Basic Mountaineering Course

Back in April 2004, Chin Yong & myself went for an outward bound journey to India for our long awaited mountaineering course. This motivation spun off from the motivation of my batch mates in OBS who had gone on the same programme the previous year. All preparation was done though there were a few last minute stuff, as usual, what's new right???

We definitely had a good time over there, unlearning, relearning and learning all the time. Any complacency would lead to something dangerous so I learnt never to be complacent and place your trust in the guides who are your guardians. You must be wondering, why am I saying this, did I fall into a complacency pit where I found it difficult to climb out from. Well, yes I did.

Everything went smoothly till one late morning where I was 20 - 30m away from the summit of a trekking peak. I was following one of my instructors along a path where there could be crevasses and suddenly the snow jus gave way upon stepping on it. Thank God the grip on a rockface kept me balanced and I braced myself after the initial shock. My instructor reacted in a way where I felt frustrated (due to my ego) and I decided very childishly to turn back. To this day, I acknowledge that it was my immaturity that prevented me from tasting what's it like being on a snow capped peak. I promised God I'll never allow myself to fall into that situation ever again. HE taught me a good lesson on humility.

Well, it was a journey well travelled in many ways and I'll never forget this trip ever. There's a journal which I wrote as much as I could for a total of 23 days. Longest I've kept a journal and I'm really proud of it. It's filled with drawings, emotions, thoughts and most importantly, my experience.