Monte Tamaro

One of the perks of this round the clock job are our chaperoned excursions. The 9th grade "hike" was a visit to Monte Tamaro here in the Ticino. It took place on a friday to allow for day and boarding students to attend, which also allowed teachers and staff to be working, but not really working! Midway up the mountain, after a charmingly steep gondola ride with a fantastic view, we discovered an adventure course in the trees. Here in Switzerland there are definitely less safety precautions and rules when it comes to kids at play. After a brief description and practice course we were let loose, harness and all, into the trees. Some of the chaperones stayed on the ground to watch out for kids, but the rest of us shuttled them along through the courses. I'm proud to say I made it through 3 out of 4 high ropes courses.
After enjoying a packed lunch and some ice cream treats at the restaurant there, we continued up the mountain to the end of the gondola line. Here, higher up the mountain, we discovered the Flying Fox go-cart/roller coaster ride. You sit in a small go-cart-ish vehicle with a seat belt across the front. From there you have handles that push forward to get you going and break when you pull back. The ride starts off steep and slow, and then whips around corners and down little hills to make for an adrenaline rush experience. Woo hoo!
As for the hike part of it all, we didn't have time to go to the top of the mountain only because the kids were having too much fun with everything else there, but the views were ridiculously beautiful.
The final thrill of the day (which I was able to do twice!) was a 440m (not foot) zip line over the mountain. The picture above is me with one hand off, but believe me, I did take them both off at one point. Absolutely incredible. I loved it. The kids loved it, and all in all a good time was had.