Your rappelling adventure begins at the Hotel Presidente on Potosí Street in downtown La Paz, across from the San Francisco Church. Take the elevator to the 15th floor and walk up two flights of stairs to reach the Urban Rush office.
Before donning your gear, peruse through the costumes and decide who you want to be for this daredevil feat. Captain America? Batman? How about Santa, the seasoned pro of rappelling?
After you dress up, expert guides will fit you into top-notch quality equipment and provide a safety briefing. They will show you two main types of rappelling. In the traditional method of descent, you’re facing the wall seated in your harness. With the attached rope hanging in front of you, you jump backward from the wall and make your way down.
If you want to go rap jumping, another form of rappelling, expect to learn an action film–worthy maneuver where you position your body perpendicular to the wall for a headfirst descent.
After the briefing, your guides will take you through practice runs on a mini-wall inside.
Once you feel confident — or at least better prepared — head to the platform for the big event! Perched high above the city on the 17th floor, you might focus on the sweeping views to calm your nerves before the 164-foot (50-meter) descent.
Suspend all common sense and scamper down that wall of steel! Control your speed by tightening or loosening your grip on your rope. Remember there are two safety ropes, and expert guides stand above and below you with additional brake support.
Just when you think you got the hang of it, you reach the sixth floor, where your guides stop you to prepare for the free fall. Let go of your rope and kick off hard from the wall, plummeting toward a terrace where an expert guide on the bottom platform stands ready to receive you. This guide and the one above slow and stop your fall safely as you land.
Once you realize you made it in one piece, your guide will show you the way back to the 17th-floor office to gather your belongings.
