I climbed, I CONQUERED

Contributed
A guest at the resort attempts the advanced section of the Beaches rock wall with the help of an instructor.

Claude Mills, Staff Reporter

AS I reach the three-quarter mark of the rock wall, I feel a clear coldness fall over me, and dimensions of reality become clearly defined. My pulse slows, I can hear the pull and release of my own breath, and feel the blood racing through my veins even as the pores in my skin become large and magnified.

They call it the climber's simple lust for the summit.

But this is my virgin attempt. The instructor's casual comment about 'anybody being able to make the beginner's climb' comes back to haunt me. My sneakers slip on a blue foothold, and I almost fall. I don't have to look down to know that the photographer is snivelling to himself, and thinking up fantastic lies to tell them about me at the office.

I count to ten trying to calm myself. I can feel eddies of wind trying to pry me away from the face of the slate-grey rock wall. I can almost hear my hands sweating. The whine of a twin engine aircraft flying overhead threatens to break my concentration.

"Are you alright?" a voice asks.

Although I am reasonably safe because I am connected by rope to the instructor at the bottom, fear jumps up like a tiger in my throat. I am afraid to look down so I give him a 'thumbs-up' gesture. My traitor mind keeps conjuring up images of my hands slipping, my mouth locked in a silent scream as the ground rushes up to meet me.

I shake my head, but I know it's a bad sign when you start thinking about the library books you haven't returned yet, or the positions in the Kama Sutra that I was always afraid to try.

"Go up in one movement, three holds, left foot on yellow, right hand on red, right foot on the blue, and keep going to the next one," the instructor bellows, and I can hear a note of impatience creep into his tone.

OK, just follow the primary colours, I assure myself, and I throw caution to the wind, my weight shifts dangerously to the right, my feet scramble for purchase, and I...I make it. Breathing heavily, I wipe my sweating palms on my T-shirt.

"You're almost to the top, just a few more," he says.

I am in the grips of the climber's lust now. And in two minutes, my fingers touch the top. The instructor's applause bursts and rolls like a wave over me. I risk a glance down, and notice that the photographer has stopped laughing.

I then pay out the line, hand over hand, and bounce down the rock face using my feet to propel me as I make a smooth, slow descent. By the time, I got to the base of the rock wall, I was grinning like a fool and feeling a lot like Sir Edmund Hillary must have felt after conquering Everest in '53. I had conquered the Beaches Grande Sport rock wall.

Beaches Grande Sport boasts the largest rock wall in the Caribbean. The 30 foot by 30 foot wall is not only the first in Jamaica, it is also the largest in the Caribbean.

The rock wall features three sections - beginner, intermediate and advanced. This gives everybody (from the experienced to the novice) an equal and fair opportunity to climb the wall. Guests have the option of trying to work through all the stages in one trip or maybe doing just one section at a time.

However, once you conquer the wall, this is not the end of the experience as on a guest's next return to the resort, he could well find that the hand and footholds have been rearranged to psyche out challenge-seeking climbers who tackle the wall.

"While it is a lot of fun to climb the wall, guests are also guaranteed a great workout, especially for the legs because of the intensity of the climbing. The stretching involved is also good for the arms, and once you get to the top of the hill, the view is spectacular with a wide overview of the resort and a slice of the ocean," public relations manager Kayon Wallace said.

The wall can accommodate people of all heights and weights of up to 250 lbs.

Although the less adventurous may feel intimidated, trained instructors are always available to guide and teach all guests who wish to challenge the wall. Several precautions are also in place to ensure the safety of guests at all times. Each climber is securely fastened to the wall, and the instructor, so no one ever climbs alone. In addition to this, the instructor is also secured to the ground. Climbers are lowered at a slow pace and the sand and pebble base cushions the climber as he descends.

Since Beaches Grande Sports also caters to groups and conventions, the resort is also offering rock climbing to companies and businesses as a team building activity -encouraging team members to get to the top of the wall, showing support etc. Additional team building activities that involve the wall can also be designed.

The first of the many more exciting activities to come, rock wall climbing will be offered everyday during specified times.

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