SVIM Basic Rock Climbing |Being Spiderman | 1/4

The year 2018 has been a silent one for me . With couple of my best friends passing away & the recurrent knee pain I was physically  & mentally out of action. With the year coming to an end I wanted to end it on a high . I started searching out for some high adrenaline action and stumbled upon SVIM Basic Rock Climbing Course. Swami Vivekanand Institute of Mountaineering more famously know as SVIM operates in Mt. Abu offers some sleek Spiderman Rock Climbing Knowledge. Without wasting any further time I applied for the SVIM basic rock climbing course BRC. To my utter dismay the batch 21 dec – 30 Dec was already full and I got entry into the next batch of 3^rd Jan – 12^th Jan which was a blessing in disguise as I met so many wonderful people . Thus I started my new year with a bang. Here are some of the processes you can follow to get listed for a course

How to Apply for SVIM Basic Rock Climbing Course ( BRC ) ?

• Go to their website www.gujmount.com ( whose name is based on the previous name of the institute. SVIM was earlier known as Gujarat mountaineering Institute ) and check the course schedule for the preferable course date.
• Download the application form ( This form contains the medical form on the second page). Fill it with all the necessary details and the course date (First & second preference date
• Attach photocopy of citizenship, address & birth date. Various acceptable proofs are Adhar, Passport, Pan card , Driver’s License. ( I submitted only Adhaar photocopy)
• Select the course date way in advance to avoid a houseful tag ( 2-3 months in advance would be great. I tried before 2 week of a course date and was able to get admission to the subsequent course than what I had intended).
• Send the Hard copy (Application form , proof & passport pic [not needed but just in case]) via speed post to “ Swami Vivekanand Institute of Mountaineering (SVIM) Sadhna Bhavan, Gaumukh Road, Mount Abu, Rajasthan, Pin- 307501”

SVIM Contact Details

• The website registers the official number as 91 2974 237103. However during my time the phone was out of order.
• The email id: [email protected] did not yield any response.
• Hence the only thing that works in your favour is to send the application way in advance of your course for getting a confirmed assurance . I got a call from Hitesh Sir a week before the actual course saying that my course was full and I can get entry into the next course. I obliged since I had not made any travel plans 😛 ).

BRO TIPS for Course Selection

• Select course when there would be no other parallel courses going on. Institute also organises Advance Rock Climbing, Coaching Course, Artificial Rock Climbing , Adventure Courses for children. Lesser the crowd in the institute during your crowd better the facilities you will get
• Also avoid government sponsored courses which doubles the crowd for a free course.

SVIM BRC FEES

• The course is highly subsidised.
• Training Fees: Free for Gujrat Students. Rs 100 for other citizens.
• Food: About 148 Per day i.e about Rs 1480 for 10 days.
• Rs 20 for some jungle tax.

The total fee turns out to be 1600 for a non-Gujrati citizen. This amount is to be paid once you reach the institute a day before the actual course begins. Quite cheap I would say considering that one night stay in Mt Abu costs about 1000 bucks 😀

How to reach SVIM ?

• Nearest Railway Station: Abu Road Station is well connected throughout. From Abu road take a state transport bus to Mt. Abu ( Rs. 40 , About 30 Km ). The bus station is just at 5 minutes walking distance from the railway station).  For the rich people out there one can also get a taxi which will cost about Rs 350 directly from station to the institute. The bus will drop you at the cold hill station called Mt Abu. Up hill walk for some 10-15 minutes to reach your new home.
• Nearest Airport: Ahemadabad/Udaipur airport are near by. Ahmedabad has better connectivity. One can easily get bus from here to Abu Road or Mt . Abu ( if lucky) . I don’t have the timings. You can use the above point to reach from Abu Road to SVIM.

Arrival & Departure Planning

Plan to reach a day prior to the start of the course & you can plan your return on the last day of the course. Eg. If your course is from 3^rd-12^th January. Plan to reach by 2^nd January Morning and you can plan to leave by 12 th afternoon from the institute. If you wish to stay for one more night on 12^th of Jan in the institute you will need to submit a written note to the institute on the last day.  During my time 80% of the guys left on the 12 th day while I explored Mt. Abu for another day.

