VISITOR AGREEMENT (Including Assumption of Risks and Agreements of Release and Indemnity)
Please read this document carefully. It affects certain legal rights in the event of an injury or other loss. It must be signed by all adult (eighteen years and older) visitors to the premises of Wilderness Run Adventure Course, L.L.C., including participants in its activities (“visitors”) and by a parent or legal guardian of a visitor who is a minor. The parent or guardian, referred to in this document as Parent, agrees to these provisions for himself or herself and, to the fullest extent allowed by law, on behalf of the minor visitor.
In consideration of the services of Wilderness Run Adventure Course, L.L.C., a North Carolina corporation and referred to in this agreement as “WRAC”, I, an adult visitor or Parent of a minor visitor, acknowledge and agree as follows:
Activities, Risks and Responsibilities: WRAC offers a variety of activities on and associated with high and low element challenge (rope) courses. The course is a variety of structures (some at 50 feet high) over, through and along which participants may walk, swing and climb, with or without the assistance of co-participants and staff. Activities will require periods of moderate to high physical exertion, reliance on others, exposure to heights, balancing, lifting, pushing, pulling, and climbing. The other risks involved in all outdoor courses at Wilderness Run Adventure Course include, but are not limited to:
- All manner of injury resulting from falling off both permanent and portable initiative structures.
- Cuts and abrasions resulting from skin contact with permanent and portable structures, the ground, or other participants.
- Muscular-skeletal injuries including pulled muscles, dislocations, broken bones, strains, and sprains.
- Rope abrasion, entanglement and other injuries resulting from activities on or near WRAC.
- Injuries resulting from falling climbers or dropped items, such as, but not limited to, ropes, climbing hardware, and dropped or broken holds.
- Cuts and abrasions resulting from skin contact with the rope courses
- Failure of ropes, slings, bolts, cables, climbing hardware, anchor points, or any part of the lower and upper course.
Activities will be conducted outdoors. Hazards and risks of moving about the premises and participation in the activities include, among others, the following: uneven and slippery terrain and structures, falling limbs, branches and other objects, possibly harmful insects, animals and plants, and exposure to extreme or inclement weather; stumbling, falls and collisions and close contact with other persons, lanyards, belay systems, and fixed objects; fatigue, and psychological stress including the possibility of an increased heart rate and other symptoms of anxiety and stress due to physical exertion, reliance on others, and a fear of height, or of being unprotected or falling. Staff and participants, in spite of instruction and training, may act or fail to act in a reasonable manner, and equipment and structures may fail. These and other hazards and risks may result in property damage, physical and emotional injury and, in extraordinary circumstance, death. The risks described, and others, including the possibility of negligence of other visitors and staff, are inherent in the premises and activities – that is, they cannot be eliminated without discouraging active participation and destroying the essential nature and the social and instructional value of the experience.
Visitor Responsibilities: I understand that, while WRAC will provide organization, supervision, instruction, and equipment to assist visitors in managing the risks, inherent and otherwise, visitors have personal responsibilities for their well-being and the well-being of others while on the premises and while engaged in WRAC activities. Each visitor must follow instructions, use sound personal judgment, ask for help if concerned about his or her safety and be responsible for deciding if a proposed activity is appropriate for him or her. The goals of the program being best achieved by willing and enthusiastic participants and other visitors, WRAC will not knowingly force anyone to participate. Neither I nor the child has any physical, mental, or medical condition, physical or mental, that might cause me, or the child, to be a danger to ourselves or to others. I am not now, and at the time of the visit I will not be (or, if applicable, the minor child will not be), under the influence of alcohol or any medication or other chemical substance which might impair my, or the child’s judgment or ability to react appropriately to external events.
Assumption of Responsibilities and Risks: I, an adult visitor, acknowledge and assume the personal responsibilities described above and all risks of visiting the WRAC premises, including participating in or observing, or being in the vicinity of WRAC activities, inherent and otherwise and whether or not described above. If the visitor is a minor, I, Parent, have discussed the activities and risks and personal responsibilities with him or her, the child has informed me that he or she understands them and wishes to participate nevertheless, and I consent to such participation.
Agreements of Release and Indemnity: To the fullest extent allowed by the laws of the State of North Carolina (including those which may limit the scope of the following) I, an adult visitor, or Parent of a minor visitor (for myself and on behalf of the minor), hereby release and agree not to sue and to indemnify and hold harmless Wilderness Run Adventure Course, L.L.C., and their respective owners, directors, officers, staff, and agents, the owner of the premises on which the WRAC activities are conducted, and their respective owners, directors, officers, staff, and agents (“Released and Indemnified Parties”) from any and all liability for any loss, damage, expense or injury, including death, arising from or in any way related to my (or the minor’s) presence on premises of WRAC or participation in an activity of WRAC. These agreements of release and indemnity include claims arising from the negligence (but not the gross negligence or intentionally wrong conduct) of WRAC or another Released and Indemnified Party.
Medical Emergency: In the event of an emergency, I give permission to WRAC to provide or obtain such medical treatment as it deems appropriate. I understand that WRAC will attempt to contact Parent in such event, as circumstances reasonably allow. I understand that I am responsible for all medical expenses incurred by or on behalf of me or the child.
Acknowledgment of Photo/Video Waiver: I grant permission for WRAC to use any photographs and videos of me or my minor child taken during the program in newspapers, magazines, brochures, or other media for promotional or other purposes, without compensation.
Severability: If any portion of this agreement is deemed unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder shall nevertheless remain in force and effect. Visitors are urged by WRAC and have the opportunity to seek the advice of legal counsel regarding the legal effect of these terms, including but not limited to, the release and indemnity provisions, prior to engaging and participating in the activities described herein.
Any dispute between a visitor or Parent and a Released and Indemnified Party must be resolved in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina (not including those which invoke the laws of another jurisdiction), and a suit against a Released and Indemnified Party must be brought and maintained solely in Avery County, North Carolina, or the county closest thereto which has a court of sufficient jurisdiction (if Avery County does not). I agree, for myself and for the child, to the jurisdiction of that court.