One day soon your kids are going to ask you to take them to Go Ape, the zipline and ropes course combo strung through through the tree tops of Creve Coeur Park? Or maybe your crazy boss will, thinking it will be a good "team building" exercise.
Consider yourself warned.
1) Dress like Indiana Jones, not Tarzan. Sure, you'll be climbing rope ladders, shimmying across obstacles and swinging vines, ah, lines into big nets. A heavy t-shirt—tucked in—will keep the mulch out of your pants and prevent wood chips from embedding themselves into your skin if you land the zipline like I did. Five times. My mesh backed bicycle shirt was cool, but it didn’t help when I thunked into the ground at a rapid speed. Hopefully you’ll figure out how to land on your feet.
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2) Go Ape provides training, so relax. A little. First you'll get ground training where they show you how the harness works. The second stage of training is on a low to the ground beginner course. And then you're on your own.
3) The course is fun for beginners, no climbing experience needed. If you can climb a rope ladder, you'll get through the 39 challenges that Go Ape throws at you. There a couple areas where you can choose a less difficult challenge, but the only way out is forward. No chicken ladders down to the ground at Go Ape!
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4) You’re gonna use some muscles you may not remember having. We found that rope ladders are a lot harder to climb than wooden ones. Who knew? The course might be harder for those of us who rather play video games than work out.
5) Bring a camera, but use a clip to attach it somewhere safe. The nice people at Go Ape warned us that anything kept in a pocket was unlikely to stay there. They can store small items for you at the starting point, but you’ll be better off just not bringing anything silly. Keep your purse in your trunk for this one.
Go Ape in Creve Coeur Park is open seven days a week in the summer and during weekends in spring and fall. They close from December to March. Check the Go Ape website for more details on time.
Ticket prices are currently $55 for adults and $35 for kids from 10 to 17. There are discounts available for groups, military, police and fire, teachers and college students.
See more photos from my adventure at Go Ape at StlMotherhood. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook or just Subscribe to get me in your reader.