Peak Adventures played host to &Fun Factor,& a take on the popular reality television show &Fear Factor,& on April 6, affording recreation and leisure studies students an opportunity to compete in several challenging obstacle courses.

The event was the idea of Ernie Olson, professor of recreation and leisure studies. Olson decided to have his class put to task what they&re learning in the classroom and apply it at the Challenge Center, an obstacle course that Peak Adventures designed on the west end of campus.

Eight teams of five members each competed in challenges including scaling a 40-foot rock climbing wall, tightrope walking and even eating snails.

In his class, RLS 100, Olson discusses personal growth and development.

The class focuses on arousal theory, the idea that humans are constantly seeking a certain arousal point that helps them achieve an &optimal level& of performance.

Olson said the obstacle courses provided an opportunity for students to test a variety of theories and concepts.

&We modeled the activity after the television show &Fear Factor,&& Olson said. &Typically, a challenge course program minimizes competition, but tonight we wanted to look at a recreational activity in which competition played an important role but was secondary to the intrinsic value of the experience.&

Olson said that the scientific literature on the subject of optimal physiological arousal suggests that a challenge course experience often leads to a number of important outcomes, such as increased problem-solving skills.

Each team was required to complete six different tasks, each within 15 minutes. The goal for each task was to collect as many flags as possible. The farther a contestant progressed on a particular event, the more flags were captured.

&It&s a lot harder than I thought. I can&t even feel my arms,& said Emily Arno, a senior communications student, after climbing to the top of a 40-foot-tall cargo net.

One task called &the humbler& penalized students with eating snails if they didn&t successfully move along a horizontal rope suspended a few feet off the ground.

&It had a smoky, barbecue mesquite flavor,& joked Adam Rico, a junior business major, after eating a snail. &I just about threw it up.&

Another task required each team member to climb a pole while carrying an exercise ball in one hand. Upon reaching the top of the pole, the competitor must tightrope walk across a cable stretched about 30 feet above the ground.

&The farther you go up, you get tired and you can&t rest,& said Billie Ann-Strmiska, a senior marketing major. &And you have to hold the ball; you can&t put it under your shirt.&

Gloria Toledo, a junior sociology student and member of the softball team, successfully conquered the tightrope part of the obstacle on her first attempt.

&It&s not what I expected,& Toledo said about the tightrope. &You need to learn how to block everyone out, especially the noise.&

Shaun Hughes, a senior criminal justice student, agreed that the tightrope obstacle required intense concentration.

&I pushed myself, but it&s hard to keep my balance with the ball,& Hughes said.

After completing the obstacle course, the teams moved on to the diving pool to compete in the final challenge. The teams had to dive to the bottom of the pool and collect as many flags as possible.

The event&s winning team took home a free rafting trip on the American River.

Hunter Merritt, programs manager at Peak Adventures, said that Peak Adventures doesn&t normally do competitive events, but that its focus is more on teamwork.

But Merritt added Peak Adventures will likely host more Fun Factor type of competitions in the future, although no dates or formats have been finalized.

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Greg Hyatt can be reached at

[email protected]