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As a middle aged average Indian woman not very focused on fitness, I was amazed by myself when I managed to climb a 100 feet mountain, giving me confidence in myself.
I am not an adventurous woman nor an outdoor person. My body has become a little heavy. I do all the housework at home and I can walk daily. But that is about it. I have no flexibility in my body. Now imagine such an unfit person (yes my friends feel I am negative) going to Eagles Unbound, which is an ex-army base resort to do activities? I would miserably fail.
The day started with a few quick games like following what the leader said. It was tough. The leader would point at one person and say zap, and immediately you would have to bend down and the two people beside you would point their hands towards you. Then there was another one, where if the leader pointed at you; you would have to twist your arms to form an elephant’s trunk and the two people next to you would again show their arms towards you. I am an introvert, and if I got out, it would embarass me as everyone was laughing. But then I realized that it was a game, and it was fun.
Then we had to play the army hurdles game, where we would climb over something that looked like a slide; and then climb over a huge net wall. Climbing down the net wall was very tricky as you had to turn your body and then climb down. It required major control over your body and confidence in your legs. Then luckily, I did not have to climb the huge wall and crawl over the poles, and then jump down from that high wall. It was adventurous. But fate had more dangerous activities planned for me.
The next activity was the high rope course. The safety feature was that you were tied to a harness and a rope above. There was a bridge made of ropes, which was high up and below was just hard ground. The first one was easy as one would hold the ropes on the two sides and place her feet on the knots below and walk. But then the next one had slippery and rolling poles tied to ropes, and you had to climb over it.
There was no going back as one had to do all the four activities. My feet kept slipping and rolling over the poles. I felt my heart was in my mouth. Then was the toughest one. Here you had a single rope on which you had to walk. You would have to hold the rope above. My body was dangling as I had no control over my body. The upper part of my body felt heavy. In the middle I thought I would stop but I was determined to not give up.
The army men and my colleagues cheered me continuously. Then I was again tied to a harness and had to move my body along with the rope. The scary part was that you were holding your hands above your head to the rope and had to move forward. I was the happiest person when I finished the course. I could not believe myself as I am terrified of heights. Whenever I would look down, I would shudder as these ropes were my only hope of staying alive.
After lunch we were told we would go trekking. Who knew the trekking meant climbing a 100 feet mountain with no support?
I thought they were kidding when they asked us to climb the mountain. It was just filled with huge rocks. It was scorching hot. I had to rely on my legs and hands to climb up the mountain. There were no short cuts. The rocks were this huge uneven surface things looking at you strictly. Everytime I would look down, I would feel dizzy, and think that I would slip and fall and would be dead. It was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. My heart beat would rise up and I would pant and feel a pain in my chest.
The rocks were not at all friendly. These ex-army men were so strong and they were balancing so easily on the uneven rocks and lifting us up when we were stuck. But the majority work was done by us. My team consisted of mostly young girls who were so agile unlike me. I was so scared. Even now when I am writing about it, I get goose bumps. Every time we would climb a few rocks, they would ask us to sit, and I would carefully turn around and sit on an uneven rock. There was barely place to sit and I would fear for my life. I was solely depending on my legs and hands for support. They had to carry my heavy body which had lost its flexibility.
It was a challenge but there was no way but to climb the 100 feet right to the top. My legs pained and cried out in pain. But I had put on a brave face. Then we had to climb down through narrow paths between rocks. Never hold the plants for support as they just come out. I would slip but thanks to my girl colleagues who would hold my hands, finally I climbed down. I still cannot believe what I had achieved.
I am an unfit woman who did one of the riskiest activities at the age of 37 years. If I can do it, any woman can do it. I had to use all my energy to hold the rocks as I climbed up. If I would not hold firmly, I would fall and die. It was the fear that made me climb up. I now feel the need to be more active and fit. Walking and yoga will help me stay fit. I admire the women who are so bold and climb up mountains so easily. It was a scary adventure that I will never forget. The rocks thankfully allowed my hands and feet to cling to them so that I would not fall.
Image source: freepik
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