Things to Pack for Basic Rock Climbing Course at SVIM

Always carry the essentials. Don’t carry Dead weight.  Full shirts are mandatory. NO HALF T-SHIRTS, NO Half Pants allowed.

Things to Carry for Basic Rock Climbing:

1.  Light Bedding: I carried my sleeping bag. Blanket & Bedsheet will also do. Dormitories will have matress.
2.  Full sleeve Tshirts: Atleast 4 pairs
3. Track Pants: Atleast 2 pairs
4. 1 good jacket: Fleece/Down jacket. It gets cold at night. 2-3 Degrees during my course in Jan
5. Cap – For the day uniform
6.  Woolen Cap- For the cold nights.
7. Glares/ Goggles: Kyunki SWAG important hia boss
8. Water Bottles: 2 bottles of 1 Litre each
9.  Head Torch: Not for treks but for those late night pee stops.
10.  SOCKS: Carry atleast 6 Pairs – One for 2 days atleast.
11.  Trekking Shoes is must. You can buy Climbing shoes from institute for Rs 350.
12. Chappals/Floaters: To wear in the hostel.
13.  Other: Handkerchief, Towel,
14.  Personal Medicines
15. A 60-70 Litre Rucksack to carry everything. This wont be used anywhere in the course. It is just for you to carry your stuff till the institute. You can also carry a suitcase if you wish. But why would you want to look like an uncle with a suitcase. Here is my backpack.
16. A 20-30 Litre knapsack for carrying essentials for daily activities.
17. Toiletries : Soap, Sanitiser, Tooth Brush, Tooth Paste & Tongue Cleaner, Nycil powder ( cause you wont bathe daily ), anti-fungal cream ( ADD LINK), Vaseline, Cold Creams for your face, Lip balm for your cracked lips.
18. Arey bhai underwear toh bhool gaya. Atleast carry 5 pairs. Atleast change if you cant wash. 😀

Optional/Seasonal:

•  Carry inner thermals & pair them with different shirts for that style quotient
• Raincoats as per the season.
• First Aid Kit

Study Material:

•  Carry two notebooks. One for daily diary & another for lectures. This carries 10 marks (out of 50), hence take care. I used only one book with partition for diary & lectures.
• Carry pen to write. IF you are extra studious you can carry pens of different colours, pencils, marker, scale. I carried only one blue pen.

 Miscellaneous:

• Carry Original & Photocopies of Address, Date of Birth, Citizenship. Date of Birth should specify exact date and not just month as was the case in some older Adhaar Cards.
• Camera: Usage of mobile and camera is restricted for first 6 days. This is to ensure that the students are focussed on the learning the critical art of rock climbing. Any one caught using mobile or camera would mean that the entire batch has to submit there mobiles to the institute.

P.S.: The pics and videos obtained for this blog and Youtube Videos are by special permission from the Institute.

Back to my Story

I booked tickets in tatkaal and managed to reach Abu Road. Met these wonderful characters Aditya & Vicky enroute .

Abu-Road > Bus( 40 Rs) > Mt Abu > Walk > SVIM.

SVIM appears to be occupying a Christian missionary building as there is huge cross above as well as a statue of Redeemer behind the institute. At the entrance itself is a museum & admin office where I confirmed my registration by paying the fees. Just in front are various pictures on the wall about various rock climbing techniques and knots.

Hostel Life Re Starts

As soon as the registration was complete we were assigned rooms. .  There are different floors for boys & girls.  I got 104. Each Room has 6 beds in a double bunker style. I selected a bottom one since I tend to roll over at night

I headed back to the main market to buy stuff which I had carelessly forgotten. In the evening we had FALL IN ( leave everything and stand in attention with the course) where we were provided the basic things to do and most importantly things not to do. A DO- Duty Officer – (student leader ) & also mess committee is chosen to co-ordinate amongst student , instructor & the mess .

