Our Middle Fork trip was incredible, the breathtaking views, full moon in the canyon, and thrilling, fun rapids... I came home transformed.

• RIVER TRIPS
• OUTDOOR EDUCATION
• SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
• CHALLENGE ROPES COURSE

What We Believe

Capable individuals coming together in effective teams form the basis of success. Humans are social animals; working in effective teams is the underling principle that has made Homo Sapiens successful over the millennia.  The ability of a group to accomplish a task or achieve a goal largely depends on mastering specific Life Skills; these include but are not limited to:

The staff at the Mother Lode River Center utilizes a broad range of adventure based experiential learning activities to identify and enhance these various Life Skills. The results are dynamic, energized, successful individuals and teams.

What We Do

Our programs are designed to meet your specific training and educational objectives. The duration of our Ropes programs range from half a day  to two days. A member of the Mother Lode staff will collaborate with you to determine the goals and objectives you wish to achieve. Once these have been established and a time frame determined we can then tailor a program specifically for you.

The underlying philosophies upon which we tailor all our programs can be divided into four concepts:

Challenge By Choice                           Physical and Emotional Safety
Guided Self Discovery                        Breakthrough thru Breakdowns

Challenge by Choice
This means that participants are never coerced or pressured into participating. Individuals are more receptive to new experiences when they feel they have exercised free will in choosing to take part in a new challenge. Whenever you choose not to physically participate in a specific challenge, you still remain actively involved and focused on the activity.

Physical and Emotional Safety
Protecting the participants’ physical and emotional safety is of utmost importance to the Mother Lode River Center staff. Our course installation meets or exceeds the standards set forth by the Association of Challenge Course Technology. We aggressively maintain our course through regular in-house inspections and an annual external inspection by industry professionals to insure the safety of all elements. Emotional safety pertains to respecting the individuals choices and providing positive support and feedback. When conflict arises (see Breakthroughs thru Breakdowns ) it is the individuals actions that provoked the conflict that are addressed and dealt with, not the individual.

Breakthroughs thru Breakdowns
A common mantra on the Mother Lode Ropes course is “ you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes”. This is the essence of Breakthroughs thru Breakdowns. The Mother Lode staff provides a safe supportive environment to take chances and step out side of your comfort zone. If you don’t succeed on the first try, that’s great! Very few things in life that are worthwhile are easy. It is the struggle to achieve success that makes clear the barriers to that goal. Once a barrier has been identified we can begin to change it or make it work for us i.e. a breakthrough or new idea, brought about from a breakdown or failure. A measure of ones character is not how we behave under ideal conditions but who do we become under adverse circumstances.

Guided Self Discovery
One of the most important facets of any Ropes course is debriefing the activities. This most commonly occurs at the end of an initiative or when the group has reached a point of dysfunction. Our skilled facilitators will guide the group with questions that provoke the group to examine what just transpired and identify positive and negative outcomes of the activity. Our facilitators help the group to discover the solution to the problem for themselves. This process promotes the enhancement of  life skills such as leadership, problem solving, and self-reliance among others.

Ropes and Rafting

Rafting can be combined with half-day, or full day Ropes Challenge Programs. For example, you may add a half-day of Rafting to any half-day Ropes Program. Ropes and river rafting make one of many great combinations. Spend your morning working together on the Ropes course, and then head for the river for an exciting afternoon. Rafting is not only a fun way to experience the Mother Lode, it also is a team building experience as you work together with the guide and other rafters to get the raft down the river.

For the various Rafting options, please refer to the River Trips page.

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