For all that is said about the fun in traveling together, being one of sixteen people traveling in two Innovas is not a position most people are happy to find themselves in. However, the excitement of trying to scale nature’s miniature peaks (as we’d like to believe), and the fact that the participants had already paid for the trip (which was probably the main reason) quelled any misgivings that anyone may have had, and so on that not so bright morning of November 8th, 2009, we set out for Damdama. The initial part of the trip was spent in telling the driver to turn off the radio, as the commentary of the Indo-Aus match only elicited regular curses from all of us as the Indian wickets fell like.... ummm.... well like only Indian wickets can fall when our batsmen really set their mind to it. The rest of the trip involved a lot of chit chat and sleeping, with a brief stop at IIT Delhi to pick up three more members of our team, taking the total number of people (in two Innovas mind you), excluding our by now highly irritated drivers, to nineteen.
Once we reached, we were quite struck by the ragged beauty of the rocks and the wilderness around, with Ranojay taking a special liking to the pile of buffalo bones we found there. With tall grass, and an empty sand covered landscape set against the vast expanse of rocks, there was a proper feeling of being in the outdoors. While Rohit, our climbing coach, and Asad set up the safety ropes for the first rock face we were to climb, the rest of the group gorged on the food we’d brought along. Once the whole setup had been tested, Gaurav finally kicked off the actual climbing by scampering up the rock face like it was nothing, and then rappelling down. It was an ideal rock face for someone who was getting initiated into natural rock climbing, with big gaps between the rocks in which you could wedge yourself, and even a spot halfway up where you could stand and rest, while for members of our climbing team, it was quite a nice warm-up.
While the rest of the group tried their hand at climbing up the first route, Rohit and Asad along with some others started setting up the second route. And so the climbing went on, with shouts and screams and constant demands by the person climbing that their photo be taken, especially by Luis, our Spanish companion. We even had an audience, with some local boys with bemused expressions wondering what in the world we were doing, as they climbed up much tougher routes with the ease of mountain goats. However, none of this could persuade Dr. Barua, who had accompanied us, to change his philosophical view of keeping himself firmly grounded, a view that held firm for the duration of the trip.
The second route that we tried was easily the most difficult one we tried on that trip. It was a flat rock face, with some 1 – 2 cm wide ridges as the only foot and hand holds available. Even the college climbing team members found this mini peak hard to conquer, while the belayers had a nasty time ensuring that the climbers who lost their footing didn’t fall all the way down and hurt themselves.
By the time we reached the third route that Rohit had set up for us, the energy levels had started to sag, helped in no small measure by the lack of proper drinking water. But the third rock face was a beautiful sight. With a height of about 15 – 18 metres from where the belaying was being done to the top of the rock face, it was a flat piece of rock that seemed to have been placed there for the sole purpose of being climbed up, and then rappelled down. The route had an ample number of holds, but not too many, and tested your stamina more than your skill. As I was belaying for most of the climbers, I was too tired to attempt this route, but the people who did reach the top said that the view from the top alone was worth the effort.
As the last of the climbers attempted the third route, route no. 18 at Damdama, the rest set about packing up the equipment. Finally, at the end of the session, tired but happy, we posed for a group photograph then headed towards the cars. As we were discussing the economics of the entire trip and preparing to get onto the cars, one of the driverless Innovas suddenly started rolling down the dirt road and finally stopped after climbing up an embankment on the side of the road covered with shrubs. After the ensuing panic had calmed down, it was discovered that the cause of the runaway Innova was that Dr. Barua had accidentally hit the hand brake.
Finally, we set out on the return journey, which had again been delayed by the discovery that one of the Innovas had a punctured tyre. With a stop at a petrol pump, so that the cars could have their fill of gas and maintenance while we had dinner from the adjacent dhaba, as the only break in our song filled return trip, we all headed to our beds tired, but satisfied at having pitted ourselves against Nature’s mini peaks and triumphed.
- Dipak V. C.
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