On Thursday May 19th, Kelly Friel and Heather Snyder of the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce took the afternoon off to partake in an Ariel Adventure like no other.
Holiday Valley’s newest edition to the resort named the Sky High Adventure Park consists of a series of platforms suspended anywhere from 15 to 50 feet in the air, with obstacles and zip lines that must be completed to maneuver from platform to platform to complete a course. There are eight courses in total ranging in difficulty from yellow (the easiest) to double black diamond.
Kelly and I, both terrified of heights gathered up our courage, donned our comfy work out clothes and sneakers and headed to the Tannenbaum Lodge for our big adventure. We were extremely nervous, to say the least. Upon our arrival the attendants got us all geared up with very snug fitting harnesses that had what seemed to be an ungodly amount of clips and contraptions attached to it. Since I am pretty sure that I am spatially impaired and barely know my right from my left, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how on earth I was going to figure out what went where while navigating any kind of course, let alone one way up in the air! Bonnie and Sam who got us strapped in assured us that we would be fine and that the safety guide would make sure that we knew what we were to do with all of our parts. That being said, they told us to follow the path to the edge of the woods where a guide would meet us for our technique and safety walk through. The guide was extremely thorough and patient and made Kelly and I (the nervous nellies) feel like we were ready to conquer any obstacle they could throw at us, that was of course until we reached the first task at hand…getting onto the starting platform! With some very genuine and gentle coaching from the starting attendants we got ourselves clipped in and climbed on up to, you guessed it, a nice easy yellow course. Well easy it wasn’t, but after completing about three obstacles consisting of netting, logs and ropes that formed shaky bridges from one platform to another, Kelly and I really started to get the hang of it and after our first zip line experience I was pretty sure that we had reached rock star status! Apparently no one was quite as impressed as we were. Kelly retired after completing the first course without not so much as a stumble and I pushed myself onto the next level where the obstacles were considerably more difficult and higher in the air. After two and a half hours of “Sky Highing” Kelly and I were in need of some serious rehydration where we could 
sit and relax and relive our experience. We both agreed that tackling our fear of heights, trusting each others coaching, the safety of equipment and embracing our physical strength and problem solving skills felt really good.
I must say I have not had such an empowering experience in a very long time. Sky High is great way to spend an afternoon enjoying a new experience that really leaves you feeling like you are on top of the world…literally.
Ladies…grab your sisters, mothers, daughters, cousins and best friends and plan on visiting Ellicottville, NY the weekend of June 10th and 11th for Women’s Weekend…An Outdoor Adventure.
Ellicottville, New York 