C.O.P.E. May 2009

Camp Ingawanis has an INCREDIBLE program called C.O.P.E. It stands for Challenging Outdoor Program Experience. It really is a hidden gem! We spent the morning doing "Low Cope". This is more of a Team Building adventure. The afternoon was spent doing High Cope. High Cope is spent on platforms that are about 30 feet up.

We started out with training. Our instructors explained what Cope is and what to expect.

The premise behind C.O.P.E.

The storage room for all of the Cope gear.

The first task was to make a star. It doesn't sound hard, until you realize that everyone had to hold onto the rope and could not let go of the rope until the star was formed. This was the final result. SUCCESS! It wasn't as easy as it seems.

Roy and Michael demonstrate a "trust" skill.

The next game was "Willow in the Wind". This is really fun, but with your eyes closed, it really demands a sense of trust with those around you.

The next part was spooky. One person was blindfolded. They could speak, but not see. The other could see, but not speak.The one had to lead the other thru the woods. Over, under trees, whereever the leader went.

Caleb climbs over a tree that Aaron showed him was there.

The next challenge was the "Spider Web". I have seen this before, but never had to try and do it blindfolded. The hard part, you cannot touch the ropes.

Garrett gets passed though one of the higher openings.

Connor starts to be passed through.

Connor makes it to the other side.

The next station was the rope swings. It sounds easy, but not as easy as it sounds.

After a quick start, Nick relaxes as he has to wait for the others to catch up.

Connor shows his style.

Rob shows off his style. He was very fast through the course.

The final task of the morning was the "pit". You had to take boards and put them between concrete cylinders. There were different distances between each cylinder. You could only use 6 boards, so you had to use the boards more than once.

After lunch, it was time for "High Cope".

As we approach the High Cope area.

Yes, it really is that high!

High Cope is a really fun area. There are several options for getting to the top. You can climb the "Giants Ladder" or climb up the rungs on the post.

Connor climbs up the post.

Connor walks across "Indiana Jones"

The Giants Ladder was very difficult

Michael was one of two who made it up the "Giants Ladder"

After the Giants' Ladder is the Monkey Bridge. Walking on one wire with two wires higher on the sides to hold onto.

Michael goes down the Zip line

Aaron walks over the boards

Dan does a quick walk across

With the wind, it was difficult to walk across the pole. Dan found a time with less wind and made a quick jaunt across the post.

Dan goes down the Zip line

The ground crew was VERY important for safety. Each climber had 4 people on the ground spotting him, keeping the safety rope not too loose, but not too tight and always ready in case you fell on the ladder, bridge or pole.

Cal and Al are hard at work.

Al and Cal were at the end of the zip line. The side we used, did not go low enough to the ground, so they had to put up a ladder to get you unhooked from the zip line and let you down.

Options for crossing the bridge

In case you forgot how high it was . . .

Options for crossing the pole

Zip line photos

We only used about a third of what High Cope has to offer. What an amazing afternoon. The COPE staff was awesome! Couldn't ask for better. I look forward to our next time at Cope, knowing it will only be even better!