Our canopy training courses are designed for adventurers, college and professional
researchers, and educators. All participants should be able to handle moderate to
strenuous outdoor activities and have no medical problems that would prevent them
from climbing on ropes. Most classes are taught at Lake Sidney Lanier, about 75 minutes
driving time north of Atlanta International Airport. The north Georgia area is also
served by three main highway routes -- Interstate 20, Interstate 75 and Interstate
85 – and the training area is 20 minutes from an Amtrak station on the Washington-Atlanta-New
Orleans line. The cost for classes does not include food or lodging, but there are
a variety of motels, campgrounds and restaurants within five miles of the training
area. All course costs are subject to change. Seven days advance notice is required
to register for regularly scheduled classes; private, individual training is available
on other dates subject to availability of instructors.
The 20-hour Basic Tree Climbing Course (BTCC) is taught the fourth weekend of February,
April, June, August, October and December. It is open to anyone 14 years old or older,
but a parent or legal guardian must accompany anyone under 18 during the entire course.
It focuses on equipment purchases and maintenance, basic tree-entry methods, double-rope
climbing techniques, and moving vertically and horizontally in the canopy. The cost
is $200 a person. All private instruction costs $350 a person.
The 18-hour Beyond The Basics Course is taught the fourth weekend of March and September
and is open to anyone 18 years old or older. It focuses on advanced climbing equipment
and maintenance, advanced tree-entry methods, rescue techniques, single-rope climbing
techniques, and rigging techniques. All participants must have completed the Basic
Tree Climbing Course from a recognized instructor or be able to demonstrate that
they have adequately learned the basic climbing method and safety procedures on their
own. The cost is $200 a person. All private, instruction costs $350 a person.
The 36-hour Rain Forest/Cloud Forest Researcher’s Course is open only to those with
current student, faculty or staff identification from an accredited college, university
or research institution. It is taught Monday through Friday during the second week
of May and December, at the end of the fall and spring semesters. It is designed
to prepare college students, instructors and researchers for climbing at biological
field stations in difficult tropical conditions. All participants will be taught
the basic and beyond the basics climbing methods as well as techniques for accessing
and working in gigantic tropical trees in humid/wet conditions. The cost is $350
a person. All private, individual instruction costs $500 a person. This class is
not offered to the public.
The Tropical Ecology Climbing Course (Canopy Access Techniques) is taught June 15
to July 13 each summer in coastal rainforest/swamp forest at the Institute for Tropical
Ecology and Conservation field station near Bocas del Toro, Panama. The course is
recommended for both undergraduates and graduate students in the various biological
research programs. It includes a full spectrum of climbing instruction in all of
the above methods, lectures, individual research projects, course credit, a field
trip to a nearby highlands cloud forest, and immersion in local culture. For additional
information and cost, go to www.itec-edu.org.
TreeTrek Exploration does not teach the Facilitator Course. We work with Abram Winters
of Tree Climbing USA for this course. It prepares the participant to operate a program
for camps, organizations, and local governments. The course is normally taught at
Lake Horton Reservoir southwest of Atlanta. For additional information, contact abe@treeclimbingusa.com
or call 770-487-6929.
