HALL'S GAP, AUSTRALIA - It’s not often that you find yourself literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.
But that’s exactly where I found myself, dangling from a cliff about 16 metres above one of the best views that Australia has to offer.
Grampians National Park, located about three hours from Melbourne in the southeast corner of the country, is a haven for climbers offering some of the best sandstone cliff faces in the southern hemisphere. My guide on this perfect spring day was Daniel Earl, a 20-something, already veteran climber.
“Just call me Earl,” he advised with strict Australian nonchalance.
Earl gave me a quick lesson in abseiling, which put simply involves hanging in a harness and bouncing off a cliff face until you reach terra firma.
“You have to know that this is safe and it’s a controlled environment,” Earl instructed."You need not be concerned about injury.” Easy for him to say--he was at the top of the cliff with both feet firmly planted on the sturdy rock cliff.
Then it was my turn to descend the 20 metres to the ground below. The hardest part about abseiling is the first step over the edge. With Earl’s encouragement I made the leap (actually a step) of faith, placed my trust in the rope and bounced my way to the bottom.
It’s amazing the amount of trust that fellow humans will place in each other. My life was in the hands of a harness, a couple of ropes and Earl’s climbing prowess. Was I nervous? No, I was absolutely terrified.
Left: The author rapelling down a rock face. Right: Chris hanging at the precipice.
After a few descents it was time to take a quick lesson in climbing—trial by fire as my first exercise involved an actual ascent.
The first five metres of that climb were easy. Then the hand-holds seemed to disappear and I was left clinging to a sheer rock face with no obvious way to the top. That pink and grey sandstone suddenly seemed hostile and unforgiving.
Earl gave me tips on how to make my way to the prize above, a caribiner dangling under an outcropping.
“You got me down there?” I asked constantly as unfounded questions surrounding my faith in Earl mounted.
“I got ya mate, no worries,” he answered.
Exhausted and in a contorted position a ridiculous number of metres above the ground, I thought I was done. There was no way I could reach my goal.
Then, refusing to relent, I stretched my arms and legs until I was spread eagle on the rock, just a half-metre from the prize. One grunt, one long reach and I grabbed my goal. I held the caribiner in my hand and suddenly felt relaxed, almost at home so high above the ground.
Earl started to lower me back to the rocks below and safety, but with my new-found confidence I wanted to savor my victory over nature.
“Wait!” I called down. “I just want to sit back and enjoy the view.”