Extreme Sports Camp

Safety Considerations

Whitewater rafting is undertaken through the auspices of certified, licensed outfitters. Campers wear life preservers at all times on the water. Wall and rock climbing and rappelling are also supervised by licensed, experienced instructors. Campers wear safety harnesses at all times while climbing. On outdoor rocks, buddies or instructors climb ropes parallel to campers, offering side-by-side instruction and support. Our powerboat for skiing and tubing is driven by an experienced boatman. Life preservers are worn at all times. Swimming pools have trained lifeguards.

The first day’s activities (Monday) take place at lower elevations and are less strenuous than those slated for later in the week. This schedule allows campers to become acclimated to the higher altitude, heat, and drier air of the Aspen area. Campers are monitored for signs of altitude sickness and hyperthermia. Camp staff makes adequate hydration a priority. Drinks and healthy snacks are provided during the day.

Although our hikes take us into wilderness areas, campers are never more than 5 miles from a road and the camp vehicles. Modern hospitals are within 25 miles of any activity.

Although they may have difficult behaviors, our campers are not “bad”. The reason for inappropriate behavior is in nearly all cases due to the external environmental or an internal issue that the child has no control over, or can only control through monumental effort on his or her part.

Rather than discipline, the optimal intervention strategy is to prevent a problem from happening in the first place, by changing the environment or helping the camper positively cope with his/her internal feelings.

The number one goal of disciplinary intervention is to insure the safety of all campers and staff.

In all but the most exceptional cases, the intervention by staff should be positive and the camper should not feel like he/she has misbehaved or is somehow a “bad” person. We want above all for our campers to have an experience that builds their self-esteem and belief in themselves.

Time out/separation from others and from activities is the final means when discipline is actually needed.

However, in extreme situation others inventions may be necessary. Extreme Sports Camp staff and volunteers are trained to use CPI, a non-violent crisis intervention program for behavior management only when these other methods have failed. CPI, is a technique used for de-escalating potentially harmful situations. CPI is the most widely used program in the world for the effective management of disruptive & assaultive behavior. For more information on this program, visit www.crisisprevention.com.