INDIA ISLAND GETAWAYS

 

WAYFARER: Rappelling at Ratan Durg Fort led to some

classic cliffhanger moments for Rachel Pillai

Rattan Durg Fort sits on top of a 300-ft cliff, around thirty stories high. One side is vertical, dropping straight down into the ocean; if you lie on the edge, looking down; you’ll see waves washing over flat, sun-shattered rocks below.

            Look around, and the rocky shore stretches around the curve of the peninsula, past miles and miles of seascape, fishing boats, birds, a lighthouse, clear sky and blue water — a beautiful background to the black rocks, white waves and red fort walls.

            It’s a lovely sight… if you weren’t terrified rigid the minute you look down at the rappelling path. In a few minutes, you’ll be stepping over that edge and going way down, your entire past, present and future held in a length of rope slimmer than your little finger.

Starting: You know what the worst part of rappelling is? It’s watching other people go down. It ties your stomach in knots,

makes you dizzy, nauseous, tensed and drains your camera battery too, because everyone wants you take that classic going-down photo.

            The day gets hotter, the horizon shimmers. A huge cloud of swifts flutters around, and faraway, we see a pair of beautiful bramhani kites circle… and I get extra intestinal intertwining

because I’m watching them all from above.

Close shaves: JD clears the path with a machete, after an abortive start when he goes over and realizes he’s forgotten to wear the descended—the single most important piece of equipment in rappelling other than the rope—and is hanging only by his hands. Luckily, he’s able to haul himself back.

            Steve starts off, under the influence of too many people shouting instructions; he locks his feet on the edge, and his body’s weight pulls him backwards, until suddenly, he’s suspended over open space almost upside-down.

            Raw fear slowly drains away from his face, and he goes from scared to panicked to terrorized and out on the other side, in a death-calm; he told us later that he went because the worst that could happen, had happened.

            I tie the handycam to my forearm and get ready; there’ll be some interesting videos from this trip. D’s screwed a digicam in

video mode to his helmet; between the two of us, we’ll get a feel of the actual rappel, in first-person perspective. Warning! Do not try this without expert guidance, because you’ll end up smashing it, or your head, if you aren’t careful.

Tricks of the trade: The toughest bit is negotiating the first step, gradually letting your body go semi—horizontal. It’s toughest because you fight all your instincts that scream blue murder to get back on flat solid ground. Three million years of evolution have taught that safety lies on rock, not nylon, when the ground lays

thirty stories below with thin air in-between.

            My past rappelling experience also doesn’t give much confidence, because this feels different; I don’t realize why, until later. Normal rappelling lets you easily pass the rope through the descended, but here, I was struggling to feed the rope through the loop. It was because 300ft of rope has several kilos of solid weight, minimum even without wind drag; I had to fight to lift it every inch upwards.

            Once over the edge though, it’s smooth sailing… Except for, suddenly and unexpectedly, thorns, on bushes. And loose rocks. Crumbling scree. Falling pebbles. Long, poky dry grass.

Adrenaline heightens sensation; everything came with its own

heart-in-the-mouth feeling.

So how do you feel?: What’s it like, rappelling, overcoming your instincts and fears? It’s hard to describe. There’s certainly some

fear, your heart goes at double-speed, and your hands clench at

the rope in a death grip. But there’s also a sense of immense pride that in

spite of feeling like this, in spite of the butterflies, you didn’t back down.

            There’s a sense of having joined some kind of elite club, an achievement in doing something you never thought you could do; and in some way, it’s made you better than you were. Braver, stronger. After this, a lot of things will cease to frighten; you’ll remember the feeling you had at the top, and you’ll know that if you overcame that, you can overcome anything.

            The rope hisses onwards, and my nostrils catch a faint tang

of heated metal and friction-burnt mitten. There’s such high tension

 that if I let go my controller hand (the one that holds and controls

the

 rope speed), and slide free, the rope’s friction alone can melt the quarter-inch-thick steel descended.

             I also realize that I’m beginning to bounce gently. After two hundred feet, the elasticity in the nylon is becoming apparent, and it’s stretching along its length. It’s unnerving, to say the least; the rope, like a living thing, seems to be trying to halfheartedly shake you off. I keep going, and finally, I’m in the blessed shade after five hours in the blazing sun, with the ground just ten feet below and coming up to meet me.

Cooking lessons: I gasp in the shade for a while, before we begin

the long walk back. The sun’s out with a vengeance now, and the landscape is pitiless; no shade. I was fried before I came down.

Now I get baked, broiled, roasted… and by the time the car returns

to pick us up, I’ve gone into the dark side of barbecue char.

We have to stop at the coolest hangout in Ratnagiri, the local ice factory. We load up a giant, break it up in buckets and stick in

bottled water; a few minutes later, we savour the best drink ever. Chilled

H2O, after a long, long, sunny, thirsty wait.  

If you can’t take the heat anymore, then just take a week off from work and head for the hills.Sinclair Hotels is offering a 6-night and 7-day Sinclair’s North East package that will take you to Chalsa in the Dooars,Darjeeling and Gangtok. Priced at Rs.36,560 for two adults, the offer is valid till 30^th September, 2008. The costs will take care of transfers, accommodation, breakfast, dinner and lots of sightseeing. You get to stay the first two days at Sinclairs Retreat Dooars, Chalsa, with a sightseeing trip to Gorumara forest or Samsing thrown in on the second day (subject to availability). The third and fourth days

will be spent in Sinclairs Darjeeling with a spot of sightseeing in Darjeeling on the fourth day. Day five and six of the package are to

be spent in Gangkok. On day six, you get to do a trip to Changu

Lake, about 35km from Gangtok. If you’re in luck you might see the Red Panda, Brahminy ducks and more. On day seven you head back for New Jalpaiguri railway station or Bagdogra airport. Entry charges, camera fee are not included in the package cost. For bookings, contact 22801317/18/19/20 or email kolkata @ sinclairshotels.com.