Students Tango With New Tower

By Kristin McAllister
Dayton Daily News

OREGONIA | Climb aboard. Well, not onto a boat, but Camp Kern's new 65-foot tower — the only one of its kind in the nation.

Camp Executive Director Jeff Merhige said he's always looking for new ways to challenge visitors to the 425-acre YMCA of Greater Dayton branch camp in northeastern Warren County. He's hoping the new Double X Tango Tower will be fun for everyone.

"We've had a climbing wall since the 1980s. It's good, but we thought we could modify that, and we decided to start from scratch." Merhige said, "We asked ourselves, what would be fun for the kids? What would be a unique and different experience? I think people are going to love it."

Builder Todd Domeck, owner of Indiana-based Experiential Resources Inc., has constructed five Tango Towers for camps and parks throughout the country. He said only Camp Kern has one with the athletic challenges and size that the Double X Tango Tower offers.

Most climbing towers are smaller and offer six climbing sides, Domeck said. The Double X gives climbers eight sides and eight high-level team-building activities, including two rock climbing walls, net and rope climbing and beams.

"It's designed to scare you and to take you out of your comfort zone so you rely on team members," he said. "It's great for kids, because they use these skills and apply that experience to their life."

Climbers are harnessed and hooked to each other in a progressive system, Domeck said.

The tower took 14 days to build and was constructed using 32 telephone poles, he said.

"Hands down, it's the largest open-space climbing structure in the country," he said. "The name stands for the two X's the two separate poles make."

Merhige said that besides kids and athletes, the tower is used for police training and companies that bring employees to learn team-building skills.

Camp Kern is the largest camp of its kind in Ohio and the ninth largest in the nation, he said. It offers lodging and programs such as summer camp, equestrian and outdoor education. The camp books conferences, retreats and leadership building seminars.

To see a photo of the Double X Tango Tower and for more information about Camp Kern, go to campkern.org.

Contact Kristin McAllister at (513) 696-4545