Suit up for an adventure that will test your endurance and maybe even challenge your fears at the Florida Tech Challenge Course.
- Florida Institute of Technology offers challenging courses
- Some courses have rope ladders
- You can even swing in the air, do zip lines
"The first thing people see is how high it is and the first thing they think is fear," course guide Ed Meade said.
Meade, a guide for the past two years through Florida Institute of Technology's challenge course, also served 27 years in the Army reserve. Using FIT's height defying course on more than one occasion to train.
However, this is not just for soldiers like Meade; you can try your hand at these military-grade challenges.
These courses are not for the faint of heart though; the highest points on the obstacle course towers almost 40 feet in the air.
You will face everything from scrambling up vertical rope ladders, balancing on a single rope, to swinging high in the air to you next challenge, just like Tarzan.
"You're actually out here learning how to overcome your fears and we tell people being afraid up here is normal and you should be if you have any common sense. But it's going ahead and getting over that and doing it anyway and transferring that to life experiences," Assistant Director David Beach said.
If you can stomach your way through the high ropes course, there is a fun surprise at the end. You take a small leap of faith off a platform and head zip lining down to the finish.
"When you get down that zip line at the end of it you get people cheering you along the whole time. The camaraderie that comes along with it from your guide and the whole group it's an awesome experience," Meade said.
In addition to the high ropes course, there is also a leadership reaction course that focuses on team building and two obstacle courses, an air assault course and a Marine obstacle course.
The Florida Tech Challenge Course is by reservation only, so you have to call ahead and schedule an adventure.
For more information on pricing and courses, go here.