Whoa School again?!
I love ropes courses. I love the feeling as I climb up the tree saying "This is me, look what I can do, I am more than just an every day person". I get a sense of more than self as I hit the top and work with my mates to do whatever task has been assigned to me. This past weekend, the ropes course with my students/residents didn't change my opinion much, just heightened it where it involves my floor. I love how well people step up when there is an emergency about, I just hate that often that emergency is me.
We were doing a buddy climb with 3 different layers. from the ground to the first layer was staples and a single log strung between two trees. The second layer was another set of staples up and a 2X4 over to a free hanging, wooden, spoke removeable ladder, up to the third layer, which was another log. In my head originally it didn't seem so bad. Then I learned that it was a truddy task. That I had to rely on two guys, one extrodinaryily muscular one from my floor (nicknamed beast) and another tall guy from a different dorm all together. Okay, seems doable. Should be fun.
So we climb. Other dorm guy goes first, and starts cursing as he hits the top (because he learned he had to stand at the tree and wait for us to come up). Beast goes next, no problems there, and I with no issues. Buddied across the first log, no issue. Climb again. Hit the top and Other Dorm guy curses and freaks a tad (for a bit) about the ladder. He can't figure out how to use the removeable spokes, to fit his size. At this point I'm chatting with Beast and begin to notice that my head is swirling. I always get a bit of reverb from height, but when has that stopped me from anything. So I stay. Other Dorm guy starts to go up and I mention to Beast that I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it as I'm starting to not feel so hot. He encourages me, and lets me know he needs me to help him get to the top of the ladder. So I stand there. Aparently at this point I lost consiousness for a moment.
I stood in the same place. One hand in a staple, one hand on Beast. But aparently he had to swing the ladder around and hang on it for a moment to help Other Dorm Guy get up. I stood there, but remember nothing. I remember telling the belayers that it was time for me to go down, and that I was done. They did they job and attempted to encourage me to stay up. "Look at the horizon" "look at a big tree" they said, as I tried to explain that it had nothing at all to do with height.
"No I need down now. I'm starting to black out." I say. This is greeted with some general rumbling as they continue to tell me to stay. Beast then notices that I'm wobbling, and I have no coordination. He wraps his arms around me, and attepts to calm me down while telling the belayers "She needs down NOW!"
More rumbling but they tell me, because the ropes are tangled I need to hold on to the ladder for Beast to get to the top. I, the girl who is passing out, needs to hold on and stabalize?! What?!. So I do. I prop all my weight at the end of the ladder, and cradle my head in my arms because I again lose it. Aparently at this point, as beast ascends the ladder he is saying "Ember? Ember? Are you okay? Are you with me? Ember? I need you to hold on. Ember? Are you okay?" All I hear is the last Ember are you okay, as I come to again. '*grumble* yeah" is all I can respond with.
He gets to the top, and then there is more issue with my rope being stood upon by Other Dorm Guy and is tangled in Beasts (see problem with 3 people in air). They then spend a extraordinary (or so it seemed) time on explaining how to get let down. I then lean back and let them do the work. Again, I lose memory or consiousness. I come to, as my butt bumps the first log. They tell me to stand and swing around on the log. Since I can't stand let alone think straight, I twist around and pull myself under the log. They contiue to pull me down.
And lastly, I lose memory or consiousness again. I am not sure how I achieved a hill, got out of the rope, and managed to get to the ground. I saw a bunch of people (two students that aparently helped me up the hill). One asked if they could get me water and all I said was "sugar" and one of those students got me some gummies, and someone got me a cliff bar. After awhile of sitting there, they ended up helping me up (wayyyy up) to the pavillion where I essentially sat in the same place for the rest of the night.
If nothing else it was an adventure. And I discovered that, Beast, Creepy, and RobBob are some of my favorite freshman. They all went out of their way, to get me safely to ground, and made sure I was taken care of, despite the others (ropes guys, my co, my boss) not noticing that I needed help.
I think my freshman are fantastic...now if only my co.... :P
We were doing a buddy climb with 3 different layers. from the ground to the first layer was staples and a single log strung between two trees. The second layer was another set of staples up and a 2X4 over to a free hanging, wooden, spoke removeable ladder, up to the third layer, which was another log. In my head originally it didn't seem so bad. Then I learned that it was a truddy task. That I had to rely on two guys, one extrodinaryily muscular one from my floor (nicknamed beast) and another tall guy from a different dorm all together. Okay, seems doable. Should be fun.
So we climb. Other dorm guy goes first, and starts cursing as he hits the top (because he learned he had to stand at the tree and wait for us to come up). Beast goes next, no problems there, and I with no issues. Buddied across the first log, no issue. Climb again. Hit the top and Other Dorm guy curses and freaks a tad (for a bit) about the ladder. He can't figure out how to use the removeable spokes, to fit his size. At this point I'm chatting with Beast and begin to notice that my head is swirling. I always get a bit of reverb from height, but when has that stopped me from anything. So I stay. Other Dorm guy starts to go up and I mention to Beast that I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it as I'm starting to not feel so hot. He encourages me, and lets me know he needs me to help him get to the top of the ladder. So I stand there. Aparently at this point I lost consiousness for a moment.
I stood in the same place. One hand in a staple, one hand on Beast. But aparently he had to swing the ladder around and hang on it for a moment to help Other Dorm Guy get up. I stood there, but remember nothing. I remember telling the belayers that it was time for me to go down, and that I was done. They did they job and attempted to encourage me to stay up. "Look at the horizon" "look at a big tree" they said, as I tried to explain that it had nothing at all to do with height.
"No I need down now. I'm starting to black out." I say. This is greeted with some general rumbling as they continue to tell me to stay. Beast then notices that I'm wobbling, and I have no coordination. He wraps his arms around me, and attepts to calm me down while telling the belayers "She needs down NOW!"
More rumbling but they tell me, because the ropes are tangled I need to hold on to the ladder for Beast to get to the top. I, the girl who is passing out, needs to hold on and stabalize?! What?!. So I do. I prop all my weight at the end of the ladder, and cradle my head in my arms because I again lose it. Aparently at this point, as beast ascends the ladder he is saying "Ember? Ember? Are you okay? Are you with me? Ember? I need you to hold on. Ember? Are you okay?" All I hear is the last Ember are you okay, as I come to again. '*grumble* yeah" is all I can respond with.
He gets to the top, and then there is more issue with my rope being stood upon by Other Dorm Guy and is tangled in Beasts (see problem with 3 people in air). They then spend a extraordinary (or so it seemed) time on explaining how to get let down. I then lean back and let them do the work. Again, I lose memory or consiousness. I come to, as my butt bumps the first log. They tell me to stand and swing around on the log. Since I can't stand let alone think straight, I twist around and pull myself under the log. They contiue to pull me down.
And lastly, I lose memory or consiousness again. I am not sure how I achieved a hill, got out of the rope, and managed to get to the ground. I saw a bunch of people (two students that aparently helped me up the hill). One asked if they could get me water and all I said was "sugar" and one of those students got me some gummies, and someone got me a cliff bar. After awhile of sitting there, they ended up helping me up (wayyyy up) to the pavillion where I essentially sat in the same place for the rest of the night.
If nothing else it was an adventure. And I discovered that, Beast, Creepy, and RobBob are some of my favorite freshman. They all went out of their way, to get me safely to ground, and made sure I was taken care of, despite the others (ropes guys, my co, my boss) not noticing that I needed help.
I think my freshman are fantastic...now if only my co.... :P