Ropes Course Training Develop, Organize and Facilitate Adventure Based Programs Experiential Based Group Training for teachers, corporate leaders, youth focused professionals, practitioners, and mental health professionals. Welcome to Adventure Works! Adventure Works is an adventure leadership training program specifically designed for teachers, counselors, youth and corporate leaders who seek to use adventure activities within their programs. Courses by private arrangement or check our course schedule

Adventure Works Trainers

Eric Taylor, LCSW.
Eric has twenty six years of experience in adventure counseling and programming. He is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and Outward Bound and has had a long standing relationship with Project Adventure. Eric is the owner / operator of the Group and Family Center in Bangor - an adventure-based mental health private practice. He consistently works with challenging teens, facilitates treatment groups and consults with area businesses all under the adventure umbrella. He is a former Camp Director and Board member of the Bangor YMCA and has directed the ever popular YMCA’s Leader’s School for over sixteen years. Eric resides with his wife and family in Bangor.

Jon Tierney, WEMT-P.
Jon has been a full-time wilderness educator for over 20 years and teaches courses in wilderness travel, mountaineering, and technical rescue as well as wilderness medicine. He is certified by the American Mountain Guides Association as both a Rock Guide and an Alpine Guide and is the author of the national Top Rope Site Manager course curriculum. Jon co-founded and directed Maine Bound, the University of Maine outdoor program for seventeen years where he developed and taught a wide variety of both credit and non-credit adventure courses. He owns Acadia Mountain Guides Climbing School and has delivered ropes course and climbing wall training programs to camps, corporations, schools, and the U.S. Military. He has worked as a climbing ranger at Rocky Mountain National park and has served as a search and rescue volunteer on Denali. He served two terms on the Board of Directors for the AMGA and is the discipline co-ordinater of the Top Rope Site Manager Program. For the past decade, he has strived to synthesize good concepts, challenge usual paradigms, and develop new ideas to raise wilderness education standards.

Adventure Works Courses:

Adventure Based Leadership

Let adventure work for you! Effective adventure pro-gramming requires skilled facilitation in order to catalyze an activity into personal or group growth. This four day workshop and retreat will introduce you to new ways to inject fun and enthusiasm into a new or existing adventure program. Learn tips and tricks to lead activities that will work for small to large groups.

• Experiential learning theory
• Activity selection and sequencing
• Group facilitation, briefing, debriefing
• Non-traditional group games
• Challenge course programming
• Risk management within activities
• Trust building activities and creative
problem solving adventures
•  As always this workshop promises loads of FUNN*
• Use of contracts and challenge by choice
• Resistance and group management
strategies

The training will be in an active and hands on style. You will be introduced to exciting games, trust and problem-solving field initiatives, and low ropes course activities and will lead adventure activities that promote personal and social growth. Contact Eric Taylor for more information.

* Functional Understanding Not Necessary


High Challenge Course Technology and Facilitation

In this course you will learn and practice the techni-
cal, safety and facilitation skills required to set up and lead high ropes course programs. You will improve your ability to create innovative programs, to prevent problems from happening and to solve problems that do.
Beginning with the basics, this course will take you through a curriculum of essential skills ensuring a basic level of technical competency. The course will challenge you to a new way of thinking about safety and leadership.

• Construction and design principles
• Equipment familiarity and updates
• Activity programming • Knots, harnesses, and belaying
• Rescue skills • Course set-up and take down
• Rappelling skills
• Site management issues
• ACCT ropes course standards

Our training approach is based on teaching general concepts that are rooted in sound science and field application. This is not a protocol based course, we believe in teaching you fundamental principles that can be universally applied rather than a “what to do” recipe approach. This course is also very appropriate for climbing wall instructors.


Other Training Opportunities

Our staff are available to provide a variety of other train the trainer leadership programs to schools, camps, and organizations including:

American Heart Association CPR & BLS
Wilderness Medical Associates certified
Wilderness First Aid (16 hours)
Wilderness Advanced First Aid
Wilderness First Responder (72hours)

Professional Climbing Instructor's Association
Climbing Wall Instructor CoursE
Base Managed Climbing Instructor Course
Single Pitch Climbing Instructor Course

Top Rope Site Specific Skills Course
Creative Play Workshops
On Site Ropes Course & Climbing Wall Training

Bring your group to us

Whether it’s for a 1/2 day or a week, choose from any of the following programs or mix and match to create your own.

Corporate Challenge Events
Creating High Performance Corporate Teams
Games and Initiatives / Low Challenge Course
High Challenge Course
Beginner through Advanced Rock & Ice Climbing
Guided Hiking trips to Katahdin
Canoeing Trips
Rock Climbing Merit Badge Programs