I have completed the Singapore National Climbing Standards (SNCS) Sport Climbing level 1 course and am officially a certified belayer. The 6 hour course which I went through consisted of a theory lesson and some dry practice before an assessment by the instructors.

In the afternoon, I came face to face with my first rock wall.

I slipped on a size 9 shoes, and upon wearing it, I was feeling a sharp discomfort. However when I actually mounted the rock wall, it was transformed into the drive to climb.

It didn’t take long before I scaled the entire wall, and when I looked down to my partner who was belaying, I was astonished that I have actually managed to climb so high. And suddenly, the fear of heights struck me and I wasn’t confident of dismounting the wall. However upon encouragement from him, I actually managed to do it.

Nonetheless, it was a good start for me.

The 2nd wall which I mounted was slightly tougher to conquer.

The rocks weren’t exactly grip-friendly as compared to the first wall I mounted, and as a result, I had to push myself to use a lot of physical strength to actually reach the top. By the time I had completed climbing, I was sweating tremendously.

I was proud of myself, to be able to climb to the top of a relatively difficult rock wall without falling on the support of the rope was an achievement.

It was a memorable experience. Apart from conquering my first rock wall, I have also learnt how to belay and observe the safety procedures before and during the course of the climb. Though I went for the course alone, I ended it with 2 potential climbing partners, and I do hope to climb together often.

There is a level 2 course for sport climbing which will be my last stop before I become an independent climber and start scaling the world’s mountains. As to when I will take it, I am looking at the month of March or April. In the meantime, I shall climb whenever I have time to spare.