The 500ft Rope Swing

How Ally decided to jump off a cliff in Moab, Utah

When my husband presented the idea of going on the longest rope swing in the country (“500 feet of pure, heart-pounding freedom in beautiful Moab, Utah” – source moabswingers.com), I was initially firmly in the “absolutely not” camp. But the seed was planted, and I let the question sit with me for a few days. The concept got me thinking about taking risks, and how we all make decisions on what risks are worth taking. I spent time watching videos of other willing participants, visualized myself standing at the edge of this massive cliff, and even felt my stomach leap into my throat and my heart race as I imagined the actual jump. Then, I felt the rush of adrenaline as I was safely caught by the rope and left swinging in this giant canyon-like space, alone.

Sign me up.

I was already exposing myself to an unusual amount of risk, in multiple areas of my life. Trying new things, getting involved in community organizations, saying “yes” to more invitations, and taking on more commitments. There were times in the last few months where I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up. So why not add more stress and adrenaline? Was this even the right time to agree to this type of activity, while on vacation where I’m supposed to be resting and rejuvenating?

Turns out, it was the perfect time.

I, Ally, am not your stereotypical “adrenaline junkie”. I’m quite methodical and careful; I prefer to consider my options, assess the risk, and take the safe route. That approach serves, and has served, me well in a lot of capacities. It has also held me back, so I’m practicing getting comfortable with increasing my risk tolerance (more on this topic later). The most profound growth happens in the scariest, most uncomfortable, and riskiest times, so I am taking opportunities to lean into these moments to maximize growth. There’s also a component of my personality that stands firmly in, “If you think I can’t do something, watch me prove you wrong.” Stubbornness. Persistence. Determination. Call it what you will, but it pushes me to do the unexpected.

I’m not here to convince you to tether yourself to a rope and jump off a cliff. I want to talk about risks and how this specific experience so clearly illustrates the concept of what we at Ross + Schuda advise companies on. It’s an easy metaphor because we can all envision and understand the risks that come with such activity. Let’s break it down.

The risk associated with this giant rope swing is quite clear: possibility of death or severe injury. If that’s the risk, why on earth would anyone ever accept that potential outcome and take the leap (literally)?

That’s where the risk assessment process comes in. It is important to clearly define a few key items when determining what risks are worth taking: (1) inherent risk, (2) controls (mitigating factors), and (3) residual risk. Within that high-level assessment process, there is opportunity to get very granular, including the likelihood of something bad happening, the frequency with which it could happen, and even the specific impacts (financial, reputational, operational, etc.,). Let’s talk about how I assessed the risk for this 500ft rope swing.

Assessing the risk

We’ve already defined the inherent risk: death or severe injury. That means that without any controls (e.g., rope, harness, backup tether, testing, etc.,) I could die. There is also the possibility that all those controls fail and I die, or that one of those things fails and I get severely injured or still die.

Let’s move on to the controls. As mentioned above, there is a full-body harness, multiple ropes, a tether to keep me on the cliff before I am hooked up to the rope, a base that is cemented and bolted into the rock, and an additional rope that is used to pull me back up. I also took time to watch videos of dozens of people take this same jump. I took comfort in watching it be tested and re-tested by all sorts of people (kids, adults, the employees).

The residual risk, from what I could see, was almost zero. This means that I felt confident that the controls mitigated the inherent (starting) risk down to guaranteed survival and non-injury. As a risk management expert, I understand that it’s impossible to mitigate a risk down to zero, but I felt confident this gets close.

The last piece that is key to this whole equation is risk tolerance. The subject must be willing to accept the risk and feel that the potential outcome (reward) is worth the residual risk that inevitably exists. That is only a decision that can be made by the person/company/group taking on the risk. For some, even if they understand and believe that the risk of injury or death is almost none, it is still not worth the stress and overwhelm. That’s because their inherent risk tolerance is lower than what exists in this activity. For me, I have a high enough risk tolerance to execute the jump. I decided this was a risk I was willing to take. Does that mean I will do anything where the possible risk is death? No. The reward may not be worth it for me. For example, double-black diamond mountain bike trails that my husband seeks out. That is not my preferred risk-taking activity.

Making the choice: risk assessments inform

Risk assessments can’t define whether to take the risk; they lay out all the details and leave it up to the subject to make the final decision. Risk assessments can also highlight what might be missing from the control environment. For this example, perhaps a person needs more time to watch others execute the rope swing. Perhaps they want to wear a helmet. Or maybe they need to ask more detailed questions to the company about how they ensure the safety of the participants.  

Obviously, I made the decision to take the risk. I signed the waiver, agreed to jump once, and as soon as I got pulled back up to the top of the cliff, I asked to do it again. The reward was more than worth it, and I wanted to experience it again, with the hope that I could be more present, dive head-first this time, and do it better. The same applies to companies, once you take that risk and reap the rewards, it becomes easier to do it again, maybe taking a bigger risk the next time because you feel confident in your risk assessment and risk management abilities. Perhaps you have some trusted experts like Angie and me to give you that confidence.

Ready to take the leap?

Moab Swingers, you provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A unique opportunity that challenged me to push myself to the literal edge, take the leap, and practice finding peace and joy while simultaneously feeling fearful and uncomfortable. I can’t wait to go back, bring my kids and jump again. Who’s with me?