George Mason University Building Adventure Course on Prince William Campus

Some courses at George Mason University's Prince William County campus this fall will demand a good grip -- and not on a pencil.

Students, faculty members and groups from companies and regional schools will be climbing ropes and scaling walls at the university's new Freedom Challenge Course to learn about collaboration, communication and team building.

The course, offered under the Mason Center for Team and Organizational Learning's Energize, Develop, Grow, Excel (EDGE) program, is set to open in October and mimic the program the university and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority operated for 23 years at Hemlock Overlook in Fairfax County. That program was shut down in June.

"This is a dream come true to have this whole course at Mason," EDGE manager Susan Johnson said, noting that the university's contract at Hemlock was set to expire, opening an opportunity for the school officials to build a course. "There was so much we couldn't do at Hemlock because we didn't own the facility. This is going to be very valuable to both the university and the community."

The course will cost about $255,000 to construct, said Leslie Shinners, general manager of the Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center at the university's Prince William campus. The center's advisory board lent about $195,000 for the project, and the rest is mostly carry-over money from the Hemlock operation, she said.

"These are tough economic times and there was some anxiety to start a new venture, but we did a market study and got a very enthusiastic response from the local and regional area," Shinners said. "We just didn't want to lose this great tool for leadership" once the contract with the park authority ended.

Shinners said the course is accessible for different skill levels and will include numerous elements such as a zip line, ropes course and giant swing. A 50-foot alpine tower, which resembles a concoction built out of oversize Lincoln Logs, is also part of the course and was hoisted up on the 10-acre site Thursday.

Although built on campus to complement certain university courses, the outdoor education center will also be open to school and community groups, companies, government agencies and the military. The course is meant to teach people about teamwork, leadership and effective communication. The course will also push people out of their comfort zones and build their self-confidence, university officials said.

"This is all very exciting," Johnson said. "A lot of people think an outdoor adventure includes kayaking, canoeing or biking, but an adventure is an experience where you do something you have never done before. This course is just another adventure for people to tackle."

The university's challenge course won't be the only one in the area; Hemlock Overlook is up and running again. Park authority officials said they reopened Hemlock's course Aug. 3 with a new partner: Adventure Links from Loudoun County.

"We worked as hard as we could and as fast as we could to get Hemlock reopened," said Paul Gilbert, executive director of the park authority. "We are thrilled to have Adventure Links. . . . I think our new partner will bring some good creativity, and I anticipate the programming at Hemlock to just soar."

Adventure Links President Anna Birch said her company will continue Hemlock's focus on environmental education and offer school programs at the site. Birch said that the course will mostly remain the same but that her company plans to add a new educational element by opening up Native American dwellings that are on the property.

"Hemlock is just beautiful and offers a great backdrop for environmental learning," she said. "I feel there is an abundance of people looking for this type of programming, and there will be plenty of work for Mason's facility and ours."