 Before I could take a look at my watch , it was already dinner time at about 1900 hours. This was the first time I tasted the sweet food of SVIM which drove me mad. With the use of various spices/sauce we had bought I was able to fill my unhappy tummy.

FOOD at SVIM

• The Canteen food is not the greatest food in the world. It does provide you the basic nutrition needed to survive the course.
• NO NON VEG. Not even eggs are available in the course. You cannot buy anything during the course .
• I am a thorough non-vegetarian & and spicy food lover. The 10 days in SVIM was kitchens’ hell for me. So Bro tip

SUPER BRO TIP:

1. If you are spicy food eater make sure you carry a lot of Maggi Masala, Ketchup, sauce, Thecha or any sorts of spices.
2. Carry biscuits, cookies, cakes, bread , jam, khakra for those untimely hunger pangs.
3. Carry Dry Fruits for your power needs. And keep them secure throughout the course. This is hostel life.
4. Carry chocolates big and small for energy recharges.
5. As has always been the case carry ORS- Oral rehydration salts.

By 2200 hours we had lights out. We were lulled to sleep by the cold air, warmth of the bed & the anticipation of the big day ahead.

Day 1 – Caving & 3 point climbing

I was up by 0445 to prepare myself for the 0600 hours Fall IN. This was the first time I encountered the cold waters of Mt. Abu. The water reminded me of the frozen waters of Ladakh ( I have done Chadar trek – Frozen river Trek  in LAdakh) . Before I could get my morning together , entire hostel seemed to have gotten up crowding the small washroom area. Atleast that got me to forget the cold water and move on.

Being the first day instructors were lenient with us and allowed the late comers to join the Course at the Fall in of 0600 hours. Soon enough we started off in pitch darkness towards the Basic Field which would be our rock climbing playground for the next 10 days.

We passed through the sleepy bylanes of Mt. Abu to reach Nakki Lake which is about 3 kms . This daily walk / intermittent run is what gets you pumped up for the day. First day it took us 40 minutes to reach here and on one day we took it as a challenge so that the fastest guys reached there in 13 minutes.

At the Nakki Lake we have this daily morning exercise routine for about half an hour. Different instructors have different warm up techniques ensuring variety in daily workouts. Nakki Lake is one of the biggest tourist attration of Mt. Abu. But at this point of time there are barely any souls around leave alone few enthusiastic health conscious guys. Its Heavenly when the sun rises.

A News channel –First India- interviewed me regarding this adventure  course. After this the normal routine is to go to the basic field for rock climbing practice. Today however being the first day we were taken to Limdikotthi for caving activity.

LimdiKothi Caves

After about 15-20 minutes walk we were there. The beauty of Mt. Abu is every major attraction is within 10-15 kms. As such taking a private vehicle on rent you can easily go around the city. Limdi Kothi seemed to be an untouched location. We started off moving from one cave to another .

There were small caves & bigger ones. We enjoyed each and every moment. Glad I took some pics here . Since we did not visit this place again.

Caves were wonderful with one particular was completely pitch black. We walked through pitch darkness crawling between two huge rocks using our hands and feet like a chimney. It was a terrific experience. Pics don’t do justice to this activity & I think my YouTube video for caving has come out good. (LINK TO BE ADDED)

Once done we were treated with a wonderful morning lights. From here we can easily see most of Mt Abu’s Market area including : Nakki Lake, Jaipur RajaMahal, Toad Rock, Palampur point, Tokra Dam, Redeemer,  & few other important hills & temples whose names escapes me.

3 Point Climbing

From here we were back for the first glimpses of the basic field. As a first day we were given the introduction for 3 point climbing i.e. where in we are in contact with the rock at three places at given point of time ( three out of two hands & two legs ) ( I did 4 point climbing in ice watch video here ).

While the three points are in contact the fourth point is in search of the next hold. That day was to remove fear from minds of people and also to create a sense of belonging with the mighty rocks.

We tried Rock Patch 21 for starter & graduated to tougher patches 38 & 37 after getting comfortable. Below is the 13 rock patch.

