Vertical Air Ltd.
Hawthorn Hill,
Stainton,
Nr. Kendal,
CUMBRIA,
LA8 0LQ

Vertical Air Limited is owned by Rob Kelly and Geoff Storey and has offices in Kendal Cumbria.
Vertical Air has a dedicated outdoor development centre in the grounds of the Castle Green Hotel, Kendal Cumbria. Vertica lAir has a team of associate instructors, trainers and consultants which enables the configuration of appropriate teams and the selection of the right people for each programme, using the skills and experience available to fit the exact requirements of the client. We specialise in:

• Leading and managing change
• Senior management and board facilitation and coaching
• Management development
• Leadership & team development
• Team and individual effectiveness coaching

Who are we

Geoff Storey

Geoff established his own business in 1990, delivering training and development programmes around the world. In 2001 he developed Vertical Air as a joint venture with Rob.

Geoff has worked in the U.S.A., South Africa and extensively in Europe, providing facilitation, management and technical services to clients.

Geoff's range of qualifications include the ITD Certificate in Training and Development a Degree in Three Dimensional Design, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and he is an accredited user of the Herrmann Instrument. These academic and training skills are well matched by his knowledge and experience of Outdoor Management Training techniques. Geoff holds a wide range of outdoor qualifications including - Cave Instructors Certificate and Mountain Instructors Certificate. He has many years of experience in the delivery of training and in the running and managing of ropes courses in this country and abroad.

Geoff's successful conduct of his own businesses and an intimate working involvement with national and international organisations has developed a broad understanding of business systems and management.

Rob Kelly

Rob has worked throughout Europe aiding clients with major business transformations. He started working in training and development in 1980, after an early career in teaching, working with disturbed and delinquent teenagers.

He then worked with a Development Training Organisation designing and delivering Outdoor Management Development programmes for a range of clients across all major industry sectors.

After 2 years research into motivation he formed his own training and development business in 1987, providing powerful, innovative and focused initiatives to develop people and address specific business goals. He specialises in leadership, team building, group dynamics, people development, and in using experiential development as a medium for learning. His consulting areas focus on building the people capabilities necessary to lead and manage change and achieve breakthrough performance.

Rob has experienced in working with a range of Psychometric instruments including Myers Briggs Type Indicator Step 1 and 2, and FIRO-B. He also has teaching and instructing experience and outdoor educational qualifications.

Ropes Course at the Castle Green Hotel - Kendal

Vertical Air works in partnership with clients to design and deliver training programmes and events which prepare people to make positive impacts on business issues. Through the use of our ropes course as a medium for learning we can develop leadership and people management skills. We can increase team spirit and motivation, explore decision making and risk taking strategies.

All of our facilitators and instructors will provide the highest quality guidance and supervision. You will be encouraged to experience the challenges of the course, to participate and learn from these experiences. We employ the methodology ‘Challenge by Choice'. You set your own targets, challenge yourself and learn at your own pace. You will surprise yourself and your colleagues.

Costs

The costs set out below are for a group who wish to use the ropes course, with VerticalAir providing appropriate safety supervision for the group, we can accommodate groups of any size up to one hundred participants at any one time, and we recommend that we work with you to plan and facilitate your event.

The per person charge includes: All specialist equipment Safety supervision and instruction Public liability Insurance (£5 million). The charges do not include any facilitation input in planning your event or in helping you in the transfer of learning.

Climbing Abseiling & Zip Wire Tower

The tower is utilised to enable participants to develop positive approaches to challenging situations. The tower allows up to 30 participants to be involved in a range of challenges at any time. Climbing the wall. Abseiling from the platform or launching from the tower on the 100 metre Zip Wire.

As you can see form the image the climbing tower is certainly an imposing structure but it has been built so that anyone can find a level of challenge that is suitable for them.

Giant Swing

The Giant Swing is situated under the tower. The team's challenge is to use the swing to travel between low-level platforms on ground and complete a progression of challenges setting their own targets and evaluating their own success.

Again this exercise is a great confidence builder and acts as a fantastic icebreaker, its always fun and has people laughing hysterically as the target becomes ore and more ambitious!

Mohawk Walk & Low V

The Mohawk Walk is a continuous circuit of low level challenges designed to build confidence and teamwork. The aim is for the whole team to work together enabling every member to complete the circuit without touching the ground.

The Challenge of the Low V is for two participants, supported by the rest of the team to progress as far as possible along two diverging wires. They must trust each other and the rest of the team to succeed.

