The air was fresh, as it always is when waterfalls nourish
the surrounding trails. The scent of mossy rocks mixed with decomposing leaves from the forest floor filled my lungs as I breathed in, each breath taking me further from the tiring work week and closer to the natural world. We were a group of 8, some from my usual hiking
group led by Mr. Kim and others, friends of Mr. Kim and members of a different hiking group. Half of us would hike to a ridge where we
would then rock climb to the top and half would take the valley trail and meet
the climbers at a shelter on the other side of the mountain. I had been invited
on this trip to learn to rock climb and teaching me would be Mr. Kim, his
friend aka Spiderman, and Jorge, a fearless climber from Spain. I guess you could say I was in pretty good hands.
 |
| The group minus myself and one other. |
We stopped about 45 minutes in and one of Mr. Kim’s friends
asked if I wanted to try their food. One of the things I like best about hiking
in Korea is the communal aspect of snack and lunch time; members of the same
group and even different groups almost always share their food and makoli (a Korean rice beverage) and
you do the same in return. I didn’t think twice about grabbing a pair of chop
sticks and taking a bite. It was spicy and chewy and certainly unlike anything I had ever eaten before. Mr. Kim then asked, “What is
it?” in his familiar playful tone. The fact that he was asking said it all- it was
something out of the ordinary. My mind immediately focused on the chewy
texture. “It has to be skin,” I replied. He smiled and said, “What kind?”
“Pig,” I guessed. And he smiled again. It wasn’t bad and I’ll give anything a
try. I’m eating less meat these days, but sometimes it’s a cultural experience
you can’t avoid. On this day, the cultural experience was eating pig skin…
 |
| Pig Skin- Don't hate it, but most definitely don't love it |
More hiking was followed by lunch, which was then followed
by the splitting of the two groups. We headed onward toward the ridge while the
others enjoyed a longer lunch. I hadn’t been nervous about the rock climb until
we reached the base and the setting up of the equipment dragged on and on. Being the inexperienced one of the group, I
couldn’t really assist with much of the preparation, so I was left with the
rapidly blowing wind, ever so tall looking rocks, and my overly active
imagination. A knot formed in my stomach.
 |
| Spiderman, Mr. Kim, Jorge and me- The climbing group |
I pushed through and found myself awkwardly climbing (if you
could even call it that) up slab number one. Rock climbing is sort of like
skiing, roller blading or ice skating. No matter what verbal instruction you receive,
you just have to get the feel for it yourself. I hadn’t done so quite yet, but somehow
still managed to complete the first portion. It helped that Mr. Kim was
following behind, but at one point during the second portion, I suddenly heard
him shout, “oh no!” “AHHH, what?!” I exclaimed. “I just lost some money.” 20,000W had just fallen from his pocked and downward. As
much as I felt for his loss, I couldn’t help but think of a million different things
he could have said while I was dangling from a rock.
 |
| Mr. Kim and myself- Really scared, but I'm still happy smile |
While I generally seek out thrilling experiences and
absolutely love adrenaline rushes, I’m almost always able to control my mind
throughout. But at one point, I lost control of my thoughts and mid-rock,
froze, doubting both my shoes and my body’s ability to make it to the next rest
point. Not knowing what else to do, I almost cried, but before a single tear
could fall from my eyes, Mr. Kim came right up behind me and planted his hand
below my foot and said, “You can do this, Lana.” Jorge from below then shouted,
“Just trust it. If you fall, you will only fall a meter. We have you.” I
quickly regained composure and made it to the next point where Spiderman
congratulated me. I call him Spiderman because he was the one initially
attaching the ropes that the rest of us used to climb. Unattached, he literally
ran up the rocks without a single hesitation.
 |
| Jorge coming up slab number three |
It was only the third of the six slabs I would climb, but I
was back on track. That is until I spotted something that once again threatened my
confidence- a sign next to a very dangerous drop off with three dates. “Holy freaking
shit, that's a death list,” I thought to myself and then out loud while peering down the giant slope lying directly under our next rock. If that wasn’t enough to scare
me, I soon found out the next portion was to be done without ropes. It had
rained the day before and even thought the sun had made an appearance, the rocks were still
slippery, especially with the shoes I had on.
 |
| "The Point of Death" R.I.P. |
As Spiderman made the climb up first, I watched him very
carefully, studying each of his foot and hand placements. I’ve realized by now
that the safest and easiest way up these rocks is to just go for it without
hesitation and at the quickest speed possible. But at the same time, each move
you make means everything in terms of safety. There are no mess ups. Especially
not at this point because there isn’t a single stopping point that would catch
me if I were to fall. Finally, I just go! I lose all sense of conscious thought,
but in a matter of seconds find myself on flat ground.
I get to the break point and the rush of adrenaline hits me.
I feel more alive than I have since who knows when. All I can do is
laugh, smile and breath in as much air as my rapidly pacing heart desires. Feeling confident, I successfully complete the
remaining two portions. It’s hardly a beginner climb, but I wouldn’t have
wanted it any other way. At the top of the mountain, I felt I had conquered the
world. I’m proud of myself and thankful to my climbing partners that I wholeheartedly
trusted by the end. Cheers to learning to rock climb!
