High Ropes: The High Cat-Walk(See Gallery Page for other High Ropes picture pages) The High Cat-Walk is often the first High Ropes activity that a group explores. It can be enjoyable and a little scary. And it’s a great learning experience especially when you use NLP to ‘model’ or study your responses before, during and after doing the High Cat Walk. By using NLP in this way the activity becomes like a mirror in which you see how you manage your emotions, how you prepare yourself for a challenge, how you approach the unknown, how you lean on others or resolutely ‘go it alone’, and whether you can really walk the talk of the Challenge by Choice principle..  First you get a safety explanation – such as the fact that the ropes, harnesses, etc. that are used to ensure your safety can hold a weight equivalent to four race horses! The whole group also hears about the Challenge by Choice principle.
 Then your harness is tied to the belay rope by your qualified instructor or 'safety person'. It is her or his job to keep your safety rope locked at all times so that if you slip or fall you only travel a few inches. At times you or one of your team mates may also be belaying or acting as safety person for one another (overseen by the qualified safety person) – which is a further test of how you function as a team and makes for an interesting ‘real world’ exploration about what you really mean by ‘trust’.
 Now you begin your climb. First a few steps up the ladder. Then, if you choose to go further, you use the rungs that are set into the tree.
If it's your first climb you may experience mixed feelings - exhilaration, fear, anticipation.  And, of course, as a good NLPer you may already be using your NLP skills to recognise how you are dealing with the challenge – though, afterwards, many people report having a bout of transient amnesia about the NLP they have learned, at this stage … 
At the top you manoeuvre yourself around the tree and onto the cross-beam. Then you stand looking at the 20’ distance to the far tree and the round, and sometimes wet, beam that will be your route. Rationally you know it is completely safe but this seems to have little affect on the excitement or ‘nerves’. And, although the bar is only about 30 feet above the ground it does seem much higher when you're up there - which provides food for (later) thought and discussion about how our perceptions are distorted by our emotions. 
Of course, as with all stages, you know you have the choice of coming down whenever you wish. Some of the your team may be watching and encouraging (but never, of course, pressurising since this runs counter to the Challenge by Choice ideal. Rationally you know that you are quite safe - the belay rope feels securely connected to your safety harness. But what your mind is rationally perceiving and what your imagination is doing may be quite different. For some of us no amount of rationalising seems to calm the feverish thoughts of "I'll fall and injure myself!" This is the moment when you learn about your imagination's power... and learn to examine how you normally handle life's challenges. You are face-to-face with your own thoughts and feelings - a learning opportunity. Since it is a personal choice what they do some people may take a few attempts before even reaching the cross-beam, or even a few visits to the High Cat-Walk. And that's fine! The trees have been there for a long time and will wait a bit longer. The more important thing is to be learning - about yourself and about how you think and feel. And to use your developing NLP skills and the feedback from the facilitator to experiment with new and better ways of doing things. So which strategy do you use to get started on the crossing? Do you hang around arguing with yourself, gripping the last rung on the tree, and adding to your inner stress till it becomes intolerable? Or do you just get on with it - ignoring your feelings? Or try to get it over with as quickly as possible - and lunge and rush awkwardly across? More importantly - how does this reflect how you handle life's challenges? How you begin risky ventures? How you approach lifestyle changes? At this stage we tend to display a range of crossing styles. There’s the ‘let’s-get-this-over-with’ stride. The cautious sideways shuffle. The one-foot-in-front-of-the-other ballet-dancer style. Some grip the rope tightly. Some walk with arms out to the sides.  Once at the other side you have a new choice-point. How to come down. You could climb down using the rungs but that would be too tame after the excitement of the crossing.  So maybe you go back to the centre and jump. Or step out into the void. Or fall forwards as you face the belayer below. Or try the Koala - in which you wrap arms and legs around the pole and hang from the underside before letting go.
And, as you start to float down on the safety rope, is your relief or exhilaration tinged with a touch of sadness that the fun is over –  did you, up there, momentarily reconnect with that childlike part of you that likes adventure, that thrives on the unknown, and that likes to take life a moment at a time!  
There's a strange mix of feelings in descending, too. Relief that it's over. Disappointment that you're coming down. Enjoyment of the experience of floating down on the belay rope... There is more information about NLP hereNLP FAQ Why learn NLP How to learn NLP Where to learn NLP - and how to choose a training provider NLP Core Skills - our course in the New Forest What's special about Pegasus NLP Trainings What people have said about our courses How we integrate NLP with outdoor activities | 