Both of these exercises have been carefully designed to allow varying levels of challenge "just off the ground", as such they offer the perfect warm up before moving on to the high events, they act as a great confidence builder for a group to start working together.

Low Cross

The Low Cross is a confidence building challenge which involves the team splitting into four sub teams each with a starting position on platforms linked with cross shaped wires. The team must organise an exchange of people between the different platforms - A to B, B to C, etc. Not as easy as it sounds ...

This is an intriguing exercise that combines the physical nature of the low ropes course with a need for clear group process as well in order to succeed!

Communication, organisation and planning are all critical!

Jacobs Ladder

The Jacobs Ladder allows up to three participants to climb at any one time supported by the rest of the team on the safety ropes. The higher they climb, the further apart the ladder rungs get and the more help and support they need to give each other in order to reach their target.

Of all the high events at he ropes course this is probably the most physically demanding as it requires some flexibility and a certain degree of strength to climb the ladder. It can be achieved by a wide variety of people but often depends on the make up of your fellow climbers!

High Y

The High Y involves two participants climbing independently up to a high wire and traversing to meet at a central point seven metres above the ground. The participants then have to use combined tactics to reach the finish point, there are ropes to help the pair balance but they are too far apart for one person to move on their own! VArious styles of counterbalancing each others weight or using each other for support can work when moving toward the finish rope.

The climbers are safeguarded by teams of their colleagues on the ground looking after their safety. High levels of trust and communication are needed between climbers and those holding the safety lines to ensure success, climbers can stop at any point along the wires so its also ideal for individuals who want to push their personal comfort zone and challenge themselves.

Leap of Faith

The Leap of Faith is a unique challenge. To climb a freestanding pole with a small platform on top. To stand on the platform and dismount by leaping into the air and trying to touch a ball before being lowered to the ground by the supporting team.

The encouragement and support of the team holding the ropes can be either loud vocal encouragement, or quiet concentration depending on the needs of the individual. This is definitely one of the events at the ropes course that participants can remember for the rest of their lives!

Crate Stack

How high can you go knowing that at some point the crates will fall!

Two climbers must work together to build a stack of crates as high as you can or dare, a good sense of balance and coordination until the inevitable tumble when they all crash down.

We have 100 crates in total! The Crate Stack really involves the whole team as they must work effectively to feed the climbers the crates as the stack gets higher and higher whilst at the same time holding the climbers ropes at exactly the right tension to ensure that they are safe and they can move effectively.

High Step Across

The final step to cross the chasm is ten meters of the ground, balance on the edge jump and you are across!

To reach this point there are a series of balance beams; the first is at ground level and can be used for practice to gain balance and confidence or as a challenge in its own right with the whole team involved in a low level exercise.

Moving on and up, the inclined log is next, you must walk on and up the incline whilst remaining in balance. Next you climb the tree to the horizontal beam and carefully walk across to the other side. Finally you climb up the tree again arriving ten meters up above the ground at the Step Across.

High All Aboard

A team challenge for up to four people to climb together and then try to stand on top of a small platform on top of an 8 metre high pole!

Obviously team cooperation, trust and support are all vital elements and if you have a group of mixed levels of confidence then it is an ideal opportuntiy to team up with someone who is more confident than you are to see how high you can get with a little help!

One person on the top is straightforward, two is awkward, three is difficult and four ... well try it and see!

Pole to Pole

A whole team low-level challenge, which is a unique combination of tactics, planning and action.

The whole team must work their way across the maze of poles using the temporary pegs as footholds and teamwork to succeed.

The route is not not always obvious and the journey can be made more complex if another team is traveling in the opposite direction at the same time, in which case negotiation and influencing skills may be required to ensure a win win solution!

Whale Watch

The Whale Watch is one of our simplest low level tasks that can engage a large group of people all at once. It is essentially a huge see saw that has half the team on one end and the rest of the team on the other. The objective is first to balance the see saw at the mid point, as you can imagine coordinating 30 people to stay still is not as easy as you might think at first!

If a team manages that then the next level of challenge would be to swap on person from each side of the see saw whilst keeping it in balance. This exercise usually starts with chaos and frustration and finishes with a highly focussed group ready to move on to the high events!

Contact:

Vertical Air Ltd.
Hawthorn Hill,
Stainton,
Nr. Kendal,
CUMBRIA,
LA8 0LQ