giant ladder
the giant ladder won again this year. i blame a series of colds that prevented me from training. the giant ladder is a series of 4x4's suspended by cables separated by 4' to 7'. it's pretty easy for two people to climb. it's rather difficult for one. the free space mantle isn't bad if you have enough explosive jump in your legs to get your center of gravity high enough that tricep power can lift you the rest of the way onto the beam. putting your foot where your hand was works for all but the highest beam and the final cable. for those you have to stand on the beam. i practiced by standing up on 1" bars at kiddie playgrounds. that's a lot easier because the bars are rigid and there's so much rotational play in the beam and it swings out from under you. i wonder if the beatiful and talented alisa will let me build a giant ladder in the back yard.