NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS UNVEILS THE WATCHTOWER CHALLENGE
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Natural Bridge Caverns has opened a new climbing tower, named The Watchtower Challenge, that stands 50 feet tall and
features two climbing surfaces along with two 350foot zip lines, allowing guests to glide from the top of the structure to the ground in a matter of seconds.
Brad Wuest, president of Natural Bridge Caverns, said The Watchtower
Challenge is named after the tallest formation in the Caverns, The Watchtower,
which also is 50 feet tall.
We are really excited to offer The Watchtower Challenge to our guests as
another adventure at The Caverns. Instead of climbing underground, The Tower
allows our guests to climb skyward and the zip lines are the next best thing to
flying, said Wuest.
The climbing surfaces are built along two sides of the tower allowing five
climbers to participate at the same time on two different climbing surfaces.
Multiple routes on each climbing surface offer a variety of challenges for
beginners and experts alike. Each climber is fitted in a harness and secured
from above with a belay line.
Josh Tod of Rope Works near Austin, the company that built The
Watchtower Challenge, said it is the largest public outdoor climbing tower and zip
lines in Texas.
The front of the tower is 16 feet wide and has an increasing progression
of difficulty, including an overhang and negative to positive slope where the
climber has to climb out from the surface, said Tod.
The side of the climbing tower is 12 feet wide featuring a positive slope
and more frequently placed handholds, making it easier for firsttime
climbers,
he said. Tod added there are more than 200 rock handholds along both climbing
surfaces.
At the top of The Watchtower Challenge, which overlooks the rolling Hill
Country landscape, there are two parallel zip lines that extend more than 350
feet, in the opposite direction from the front of the structure. Once hooked onto a
zip line, the participant steps off the platform and takes off, gliding to the furthest
point of the ride.
The Watchtower Challenge is the latest adventure at Natural Bridge
Caverns, which is the largest cavern in Texas and attracts more than a quarter of
a million guests each year. It is located between San Antonio and New
Braunfels, eight miles west of IH35 on Natural Bridge Caverns Road (Exit 175 FM
3009).
In April, Natural Bridge Caverns was named by USA Today as one of
AmericaÃs 10 great places to get nature on film and was the only Texas location
selected.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Kurt Krivka
Natural Bridge Caverns
(210) 6516101
