Introducing Rappelling in Hyderabad

About 35 People showed up at the Maulali Rock Climbing Trek. We climbed the usual 450 steps and after a good warmup went down and up the steep hills few times till the legs burned with the pain which was followed by stretching to remove the lactic acid build.  Then we went around the dome rock trying to find some good surface to do bouldering and Deepam  was busy setting up the rope for rappelling across a 30 feet vertical drop.

Deepam was the first to do rappelling and few other brave hearts tried their luck and inspired the remaining to try rappelling. About 20 members did rappelling and come out confident.

Rappelling or abseiling brings a powerful sense of accomplishment and is a vital resource in bringing about the realization that not every perceived risk is insurmountable. It was my turn to do rappelling and being the organiser people look up to you and you have to lead by example. There is no excuse or escape

 I had done rappelling few times before at the Dandeli  Trek with the full equipment and a safety rope in the instructor's hand.  but Rappelling at  Maulali  looked rather daunting to stand on the edge of a cliff and looking down and knowing that we will soon be going down with only a rope for safety.  But the technique was rather easy to learn and the real difficulty was only in convincing the mind. It felt natural after the first couple of steps and then the feeling of suspension over the expanse below was thrilling.

I stopped at the edge locking the rope with the right hand grip and leaning back against the wall and posed for some photos and yes I felt powerful to stand against the gravity and walk on a vertical wall. 

 Immediately after the descent followed a tremendous sense of achievement and a boosted confidence. It brought the realization that not every seemingly difficult objective is actually so. This was the first ever time that we did rappelling at Maulali with just a Rope and Hand gloves using the classic rappelling technique as taught by Deepam who has done such feats earlier in the shayadri range.

 

Classic Rapelling Technique

Most of the first timers tried rappelling and came out more confident then before - read the comments at http://meetup.ghac.in/calendar/12663666/

 

GHAC now plans to purchase full  Rock Climbing and Rapelling Equipment along with Safety Gear to enable more members to try this exciting sport within the Hyderabad city.

GHAC thanks all the following members who donated cash towards purchase of Equipment at Maulali Trek on 07 March 2010. All the money GHAC receives from members will be accounted for and utilized for purchase of Equipment for the benefit of members only.

If you want to donate towards purchase of equipment or sponsor some equipment please get in touch with the  organizers.

Regards

Diyanat

www.ghac.in