In March 2012, twenty-three climbers from across the community embarked on a bouldering trip to Karnataka. A world heritage centre containing an infinite supply of boulders, Hampi really is an ideal setting for climbers of all abilities.
We spent the early mornings and late afternoons exploring these spectacular granite rock formations, at lunch times we rested and in the evenings we entertained ourselves and others with games and theatre performances. Below we present a few extracts from our final reflection session:
“Hampi has been for me a great experience with both good, amazing and bad moments due to which I have learnt things.
Climbing a boulder and not succeeding at first is very frustrating, but it’s a great feeling once you get your hand on the hold you have been looking for and hope flushes back in. Anger and emotions also come in handy if they are used the correct way. Challenges faced: muscle pain, mosquitoes, flies, sleep, and frustration. I hope to come back even better for rock climbing”
“This was my first bouldering trip, so didn’t really know what to expect – was just looking for an adventurous trip. In that, I’d say that this trip has been one of the most challenging vacations I’ve ever had. It has certainly motivated me to want to continue this physical exercise. The one boulder in the Little Caves that I could never get a slight grip on the top for – that was the most adrenalin pumped moment. I hope to get stronger, lose some weight, come back and climb that boy! Thanks for making this such a memorable trip.”
“When I close my eyes all I can see are boulders and chalk marks”
“I have never in my life imagined I would go rock climbing, this has made me realize that I can actually do this. I came with the expectation that I would never been able to do anything, but I actually managed a few. I did something that my family could never imagine and the fact that I feel like I want to do it makes me feel content. I absolutely loved this experience and am grateful for the opportunity. I do feel if I get better physically then I would love to come back to this monkey business.”
“In general I loved it! I really loved the super technical climb in Little Caves and the climb in Landsend with the jump start. The sandwich boulder was epic. After every climb the satisfaction was really good which was what I was looking for.”
“I expected that the rock climbing project would be a challenging area for me and it actually was when I tried. But I participated in this intentionally because I believe that starting something new is very beneficial. Moreover, I realized that climbing is extremely challenging to overcome myself: for example I started one rock which I finished the next day. I was very satisfied temporarily. However, there are hundreds of rocks in Hampi. Finally I left one rock but I could feel the joy of rock climbing!”
“I had heard a lot about Hampi, from Andrew, Tudor and other people on campus who had been climbing here in the past. This sparked off an interest in climbing in me. I started to climb the wall in the climbing centre. This was when this opportunity came my way. I was excited but a bit nervous at the beginning of the trip. I couldn’t climb some routes which I really wanted to initially, but 3 days and 6 sessions later, I am proud to claim that I have conquered them. I am really happy to be here and I am going to come again and try and get my hands on 6’s and if I am lucky 7’s!”
The Bouldering Travel Week
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