Don’t worry, the Summit is not all work! There will also be a wide range of fun activities for you to choose from. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons we’ll have an organized “Sports Time”, during which we’ll go to a huge grassy park nearby, and have all sorts of outdoor recreation for you to join in on including soccer, volleyball, flag football, basketball, tennis and ultimate Frisbee along with 200 other students and staff! There are also nice hiking or running trails there, as well as great shade trees if you’d just like to relax and read a book, take a nap, spend time talking with friends, etc (here’s one of those times the guitar comes in handy). We will also have 2 cookouts at this same park.

Optional afternoon activities/excursions as an alternative to free time include:

First Friday afternoon

• Indoor Climbing Gym, shoes and harness included. (Cost: $20, Limit: 20 people)
• Paintball at Summit’s own Waldo Canyon. You will be provided with a mask and full hopper of approx. 200 paintballs. Camouflage pants/shirts provided, extra hoppers of paint are $5 each. (Cost: $20, Limit 30 people)
• Visit the United States Olympic Training Center — observe America’s athletes as they prepare for the 2012 Summer Olympics! (Cost: Free)

Middle Sunday

• Pikes Peak Hike. We will leave the Summit hotel at 6:00 AM and drive about 45 minutes to the trailhead at The Crags, where we’ll ascend and conquer Devil’s Playground! The trail climbs 6.3 miles up the “backside” of Pikes Peak, ascending 4,200 vertical feet to an altitude of 14,110 feet at the summit! It takes 3–4 hours to hike, and Summit vans will wait at the top to shuttle hikers back down. (Cost: $20, Limit: 25 people)
• Whitewater Rafting with Noah’s Ark Rafting 10 mile trip down the Arkansas River. Rapids are mostly class 2 and 3 (not quite Olympic quality — i.e. you probably won’t die, but gorgeous, and a lot of fun). (Cost: $20, Limit: 95 people)

Second Friday afternoon

• Visit the Focus on the Family headquarters where you can see the infamous radio broadcast taping room, bookstore and Visitors Center, which includes Whit’s End and a 3-story slide. (Cost: Free)
• Visit the Air Force Academy’s Visitor’s Center, where you can tour the prestigious service academy that enables America’s military to rule the skies, with its stunning chapel and ultra-modern architecture and purchase AFA paraphernalia at the Visitor’s Center. (Cost: Free)