i
Outward Bound provides different adventures during its sessions. Left: one member attempts to cross
LinviSle Gorge using Tyrolean crossing method. Above: Student rests during a winter session. Photos courtesy
of North Carolina Outward Bound School.
more from Tampa, Fla., said
;J I I i
u iiul nave a icvci emiei, i
! sick today so we wouldn't
d and found the crew still
were disgusted. ...
ut her for, just to sit around
f you don't have all the stuff
t. I just don't believe it. Now,
r said.
ed moving, the differences
!cond were obvious. The first
. and followers, but his crew
forgotten to pack a rope and
;.ire crew acted as if they alJ
limited the crew's activities,
ock climbing expedition and
ing. The rappeling, which
a system of ropes, would be
:e of the cold.
,1 began learning the belaying
quickly.
r catching the student who
?tend to fall so the belayer
;nountain to begin rappeling,
ig the members became a
;rnade a mistake while he was
:tch himself, it was the
catch him. Though each of
iy and none had rappeled
j of the crew members had
l the equipment set up and
p their ropes. No one took
ne.
the first student began his
ock nervously, then he slid
,!e of the mountain shouting
and the rest of the crew
o, several of the students
e the various knots on my
saddle seat and pull my carabiner straight. My hands were
shaking as I backed over the side of the ledge. I looked at my
belayer, who had my life in his hands. He was a 16-year-old
high school student from South Carolina and did not know
the belaying techniques any better than I did. I certainly
didn't trust myself to belay, so why should I trust him.
HE first step was easy. I stepped down, as though on a
LI ladder, to a rather large ledge. Then, I stood there,
LI gripping the rocks and thinking of how weak my
hands were and inexperienced my belayer was. I did not trust
the ropes, myself or my belayer.
Several crew members and the instructor leaned over the
ledge shouting encouragement and instructions.
"Just lean back and trust the ropes," one of the crew
members, an experienced man of two rappels, said.
"I don't think I can support myself. My hands are really
weak," I yelled back. I began thinking of ways to climb back
up the rock. I could handle the embarassment of quitting I
would never see these people again.
"There isn't any pressure on your hands. Just lean back and
try it."
(Questioning my sanity, I leaned back and stepped off the
ledge. There was no pressure at all, I loosened my grip on the
rope and easily glided down to the bottom. I was relieved and
the crew cheered me for my success.
The crew worked on the rappeling for another hour then
headed over, to do a short version of the rock climbing course.
This crew had already done the rope work and caving and
would go on two more backpacking expeditions and a three
day solo before the end.
the next day they would begin a three day expedition to
Grandfather Mountain, on which they would learn map skills,
and compass use, as well as camping and backpacking skills.
During this expedition the instructors would play a very
minor role to prepare them for their final expedition during
which the instructors would be absent.
In between the two expeditions the students would go on
their solo. He can do anything he wishes. It is the only time
during the course when the student is away from the crew.
"I'm really looking forward to the solo. I'm never alone
here and I really need time by myself," Laura said.
According to the Outward Bound philosophy, it is the
group experience and the grow th of the individual within that
experience, with all the physical stresses, that makes
Outward Bound such a remarkable venture.
During that three-week course, the students learn a number
of skills. But that's not what many say they remember best-
During those trying times, they say they get a sense of
fulfillment and success when they finish the event they hated
doing, and when their crew members finish. ' - . . . ,
"We're all out here together, you know," Vann said. And
when that last guy makes it up to the top (of the mountain)
we all know we've made it and it's great." 0
Elizabeth Daniel is a staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel.
Editor's note
; Elizabeth Daniel, a staff writer for The
Daily Tar Heel, spent two days and one
night with crews enrolled in a 23-day
Outward Bound course from the North
Carolina Outward Bound School located
at Table Rock Mountain. She participted
in caving, rappeling and, what she
considers the most treacherous part of her
experience, sleeping outdoors in zero
degree weather.
Going down
Rappeling involves
descending a cliff using a
system of ropes. Crew
members encourage . each
other during the experience.
-V,., : . J I
V ) -E
. : . II . . f i
Weekender, January '22, 1UM