A rock of trust

It was exhilarating to be on top of the world - to be so high up on your own that one can actually revel in the beauty of heights despite the sweaty palms and the occasional "What if I slip and die?" question popping up now and then. It was a feeling that I definitely basked in until I realized that I have to get back down, not by climbing, but by putting my life in the hands of someone else; to trust my life on that rope that was connected between me and that person. That was when I know that I'm screwed several feet above the ground because I just couldn't let go of the artificial boulder of rocks that I'm holding my dear life on and that no one would be there to help me down but myself and the knots of rope around my waist that I was staring dubiously at.

And that was how my virginal experience with rock climbing was.

Indoor Rock Climbing at Camp 5, 1 Utama

Rock climbing has always been one of the many things in my bucket list and despite several planning to do it over the years, me and my buds just never seem to be able to materialize on our promise to do it until last Friday. To reimburse ourselves for the plethora of disappointment that we felt on our failed trip to Penang, we went for the rock climbing taster session, a short night out at Solaris Mont Kiara and finally a sleepover at K's house. It didn't exactly make up for the trip that I had been longing for but it feels really good to catch up with my two best friends.

Rock climbing; a sport that I had always deem to be easy to handle because I mean 'All you have to do is just climb some rocks, how hard will that be?" Well, I got my answer last friday: very hard. It might look easy but to latch your whole body weight on to your hand while defying gravity to climb several feet above ground is no simple task at all. Especially when the only thing that is standing between you and falling is the artificial rock that you're holding on to. Oh, and did I mention that most of those artificial rocks are tiny and in certain places, they are few and far apart which means that you have to literally go spiderman on them (pls do ignore my bad metaphor)

The worst part for me would be the part where I have to get down. Being in the taster session means that we have a coach with us during the whole session. He/she would be there to guide and teach you. Basically when you climb, you will be connected to your coach through the rope that is tied between your harness and him/her so when you need to get down, all you have to do is to bend your leg in an 'L' shape, release your hand from the rock, relax and trust your coach to guide you down. It sounds simple, right? NO. Because when you're really up there and you are asked to let go of the only thing that is stopping you from falling down, you will find yourself unable to let go even when you're repeatedly told to.

I remember vividly the first time that I have to get down; I was instructed to do according to the said instruction but no matter how much I was coaxed by the others and myself to just let go and trust him (the coach), I couldn't. Not because I don't want to but because I just can't do it. I just couldn't put that much trust into someone else that I have just meet less than an hour ago even when I'm repeatedly told that he wouldn't fuck around with my life. Eventually, I did get down but it by no means meant that I have gotten over my fear of letting go and trusting someone else. It will take time and a lot of effort but I don't think so I'm giving up on rock climbing anytime soon because this is definitely one of the few sports that I enjoy.

P.s: Rock climbing is definitely not for the faint hearted or one with acrophobia.