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it's just rough.... it don't mean you can't scale it

Two weeks ago, I had another session of rock climbing. That session was by far the toughest rock climb I have ever done thus far. I scaled only one route, of which took me almost an hour to scale. By the time I got down after the successful climb, every limb on my body just went as soft as bean curd. I had no strength for any other climbs after that.

Finishing the climb was definitely one of the best feelings at that point in time. Especially the fact that I took almost an hour to climb it. But that climb was one of the best climbs I have done so far not because of me finishing the climb or me doing anything magnificent to scale the route. The best part of that climb was the people on the ground.

I think there were at least three parts of the route where I really struggled and simply wanted to shout down to my belayer, "bring me back down!". Honest to heart, I really felt like giving up. At the third point when it got so tough, my fingers, toes, forearms and thighs were burning from the strain and all the lactic acids building up from all the energy expended.

As I struggled up the route, I could hear voices of all my climbing buddies encouraging me to push on the route. It was an amazing feeling! Having a few people behind you pushing and really garnering you on is one good feeling.

It's like being really down and out, feeling hopeless, and suddenly you find a pair of hands reaching out to you reassuring you that you are not alone and that you are doing fine. It's like having a Powerbar when you most need it and you find a hand passing you that needed Powerbar.

When I came back down after the climb, I was really exhausted and tired but I learned something more then climbing. No one person can handle everything on his or her own. Even the most skilled climber requires a trustworthy belayer. Like any world champion, there's always a strong team behind him or her.

Other key learning point - rock climbing routes range from easy ones to really tough ones. But at the end of the day, it's just a rough route and it doesn't mean you can't scale it. You probably just need more time and concentration.

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