Don’t you think going to a superΒ mall for shopping or movie is too mainstream for a weekend? Drinking beer and eating at your favorite joint is something that you always end up doing on a lousy Sunday. So here is a great idea for your weekend, why don’t you ditch the shopping mall and hit the wallΒ at Indian Mountaineering Foundation this weekend.

While doing a google search on adventurous things to do in Delhi I came across Indian Mountaineering Foundation. It struck me then and there. Being a national level Basketball player, adventure is something which always turns me on. I am always game for it. With a little more googling I found out all the relevant details and with one phone call a like minded friend to accompany me. While traveling in Delhi I prefer metro over any other commutation mode. The nearest metro station to IMF is AIMS. From AIMS it is just a few kilometers which you can easily manage by an auto. Don’t forget to haggle with the auto driver, it is your birth right. We didn’t know the way so we had to struggle a bit but with a badinageΒ here and there we manage to reach the destination in the stipulated time.

The first look.
The first look.

We entered inside with a lot of apprehensions. I could see the tall artificial climbing walls from the entrance. It just got me more adrenaline rush. We made our way inside through their administrative office. I saw a lot of mountaineering milestone pictures and informative articles hanging across the hallway. It was all calm and quite there. The calm and quite hallway lead to an open area which I can say was the arena for the evening. The climbing walls were gigantically tall and intricate.

I saw there were few more people waiting for the trainers to come and start the climb. Meanwhile we just looked around and couldn’t help but admire the whole setup. It is just wonderful how nowadays human intelligence can replicate almost everything. There were all kinds of walls the small ones, the huge ones, the easy ones, the difficult ones, the ones for the professional and the ones for the first timers and inexperienced enthusiast like us. Have a look at the monumental gigantic climbing walls which were specially for the skilled and professional climbers. The difficulty level is way too high compared to the ones made for rookies.

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Β I am sure you must have had goosebumps seeing their massive structures.Β While we were loitering here and there the instructors arrived. They gave us a form to fill with the basic detailsΒ and Β then we paid the fees. Their fees was very nominal. The Charges are:

  • Rs 150/- for 4 hours/shift
  • Rs 500/- for one month

I was still not sure about climbing those walls because of their huge size and difficulty level. I expressed my restlessness to the trainer who then told me not to be scared seeing them because being a first timer weΒ would be offered a comparatively easier climb. The climbing wall which was kept for the new bees looked like this:

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It was a respite but still my heart was pounding so fast that it could pop out of my chest. It was thrilling. The instructors were veryΒ proficient and motivating. They told us the basic dos and don’ts. and the next I know I was being harnessed for the climb. Special attention was paid for the safety of the climbers. They were properly harnessed and every bolt and joint was double checked by the trainers before starting the climb. I remembered every detail that the instructor told us and I could reach to a good height. At a certain point the slant is made outwards and to cross pass that point you will have to pull your body against the slant and reach to the topmost peg. By the time I reached there I was out of breath and I could hear my heat out of my chest. It requires a lot of muscle strength and more than anything it requires a lot of endurance. I signaled the trainer to get me down, he tried pushing me by saying all motivating things but my arms were paining like anything. He got me down. I stood there for five minutes calming the tornado going on inside my heart. All of us got out chances and we could climb for any number of times. I did for quite a couple of times and then I was enervated.

That is me with the first step.
That is me with the first step.

Β It was a different experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly. My legs and my hands didn’t forget this climb for next whole week but trust me the pain and the strain was worth it.

I would recommend this to all of you. If you haven’t been to IMF then my post should definitely compel you to go. You will definitely thank me later. And if you have been to IMF then do let me know about your experience. I am all ears. So till the next weekend,

Happy Reading and Happy Blogging !

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Comments

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks for blogging it, I would certainly like to try..thanks for navigation instruction, could you tell the timings and rates..thanks in advance..

    I would also recommend you Bikat Adventures, be connected on their fb page, they do weekend rock climbing session on Aravalii hills, @ Damdama lake, Gurgaon for a small fee of 400 INR

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