Sunday Club: Scaling the Wall @ Fairy Caves ~ 24th May

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After getting an exciting sneak preview of the extreme sport of rock climbing last weekend, I have returned to get a real taste of what it feels like, along with my mate, Roy whose back for a 2^nd try and had only one thing on his mind ~ to conquer Route 999.

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The weather had been more forgiving today *not as hot*, and the climb spot being on the shaded side of the cliff/cave opening is just perfect.

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After strapping on our harnesses & getting familiarized with our climbing gears *borrowed courtesy of our seasoned climber friends*, Karen got us started on the Baby’s Wall, supposedly the easiest route on site. Nonetheless, I did break quite some sweat just to top this one ~ this one is easily more difficult than the indoor beginner’s wall I’ve scaled before.

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Next up we got to try another route nearby with similar ascend for most of part, except the last quarter of the climb where a large piece of overhang is present. That was where we both kantoi-ed. The name of that route? Aptly named ‘Nama Bodoh’ ~ I guess somebody must have gotten too frustrated with that piece of obstacle in the way. I was told that the first person to paved a route & scale it cleanly will have the honor to name that route.

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I wasn’t long before we were given the opportunity to scale the main wall… Route 999, here we come! *that’s supposedly the easiest route on the main wall, but then again, the difficulty of getting to the start of the suspended climb usually proves overwhelming for most beginners*

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See the yellow rope to the left of the climber in view? That’s Route999.

The belayer ~ in climbing, belaying is the technique of controlling the rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far; a task typically assigned to a belayer.

The notion about rock climbing sport is that one needs to have superhuman upper body strength; but having put up with a struggle on the cliff, I found that footwork techniques & strength is just as equally important ~ use your hands to grip as anchors and to stabilize your body only, get your footwork right & push with your legs; these make up the fundamentals of rock climbing techniques. Rely on the strength of yours hands too much; you will crash out with fatigue in no time ~ I’ve learned that the hard way…

Nevertheless, I’ve managed to make some encouraging progress on this route *thanks to rope-pull assist, letting me have a breather when I really need it (ended up spending more than half-an-hour attempting this climb), only gave in to extreme fatigue just barely a meter shy of the end point ~ my legs & hands were literally dead; but I really did enjoyed the view from the top; it was maybe like 15 ~ 18 meters off the ground. My mate did a better job & went all the way to the top; kudos, brada!

*unfortunately i did not get any shots of us in action on this particular route, as i was belayering roy on his climb, and vice-versa...*

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The director’s seat… a good seat to be barking instructions & guides from, hehe…

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Remedy for sore neck resulting from having to tilt your head upwards for extended periods to keep a watch on and guide your climbing mate up above ~ a pair of prism glass!

Had a heck of a good time today, We came, we saw, we conquered! ~ well, almost & with much *rope-pull-assist help* =p

Returned home with contented heart, and lots of souvenirs ~ in the forms of lacerations & bruises all over… in the heat of the climb, sometime you just get so intense or grow so exhausted that you’ll not even realize if you’ve cut yourself or lost a finger… =p

Before wrapping up, thanks again to the veterans ~ Asang, Alex, Mel, Karen, Ling & Glenn (from last week) for accommodating & guiding us newbie for the climb! It’s been truly an exhilarating experience! =D

now should i seriously consider taking up this sport?