Natural Rock Climbing Session

Second Term. Back from the holidays, and the college was awake with the tumult of upcoming exams. Studies were back in the air. Among all this, the climbing activities of the Hiking Club continued will full enthusiasm. The climbing team was gearing up for the competition. Climbing sessions at the wall were not enough to satisfy the thirst of us climbers. We needed new and more challenging routes. It was time to take on natural rock formations. Going into the winter, the session for natural rock climbing was scheduled for a Sunday. This year it was going to be at the Ramjas Mountaineering Institute, New Delhi.

Junior climbers, having received enough training, were very excited at the prospect. Senior climbers, reminiscing about earlier sessions, raised the level of excitement all around. Finally the day arrived - bags packed, equipment ready, a hasty breakfast and we left the college at 0830 hrs. Travelling by metro was easy; a rendezvous had been planned with the other half of the team at the Shadipur metro station. W

The institute had a small main gate which opened up into a huge ground having cricket fields, tennis courts etc., but our destination lay to the left where large chunks of inviting natural rock formations lay. We noticed a few of them had been modified as well.e reached the institute shortly, thanks to the famous Delhi rickshaws of course.

And so it started. We were assigned two coaches and eleven routes in all. Everybody was anxious, and geared up, and we were all set to go. The first three routes were easy, a warm up, with easy foot and hand holds. Going up and down was pretty easy for everyone. The fourth route was longer, and the feeling of going up and reaching the top was something to fight for, so the team decided to do that route once more.

The coaches then shifted their attention to our climbing technique. We were given ro

utes five and six to build up some new climbing techniques. They were difficult to master, but were accomplished nevertheless. The draining morning came to a close with the last route before lunch, which was the vertical gap climb and tested the endurance of the climbers.

The entire team was very happy with the performance as everyone had completed the routes with minimal difficulty, and this called for a good lunch consisting of paranthas, achaar, bananas and eggs. We also finished all our water, and had to go all around the campus to find some more. Rejuvenated by the large amount of food that had been consumed, we were all raring to take on the final routes.

The final routes tested the mettle of the climbers; they were relatively difficult routes focusing on the advancement of the techniques learnt in the morning. Routes eight, nine and

ten were advanced forms of routes four, five and six. By this time, evening was upon us, and we looked towards the last route to end the day’s activities.

The last route, the most difficult of all, tested every ounce of our endurance and skill, and required a combination of everything that we had learnt all day. Every technique we had learnt had to be applied, the foot holds searched for carefully. The patience and perseverance needed made this route the most testing of all.

Almost everyone finished the whole course and learned quite a few new techniques. Having said all this about the natural rock climbing session, it is hard not to mention our stint at the climbing wall of the institute. The day was wrapped up with every one of us trying the wall. Although only our best climber was able to reach the top, we did learn a lot.

All in all it was a great ending for the day, and we were all smiles while bidding goodbye, heading home.

-Mohamin Khan