was not strenuous to me, I think someone in decent shape should be able to handle it , but I did have tendinitis after I got home and started back my regular weight routine(that was from holding on to the cables too tight, even though I was not going anywhere because of the safety straps). Next time I will not squeeze too tight.The scariest part was the first climb up the ladder and then the first "game"(the part between trees, such as a rope or cable to cross over).

Some of the games consisted of just crossing over on cables, some on boards, the hardest were swings one right after the other.

 

There was one lady that decided not to participate and one that began but did not go all of the way through(she was able to exit after a couple of games). We were provided with gloves which were necessary.

 

At each platform we had time to rest since only one person can be on the cables at once, so we did not get tired.

 

We did only one or two ziplines, but none as long as the one mentioned in the Dominica excursion. If you want to see photo just e-mail me and I'll send it to you.

My email is my user name at yahoodotcom

[canderson]

This gives some idea of what "up" meant at the time. Too bad this system isn't as forgiving of portrait orientation on photos ...