Mount Hermon Adventures — Attraction in Scotts Valley

Here are all the points made in the negative reviews and my take on them:

Inflexible with timing: People have complained about being late and getting their trip cancelled. I think they’ve updated their policy, because part of our group was going to be 15 minutes late, and they were allowed to join the next group while our group started at the scheduled time. There have also been complaints about getting rushed along the course, and while they might try to speed you up to avoid delaying the next group (which would only happen if you stood still for half an hour), my guides were some of the nicest people I’ve met in a long time, and I doubt you’d feel like you’re being rushed.

Rude: People said the staff were rude. I had the complete opposite experience. These were some of the most amiable, funny, polite, and enjoyable people I’ve met in a long time.

Proselytizing: Someone complained about people trying to convert them to christianity. While it’s mentioned that Mt. Hermon is christian run, that’s about it in all 3 of my experiences with this place.

Strict route: Some have expressed not being able to get enough of the course due guidance on where to go. While you’re not allowed to go very far backwards, there are lots of route options for different skill levels.

Underwhelming: Some said the course was underwhelming. I’ve been to a lot of ropes courses and this is probably the biggest, most beautiful, and most exciting one.

Strict weight limit: Some have complained about the 250 lb weight limit. I didn’t see anyone getting rejected, but I could imagine that this is enforced for legal/insurance reasons. I doubt they’re happy with this limit either (their equipment is very sturdy, and could surely handle more). Therefore a negative review would more appropriately be placed on the government or their insurance company.

Overpriced: It is pricey, but I wouldn’t call it overpriced. This is a one-of-a kind experience, and the guides make it fun the whole time. The high price pays for high quality gear (the best harnesses I’ve ever worn), ultra grippy gloves you are allowed to keep (very useful), very nice facilities, and a huge course that’s been safety-approved by many expensive professionals. If you aren’t satisfied with an hour straight on ropes, they have a lot of other fun things around their office including ring toss, bocce ball, shuffleboard, a huge lawn, and probably more that (I think) you can use.

Email spam: They fixed this. I only received a few nice emails after my most recent trip.

Too many pelicans: One review said “Kind of fire but too many pelicans”. I never saw any pelicans. Obviously there was no fire either.

TL;DR: Most of the points made in the negative reviews have been fixed....

We had a fantastic time on the redwood canopy tour (zip lines) with Kiyan and Gage. They were super friendly, encouraging, and ensured everyone's safety. I especially liked the "dares" or variations that they offered; certain zip lines there were options to cannon ball to increase speed, to go backwards and lean back, or to have a push.

We went zip lining to celebrate my partner's Dad's birthday and we had beautiful weather and an exciting time.

I appreciated that the website was very clear on instructions, expectations, and schedule of events during the two hour tour. We were curious about a few details and I had called to ask questions regarding landings, as we had a participant in his 70's. I got a very courteous voicemail response from a staff member but was still wondering about a few things, so I've written about them below:

The structure of the tour was neat, in that you enter the course through a gate, do a practice zip line and then the longer zip takes you to a platform that is 150 feet in the redwood canopy. (We were curious how we were going to get into the course, as the last course we did in Japan was physically climbing up platforms)

They set up brake blocks to slow you down and the guides did all of the safety precautions for you (also very different than the course in Japan; we had to run to land from each zip, and we did all of our own safety precautions with the use of specialized magnetic clips).

It seemed like everyone in our group had a lot of fun and our guides were really awesome. We loved this adventure, it was such a wonderful way to celebrate. Highly recommend...

Bodybuilders and linebackers beware! If you're not a spindly thin granola hippie, you're probably not going to comply with the 250-pound weight restriction for this outdoor adventure. I'm a muscular 6'1" & 260, former mountaineering & rappelling instructor, but no matter how athletic I am, I was denied from entering the aerial tree course because of their weight restriction. Yes, you're required to step onto a scale. For 30 years I have used rescue harnesses, seats, safety lines, climbing rope and related equipment for Australian and Swiss rappelling, including human rescue & recovery operations in mountainous terrain--all of that equipment with weight capacities well over several hundreds of pounds. If the risk is weight on the cable suspended platforms, rigging or safety gear, the 249-pound man shouldn't climb on their course either. If their concern is the ability of a customer to have the upper body strength to pull themselves up and overcome vertical challenges, perhaps a static hang test would be the wiser criteria for admission. Ironically, it would be the fit & capable firefighter loaded with gear easily topping 250 pounds who would rescue the waif thin fellow stuck on the course, too weak in upper body to pull himself up or grip overhead cables to...