Adults know, rationally, that they cannot fall or get hurt. But they are much less able to manage the sensations and thoughts that High Ropes activities involves. Too much thinking - too little action Adults do too much thinking. They take a few steps, then pause and imagine falling. The Trapeze Jump involves climbing up a wobbly pole, standing on the 9 inch top and jumping out to catch a swinging trapeze.
Most young people focus on what they are doing and get on with it.
Most adults pause near the top, hyperventilate a bit, imagine how awful it will be and climb a bit more. They take ages to get into a standing position. Then they freeze once again sometimes for long minutes and then jump. It seems that as we move away from our youth there is an insidious process of allowing our fears to rule us. HOW we do this is interesting.