On Rappel!

On my birthday post last year I mentioned something about zip lining and doing more adventurous things in this 29th year of my life. Well, about a week ago I made a small (or high) step in that direction. I work at a military school and sometimes there are advantages to that. If a kid smarts off to you, just report them to their commanding officer (or whatever they're called). Another perk is opportunities to try something associated with military training. An email was sent inviting anyone who was interested to rappel off the new tower. Rappelling is not zip lining but it's close. And it was free.

So, the Friday before spring break I decided to give it a try. I wore the requested jeans and t-shirt to work that day and left the library around 10am. I was uncomfortably strapped into a harness (very unflattering as well) and given a 10 minute hands-on tutorial. I was taught about proper hand placement and slack for the rope. This was all done on a semi-steep hill. After my tutorial I was directed to stand in line and wait my turn. There were prep school students present and I was not expecting this. It made me nervous--just like waiting to be picked for teams in middle school gym class. The waiting was the worst part. Three students went before me, two girls and a boy. Both girls flipped over once they crossed the edge off the tower in what is called turtleing (I doubt that is a universal military term). As I watched them flip, my main goal became to avoid that fate.

When it was my turn to be on deck (standing on the tower but not ready to jump) the wind seemed to pick up. The tower was 5 stories high and began to sway with the wind. Now I was scared. The wind was so fast it caused my eyes to water and I was worried I might lose a contact. I just wanted to get off that tower and I knew going over the edge was the fastest way. The boy that went before me was told by the Sergeant to inspire confidence. I thought this was a nice thing to say, especially since I felt I could blow chunks at any moment.

At last is was my turn. My harness was clipped to the tower floor and I was given another quick tutorial. The Sergeant yelled, "On rappel!" and the belay man yelled, "On belay!!" I slowly scooted closer and closer to the edge letting my heels hang over the side, I leaned back and I was parallel with the ground. I didn't flip over!! I didn't bound (jumping down the tower) worth a dang but I didn't flip over. I was exhausted by that 45 seconds of effort and my adrenaline was in overdrive. My arms and legs hurt in odd places for the next couple days and I felt like I had a huge bruise around my waist where the harness was. The 90 degree drop was intimidating and I'm hoping it's a little different when you rappel off a rock or cliff. However, I'd do it again in a heartbeat, on a calm day.