Vertical Playpen

Do you operate an adventure program in a school? Are you interested in beginning one?

Mark Friedrich (Milburn High School) joins Phil to discuss;

- Running an Adventure Program in a school

- How to m…

Phil, Sam and Jamie sit around a table at High 5 HQ and answer questions about themselves and play "This or That".

Ubuntu Cards - https://store.high5adventure.org/collections/high-5-products/products…

Do you find learning names challenging? Especially when you are leading a 1-day program?

In this "Listener Question" episode, Phil gives 2 ideas on how he learns names during shorter programs.

Advent…

Do you struggle with encouraging reluctant participants to participate?

In this Listener Question episode, Phil addresses this topic and discusses;

- Creating Engaging agendas

- Being aware of activi…

Join Phil and Rich as they travel together for a training. So many great conversations go unrecorded when traveling for work so in this episode we had a microphone ready as we discussed;

- Best and W…

Are you looking for a career in the adventure industry?

One of the main driving reasons for creating the podcast was to highlight the many ways that people have found careers in the adventure industr…

This episode has very little educational value, but should, at the very least, put a smile on your face!

You can be the judge of who in this episode has the talent.

Featured are;

- Ella singing "A li…

Newer facilitators (understandably) rely on bags full of props when facilitating programs....I certainly did.

In this episode Phil and Ryan discuss;

- the value of enhancing your facilitation skills

…

Poor gear storage can lead to;

- Replacing damaged gear

- Lack of professionalism

- Participants who are now less likely to climb

In this episode Phil shares his recommendations for gear storage.

ROA…

Summer Camp Training season recently wrapped up for our training team.

In this episode, Phil shares his 5 big takeaways.

- Practice makes progress

- Belay stance is so important

- Lighter belayer/hea…

Do we adequately prepare our participants for struggle and frustration on the ropes course?

It's a challenge course, not a success course, after all.

In this episode, Phil, Lisa and Rich talk about f…

Parachute Cords (aka P-cords) are an essential feature of a ropes course, as they are what you use to set your ropes up and take them down at the end of the day.

They can also be the MOST ANNOYING pa…

As a full-time adventure education trainer, travel is a part of the work. 

Traveling can be full of great experiences but it also features a lot of time in cars and hotels.

In this episode, Phil deta…

Do you feel anxious before facilitating programs?

Our training team collectively says an emphatic yes!

This episode is a re-release of a conversation we recorded a couple of years ago, sharing our an…

Over the years, we all make mistakes. 

However, we are often too embarrassed to bring them up because of the possibility of being negatively judged.

It is through these mistakes though that we learn …

How do you prepare to present at conferences?

In this episode, Phil and Rich Keegan discuss;

- How to come up with conference workshops

- How to submit workshops

- How to prepare for presenting the w…

What contributes to a psychologically UNSAFE learning environment?

In this episode (Part 2) Phil, Lisa and Romy discuss;

- The power of evaluative words

- Mining for opposite experiences

- Making you…

How can we create psychologically safe learning environments for our participants?

In Part 1 of this 2 part episode, Phil, Lisa Hunt and Romy Alexandra discuss;

- What is a psychologically safe learn…

This episode, inspired by the Multi-stage fitness test (PACER or beep test), brings in Phil to become a guest facilitator for your program.

Phil guides your participants through 3 different opening a…

This phrase describes both our work as Experiential educators but it is also a large part of Bryn's pathway in this industry.

In this episode, Bryn Lottig (co-founder of Kikori) talks to Phil about;

…