Should ropes courses, climbing walls and other pole related training and obstacle facilities be equipped with lightning protection systems? Lightning authorities and experts agree that lightning will strike, damage, destroy, injure or kill anything in its direct path. There is no type of structure, building design, tower, tree or any configuration that is immune from lightning damage. According to Harold M. Towne's book Lightning Its Behavior and What To Do About It, "Lightning is just as likely to strike buildings of wood, masonry or steel; or masts, poles or trees of any kind that present comparable height and exposure."

Lightning Codes and Standards: Lightning protection codes and standards have been in service since the early 1920's. Since 1923, the Underwriters Laboratories, through their UL Master Label service, have labeled materials and conducted field inspections and their records substantiate that properly installed lightning protection systems are over 99% effective in preventing lightning damage or injury. In addition to Underwriters Laboratories UL96A Code Installation Requirements, there are two other major codes, namely the Lightning Protection Institute Standard of Practice LPI-175 and the National Fire Protection Association NFPA780 Consensus Lightning Protection Code.
Safety During Thunderstorms: From a safety standpoint, firms selling, installing and using ropes courses already mandate the use of harnesses, safety ropes and helmets. Lightning protection is just another safety factor that should be considered.
Exposure During a Thunderstorm: The National Safety Council has issued precautions to follow to avoid injury or death during an electrical storm. Avoid exposed shelters, boats, swimming, beaches, hills, or a lone tree. You're in danger in riding a bike, on a tractor, on a horse, near wire fences, using a metal clothesline, halfway inside a car or near towers and overhead wires. A ropes course consisting of towers constructed of poles, interconnecting wires and cables, ungrounded guy wires and other apparatus definitely falls into the National Safety Council's danger warning.; In Peter E. Veimeister's The Lightning Book, Page 228, Paragraph 2, it states "Most of the people that have been killed or injured by lightning have not been 'hit' directly by lightning. A direct stroke of lightning would produce severe burns. The majority of lightning victims are unmarked, having been killed or injured by relatively small currents that have passed through their bodies. Victims under trees, for example, do not receive the full lightning current. The current that passes through them is but a small portion of the lightning current that is spreading outward along the ground from the tree. Soil resistance can cause a voltage difference between the feet that may make current flow up one leg and down the other. It is also possible that currents may be induced in the body by the electromagnetic field of a nearby lightning stroke". Experts have referred to this as 'step voltage', the differential of ground potential between the legs of someone standing or walking during an approaching thunderstorm.; The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in their publication "Thunderstorms and Lightning the Underated Killers", states "In recent years, people have been killed by lightning while boating, swimming, golfing, bike riding, standing under a tree, riding a lawnmower, talking on the telephone, loading a truck, playing soccer, fishing in a boat, and mountain climbing". Their conclusion "Who's most at risk from thunderstorms?" People who are: outdoors, especially under or near tall trees; in or on water; or on or near hilltops. Most of these are in exposed recreational areas and ropes courses are classified as a similar exposure.
Understanding Lightning: In Dr. Martin A. Uman's book "Understanding Lightning", Page 9, Paragraph 2, states "Any high object may initiate an upward-moving spark which attempts to reach the downward-moving lightning. It is therefore important that the lightning rod be on the tallest object near the structure it protects, so that its travelling spark catches the lightning rather than a spark initiated by the chimney or nearby tree".
How, When and Where: How to determine the number of lightning strikes in the area of your ropes course - quoting from Harold M. Towne's book "Lightning Its Behavior and What To Do About It", Page 11, states "Studies of the number of lightning hits to power transmission lines in different parts of the country, representing an average of about 40 storms per year, have shown an average of about 1 to 11/2 hits per mile length of line per year". Using the map showing the average number of thunderstorm days per year throughout the United States, one is able to determine how many times each year the area of your course will be bombarded with lightning strikes. (See figure 1. and figure 2. on page 4)
Evaluating Your Risk: A Lightning Risk Evaluation Guide is included in the apex of the National Fire Protection Association Lightning Protection Code. A Risk Assessment Guide has also been prepared by the Independent Protection Company, manufacturers of lightning protection equipment. This guide provides for assessing the risk of a particular ropes course in determining the risk index value.
Liability: With recent trends in the legal profession, it is not uncommon for individuals to initiate a suit even if they feel there is some personal injury involved (not to mention death). Lightning protection is available for ropes courses and, from what we have observed in the lightning protection industry, if someone is injured or killed and no attempt has been made to provide lightning protection, a lawsuit is inevitable. You may want to check with your insurance carrier as to your liability with or without lightning protection on your ropes course.; The author is President of Independent Protection Company, Goshen, IN. Mr. Cripe has over 50 years experience in the field of lightning protection, has authored many articles, served on code and standards committees, conducted workshops and seminars, and has been a consultant throughout the United States and foreign countries.

Lightning Fact or Fiction

Statement: Lightning only strikes very tall objects.: Response: Not true!! Lightning strikes the tallest objects in a particular area. For instance, if there is a lone small tree in a large field and the field is surrounded by very tall trees, the small tree is just as likely to get hit by lightning as the tall ones. It is also possible for the lightning to strike the ground in the field and completely miss the trees, if the field is large enough! If you are out in the open and are surrounded by tall objects, do not assume you are safe from lightning!
Statement: Lightning only strikes good conductors like metal.: Response: This can be a deadly assumption. Lightning can strike any material that is in its path. True, the lightning current is more likely to flow through good conductors, but like the first myth, lightning will strike the best conductor in a particular area. For instance, if there are two posts of the same height in a field, one wood and one steel, if they are far enough apart they are both equally vulnerable to a lightning strike. Only if they are close enough together will the lightning be more likely to strike the steel post. Some people think that riding a bicycle in a storm is dangerous because you are touching the bike's metal frame. Riding a bicycle in a storm IS dangerous, but you are just as likely to be hit by lightning if you are walking or riding an all-plastic bike.....the metal bike has little or no effect.; The difference between lightning current flowing through a good conductor and a bad conductor is this: Good conductors suffer little damage from lightning while bad conductors are generally severely damaged. Compare this concept to an electric heating element. The element glows red hot, while the wires connected to it stay cool, because the wires are much better conductors than the heating element. If lightning strikes a bad conductor like wood, the current will either flow over the surface with little damage, or flow through the material with destructive and explosive results. This is why some trees are totally splintered by lightning while others are unharmed.

Editors Note: The opinions stated above reflect those of the author and in no way should be seen as a product or policy endorcement. In the Challenge Course industry today, lightning protection is not considered mandatory.