Many 20 something guys were high on testosterone and almost ran across the rock. Not advisable .

BRO TIP for 3 point climbing

1. Be slow on the rock and focus on the technique rather than the speed.
2. Posture : Keep you body straight as in push up position and try to take most weight on your toes. Less weight on hand , more on the toes.

Back to the institute:

Once done we headed back to the institute through the market area. This is the same route which we take for our morning run. Only difference is that it was now buzzing with thousands of people & aroma of wonderful dishes ( which we could not have)

Climbing Shoes

Back at the institute, we got visit from the institutes favourite shoe maker who has been providing climbing shoes to students for more than 20 years. He provides new canvas shoes with special climbing soles at Rs 350 and can also attach new sports rubber sole to your old shoes ( if they have a rubber sole, in case they have a plastic/fibre then its not possible). Take care of that fact that he has shoes from size 5- size 10 only. I have UK size 11 shoe and had to adjust with the size 10 shoe. Guys having bigger shoe size need to get there own climbing shoes like THIS since this guy cannot provide a bigger shoe. A bigger size is also not available in the main market.

Rope Formation

Out batch had almost 80 student coming from various backgrounds. Till now everyone was mingling in there own group. Hence ropes ( groups) are formed to get people out of there comfort zone , meet new friends and of course for getting equipments distributed.

Equipment Distribution

Each of the 8 ropes got the following: Dynamic Rope, Static Rope, One Jumbo HMS,  3 screw type Carabiner, 3 descenders, 3 seat harness ( diaper & petzl).

After distribution there was a session for explaining the usage of each of the equipment

• Rope – Lifeline in mountains – Dynamic for Lead Climbing, Static rope for fixed line & rappelling
• Carabiners- to connect rope to anchors
• Descenders- for controlled rappelling
• Seat Harness- For safely anchoring a person to a rope for climbing or rappelling

Apart from the equipments we were taught the basic knots & coiling techniques.

• Casualty coil was the only coil taught ( coiling is the process by which a long rope is folded)
• Few knots were taught that day. However over the duration of the course the following knots were taught : Thumb Knot ( Safety Knot), Figure of Eight, Bowline Knot, Overhand ( Middleman), Endman Knot, Tarbuck Knot,  Clove Hitch, Running Clove Hitch, Timber Hitch,

To make us totally fearless we had another session of 3 point climbing in the evening  at a near by ground. We also had some spare time to try chimney climbing  by “ Backing Up & Backing Down” Technique.

Dinner , Entertainment & Good Night:

After the chimney experience we had quick dinner. The magic spices that we had bought bought the sweet food to life. As we dined I had thoughts of the time I took my home food for granted.

Entertainment Assembly

In the evening we had an entertainment session which consists of students performing in front of the batch.  Some sang , some recited poems while others showed their unique talents. Instead of standing up voluntarily our stage fearing batch was to be individually pin pointed to do something. This was a unique experience . Turns out I can climb rocks without fear , but being asked to perform in front of the course my hands still shiver . Nonetheless these sessions took away the stage fright. This course stands for fighting against our fears and stage fear is biggest existing fear according to me.

That night I slept like a dead log . That was the case throughout the 10 days.

DAILY SCHEDULE at SVIM | DAYS TO FOLLOW :

Over the next few days we had the same schedule

• 0445: Wake up. Get Ready. Wake up others by 0530
• 0545: Tea. I missed the morning tea throughout the ten days
• 0600: Fall In & walk/run to Nakki lake ( about 3 kms) depending on the time provided
• 0630: Brisk Exercise at Nakki Lake. After exercise there is a tea stall near by where you can buy your own tea, I had bournvita there Rs 40 per cup every single day !
• 0715: ROCK CLIMB SESSION : Move to Basic field for rock Climbing Sessions.
• 0900: Breakfast
• 0915: ROCK CLIMB SESSION:  Another session at Basic Field
• 1230: Return to Institute & lunch ( walk fast & smell the food in market & crib about hostel food)
• 1500: Lecture in Assembly
• 1600: ROCK CLIMB SESSION: Fall In for Rock Session at Basic Camp or on the hill behind institute.
• 1830: Tea. I tried to reach here on time but then decided to relax in my room instead.
• 1900: Dinner . Compare food with home. Look at others to see if they got some sauce, masala or anything edible.
• 2000: Entertainment Assembly: Sometimes funny sometimes not , but definitely relaxing after a days hard work.
• 2200: Lights Off. Try to complete daily diary before falling asleep. I completed my diary on the last possible days. 

