Marble Mountain Descent



The crew at the base of Marble Mountain

With the rainy season behind us, today it was time to finally get out of the classroom and do our long-anticipated rappelling field trip (that was rained out back in October).  We headed to Marble Mountain to bounce down cliffs and into caves for the sake of an adventure.  An adventure was what we got!

After we completely winded ourselves by hiking up hundreds of stone stairs, we concurred that the glass elevator being installed on the side of the mountain is not such a bad idea (despite the ugliness factor). We adjusted helmets and tightened harnesses before beginning our training session on a low boulder.  We learned to lean back in the harness, to let the rope slide through our hands and, most importantly for those of us nervous about hurling themselves into the abyss, to NEVER look down.
After a few practice runs with the equipment on the boulder, we ascended yet again.  Breathing hard, we arrived at a fenced off hole 15 meters above the cave floor.  The idea was to, one-by-one, rope up, tiptoe backwards to the edge of the hole, lean way back with straight legs and begin descending into the dimly lit hole.  Good form and successful rappelling rely on having the utmost faith in the ropes that are supporting you and the guides that are hanging onto those ropes.  We had known these guys for all of sixty minutes, so I figured why not just put my life in their hands and drop into the abyss?  The first 2 meters were the toughest - just getting up the courage to  fall backward over the edge.  Then it got fun.  Once you commit and start the descent, the idea of stopping and getting dragged back up against the rocks isn't really that appealing.  About halfway down into the cave, the wall disappeared.  At that point we just pushed off one last time and enjoyed the ride down.

    

Descending into the cave

Crawling toward the hole

After lunch it was time to test our new skills on the 25 meter rock wall.  We climbed upward again, and this time we stopped at a fence on the edge of a cliff.  We enjoyed a nice view of the ocean before glancing down at the very, very long drop to the ground below.  As the nine-year-olds in our group enthusiastically threw themselves over the side, I focused on breathing normally and not looking over the edge once I saw their helmets disappear.  Using the same strategy as the cave (never once glancing down), I managed to get myself off the edge of the cliff and really did enjoy the ride down.  This one was a hand-burning, quick descent that allowed for some good bouncing and dancing along the way.  Foster loved this one and sped up the stairs and down the rock face four times. John and I enjoyed the ride twice, and Nolan and Brianna decided to cheer lead for this drop.

It was an exhilarating day for all that left me wondering...how do you follow a day of rappelling with a day in the classroom?