Footprints on the Mountainside

Ram and Kishore, who work with the authorized dealer for Petzel in India had invited me to join them for this programme on the 14th July. I was working officially with them for the first time, and hence excited. The plan was for canyoning, which is basically “waterfall rappelling” when done at Kondana.

I’d been doing corporate training programs for a long time by now, and I was extremely energized by this opportunity - change in work being rest and all. Really, it doesn’t take much to be tempted to the outdoors in this weather. The beginning of the monsoon, and being paid to get wet and do what I enjoy. What more did I want? Work is a fun way of life in any case.

Plan was to leave Mumbai late in the evening and stay near the location, but traffic, rain and other events conspired to delay us till we reached the location at 2:30am.

7 instructors and a driver, a trunk full of equipment was the staff load. We were expecting about 80 participants. We slept immediately, and woke up almost immediately (it seemed) at 7am.

A quick breakfast later, we had distributed the equipment load for the hour long haul to the top of the Caves. We were expecting the group to reach at the rappelling location by 10am, so we had taken along some biscuits to keep us going through the day (it was going to be long) till a late lunch.

Our plan was to rappel from the top of the Kondana Caves, and we were standing facing the valley.

Seen the rain many times, got wet many times, but this time, we stood at the edge of the valley and could see the rain in the valley, while we stood clear. And then, the wind shifted, and the sheet of rain raced to us, and we raced for cover. Half the day was spent in fun like that, as you can’t see from the photos. I had to put the camera in - there was no way to protect it. Pit. The pics would have been fantastic.

Sam (another instructor - not a typo for Ram) and I were working together after 4-5 years, so it was a superb time for us. Talking, flashbacks, catching up with what was current in each other’s lives… and he was leaving to the US in a few weeks.

It had been raining in torrents since noon. The drizzle had been there all day, but really, after noon, it poured with a vengeance right until evening.

Of course, the group came late. By then we were wishing that we’d had lunch and come….. The group reached the rappelling location by 2:30pm, we began the activity late, and we ended the day late. The activity itself was much enjoyed, though we instructors were literally running against time to get the group completed. For the participants, the view of the valley spread at their feet, the dramatic weather, and the experience of rappelling right through the water was incredible. “Absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime experience” as a participant put it.

60 participants of the 80 had done rappelling. Whoever wanted to do the rappel, got their moment of glory. In spite of starting late, we had somehow managed to work hard and fast enough to not refuse anyone out of a lack of time. And thus, this rappelling session was finally concluded and we hurried the group back to the road head as fast as we could.

In my experience, the group comes for adventure, but they take the whole experience lightly, and have no concern for the reality of the situation. In their excitement, they had no concern for the delay and danger in the dark. The stream was swollen from the days rain, and the group was unused to the terrain. This was when they realized that it was no longer the trickle they had jumped across on their way in the afternoon and finally realized why we had been asking them to hurry.

Our human caravan slipped and stumbled through the thigh deep water and shivered across to the other side. The road from here on is muddy, but pretty straightforward.

In the beginning, I had been considered the villain when I tried to rush them along, and this is the point where they realized that I had been talking out of concern for them, and not myself, and I found myself happy to suddenly be the much appreciated hero.

On the way down, one of the newer instructors said, “Sir, I’ve got a dilemma”. I asked him what he meant. “Do we go down and have lunch or dinner?” he asked with a laugh.

I pondered for a bit and shared what I was certain of, “No matter what we call it, I’m going to eat like a starving elephant.”

What should have been done in daylight by 4pm ended at 8pm as the group stumbled and groped their way back in the dark.

On reaching down, we decided to pack up the equipment and wind up the logistics of the programme before freshening up and eating, knowing that it would be twice as hard once the adrenaline levels went down and our bodies figured out that we were tired. Finally…… we sat down to eat misal paav. It was a long time before anyone wondered if the traditional snack was lunch or dinner.