DAY 2 – Long Sling Rappelling

On day 2 we tried 3 point climbing on a slightly tougher rock than day 1 . This was 13 D . With the newly purchased rubber sole shoes , climbing definitely felt easier than the previous day.

IN the evening we had session for Long Sling Rapelling. I was trying rappelling after an year. Last time I tried it was in BMC ( Read it HERE. Watch It HERE ). Long Sling Rappelling is your basic rappelling technique where  your body is arched at 90 degrees from the hip and also your feet are perpendicular to the rock surface.

Many guys were trying it for the first time. First they were very stressed at seemingly dropping off a cliff with just a rope in hand . But once they got hold of it there was a huge adrenaline rush. Especially girls were huge fan of this . As they attempted the rappel atleast 3-4 times each.

The Call sequence for Rappelling are :

Rappeller	RAPPELLING START
Guys at the bottom	RAPPEL ON
Once at the bottom, Rappeller	I AM THERE
Guys at the top oblige	OKAY

I got the call sequence right but I said “ I am HERE” instead of “ THERE”  which promptly got me doing 20 squats shouting “ I AM THERE” 😀 .  It was punishment but it got me smiling

Just besides this rock there is a huge statue of Christ- the Redeemer. A smaller version of the Brazilian behemoth. Nonetheless it did strike a beautiful pose in the dying lights of the evening.

Back at the institute I felt happy to relive the hostel days once again. Music was on full blast ( maximum possible without the instructors able to hear it). People were eating secret food till they were discovered. Some studious were writing diaries , Others like me were thinking about writing the diary but instead decided to sleep

DAY 3 – Stomach Rappelling

Today we were at rock 22 by far the biggest rock we had attempted by 3 point climbing. I set up the fixed static rope with a figure of 8 to the permanent piton. Call sequence while setting up the rope is

Rope Fixer before throwing the rope	WATCH OUT
Guys Below:
If the rope doesn’t reach the ground	ROPE LOOSE ….fixer passes more rope
If the rope reaches the ground perfectly:	THAT’S ME
If there is more than required rope	TAKE THE SLACK…….fixer pulls back some rope

               

Once the rope was of exact length , I tied it to the piton by figure of 8 ( a tarbuck knot can also be used).  I shouted “ ROPE TEST” to which two guys tried to pull the rope with all their power. Once they were happy they shouted “ ROPE TESTED”.  Rope was now ready for belay/fixed line.

The rope was attached to the climber’s seat harness via carbiner and a figure of 8  at the other end and I was set to belay the rope. Belay is an action wherein you secure your own safety and then provide safety to another climber .i.e. you secure yourself to a self anchor at the top and then the hold the rope of the climber such that if he falls the belayer arrest his fall by stopping the rope from going down.

That day I belayed atleast 4-5 people. The biggest achievement however was to belay a 100 kilo + guy. That took a whole lot of energy from me. I Remember Babu sir coming to my rescue to help me belay this guy. This was not belay but more like pulling the guy. This however was essential to get his confidence up. I felt happy when he reached the top.

After a quick breakfast I climbed the rock which made very happy. The initial part was crux i.e. slippery portion in rock climbing terminology ,after which it was a fairly easy climb.

IN the evening we had session for Stomach Rappelling & long sling rappelling at the boulders near the institute. Stomach rappelling is used when you don’t have any equipments with you apart from rope and mittens ( gloves). The only downside of this rappelling is for people doing for the first time have to rappel down facing down . This is a major emotional ride. To get the confidence up a long sling rappelling was set up besides this. Girls and all the loose coins did this few times to get up there confidence before attempting stomach rappelling. I sailed past it properly the first time & did it once again just because it was fun.

That night I completed my diary for the first 3 days by staying awake well beyond the 2200 hrs deadline. Head Torch jindabad.

DAY 4- Crack Climbing & Side Rappelling

Today we attempted crack climbing at rock 20 by using hand jamming & feet jamming. It consists of jamming your hands and feet in a scissor kind of pattern exherting force in opposite directions. It looks easy but its not . Feet tend to get jammed & don’t seem to come off easily. Just feels clumsy .

After breakfast we were back again to climb 13 C fixed rope which we had attempted with equipment few days back. To my surprise we were able to climb it without much hesitation. Spiderman powers were coming in full power.

IN the evening we tried American Side Rappelling  at 12c which is a fairly steep slab ( 30-70 degree) at the start  and  at the end it turned into a wall at about 80 degrees. American rappelling is form of side rappelling used when you don’t have equipment apart from rope and mittens.  The proper technique means to keep your body at 90 to the rock surface. However doing this at 80 degree rock surface meant lot many people were scared and slipped and ended up in a bad form at the bottom. I did it once for the proper technique and then again for fun . By the end of it I was very good at it and felt like I would be graduating this course with flying colours.

While we had more time on hand I sneeked into another rope practicing stomach rappelling and completed my quota of adrenaline for the day.

That night in the entertainment assembly friends shouted out my name and made sure I participated in an impromptu fashion show

DAY 5- Chimney Climbing

Today we formally learned to climb a chimney using  backing up and backing down method.  I did it once for the technique . Though i got across without belay my technique was not proper. I did it again but I still think my technique was not proper, I did it by “TheFreeBird” Technique

For after snacks session we climbed a corner formation where two rocks meet almost perpendicularly employing lay away technique which will see later in the blog.

In the afternoon session on History of Mountaineering , Milap sir Asked me to share my  experience of Basic mountaineering Course @ NIMAS . ( Read it HERE. Watch It HERE ). Another thing Milap Sir happened to be my YOutube subscriber following my adventures. This really made my day & pushed me to seventh heaven. (You can also subscribe to my channel by clicking here )

IN the evening we tried some more rappelling at Rock 31 & 32. We had set up ropes for practicing long sling & stomach rappelling. Guys who were afraid of stomach rappelling previously now seemed to be at comfort.

Night TREK –  More like a night walk

We had a night trek to near by dense forest. Earlier this was was an all night trek session but owing to new jungle regulations treks are no longer permitted. Hence instead of an epic event we just had a two hour walk to a small Kuwari river.  All our torches were confiscated before the trek meaning we had to walk in pitch darkness under the moon light.

It may have been short but I had never see a million starts before. Sky Full of Stars.

DAY 6 – Layaway & Layback Climbing

Today we attempted a new method of climbing – layaway and layback employing the underhand and overhand holds . This was something different than what you see normally.

We also attempted rock 16 & 17 which are a bit tougher for 3 point climbing. I felt a little low on energy today. Probably from not eating any eggs & not even getting a chance to look at a chicken. I would have paid lakhs of Rupees for chicken tandoori.

We were provided 25 minutes to return to the institute from the basic field. We however took around 28 minutes. Being 3 minutes lates & coupled with someone being caught buying stuff from the market meant it was punishment time. We had to duck walk over a slope and climb back again. This was the most difficult punishment I had since long. Duck walk activates some unique muscles which I never activated in my entire training. Back of my thighs were sore the next day.

In the evening session we had another rappelling session . My low energy & sore thighs meant I was not interested in taking any pics. However on the return journey to institute we did go faster and reached in 22 minutes our fastest time till date.

The last 4 days in Mt. Abu were full filled regarding last few days of training , exam, Gaumukh Trek, Anchalgarh, Gurushikhar, Adhardevi ( abhuda Devi ), Redeemer….Read about it the next blog

Day 1 to 6 | Day 7 & 8 | Exam Day | Roaming Around Mt. Abu

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