In my previous blog I had mused why I am not a climber. Well, the injury I had sustained in May was actually a metacarpal fracture (the one supporting my left hand ring finger). Which means, I had been climbing 8-9 pitches daily for 10 days in Italia Alps, wearing a smile and enjoying the trip despite the pain all the while having a broken bone, because I had commitments to my climbing partners. Hmmm, not bad, maybe I am not such a softie after all?
Anyway that and a visa issue meant that I had to cancel an invited talk in Italy and a climbing trip I had in the Alps in June-July, inform all my partners I had committed to, and make sudden plans to head off to Bangalore instead to cool off/heal. This is my first fracture in my life. I was told to wear a splint for a month and not exert my left hand for 6-8 weeks. Now all climbers are programmed to feel shattered and cry when they have injuries that force them out of action and I called up a close climbing partner to do just that.
However a few days in Bangalore back with my family set me right and I was also able to catch up on work while on vacation. Bangalore now has lots of excellent badminton halls and my brother has been playing regularly lately after work/weekends, so we began to do family trips. My dad would also join some days, and we would typically book two courts so all 6-7 of us could play. It was so much fun that I began to get used to life without climbing! This continued for about 2 weeks till I began to feel I could perhaps start with light climbing without stressing my injured hand. At this point the motivation was more to empirically test and reassure myself that I haven’t lost my climbing mojo. I was no longer craving to climb and that scared me!
Trial Day: It took me a while before I could go and test my condition before I could commit to partner with anyone. That’s because I had to go on something easy where someone else would be there as back up in case my fingers hurt under climbing load, if I wasn’t able to climb and finish routes. The opportunity came by way of a group climb with Sunny, Suma, Kamalesh and Latha, who each are in their 40’s or 50’s and are veterans with 20-30 years of climbing experience. So we began with Karekallu in Ramanagara, which has nice easy routes on good quality granite. Chandra (my wife) got to climb a few pitches fully on top rope, which is something she was struggling to do here in Bombay. It was also inspiring for her (and me) to see these other ladies climb fluidly, with skill rather than brute strength.
After that, Sunny and I blocked 4-5 days to climb together and below is a picture album/diary of stuff we did, with links to the topos for those who may wish to climb some of those routes themselves.
Day 1: Kabbalu (Kabbaldurga):
This is the place where Sunny had been reviving some uber-classic climbs, the so-called old-school Bangalore climbs, under the guidance of Kamalesh Venugopal, one of those early climbers. Climbs with long run outs, done wearing canvas shoes and non-climbing ropes and no helmets back in the 80’s by a bunch of enterprising teens/young adults, apparently explorers at heart with balls of steel, having no other care in the world, and with a lot of time at hand! A profile that current climbers can’t perhaps match for various reasons. Much respect to those old-school climbers regardless. Kabbalu is where multi-pitch climbing around Bangalore started.
Here’s Sunny bolting an anchor with Kamalesh for a hairy route he had climbed a few days earlier, one of the hardest and most impressive climbs around Bangalore in recent times (hard to repeat due to a combination of run-outs and difficulty of climbing and/or protection). I was happy I got a chance to top-rope it safely. I thought it was an extremely high quality climb, and not just another Bangalore granite slab. Stayed over at the homestay/room in Savandurga, one of my favourite locations to stay, so close to the forest and my favourite hill.
Day 2: My main goal in this trip was to go do volumes on Banyan Tree Pillar trad climbs. Unfortunately the approach trail to BTP was overgrown and we didn’t have the equipment to fight the brambles. Each time I venture into BTP area my respect for the folks who identify/maintain the trail increases; almost anyone can climb but not everyone can handle vicious thorny trails in bear/leopard territory that BTP is. It is one serious confusing trail, the approach itself would be a fine adventure for rookies. We did give a serious attempt before feeling it was not the best ROI for us that day, so went on to do some sport climbs in Prana area instead. I didn’t have the head for leading and I didn’t particularly enjoy those climbs to be honest but I did do a couple of laps on TR to really test/push my fingers.
Moved to Achalu for homestay with Kumar’s. I love this homestay, including all the earthy smells, the bovine dung, sounds of animals, crickets, mosquitoes and insects and and stuff. Authentic lifestyle. I sleep blissfully there on the floor with a thin mattress.
Day 3: Spanish Rose. We started the day by climbing this rarely climbed classic. A nice granite crack bang inside the city of Ramanagara! Thanks to Dini for patiently taking our calls and providing us the directions to the climb and Sunny for planning and leading it. I have added some pics with captions in the topo for those who may wish to climb this route.
It was a hot, sunny day, so we rested a bit before heading to Broomberg for an afternoon climb when it is in shade. I have climbed this route twice before, onsighting the pitches without too much trouble but this time the run-outs and the flaky rock played on my mind and I was happy to follow all pitches.
Day 4: Rest day. Sunny needed a rest day since he had been doing all the leading, the heavy lifting the last several days. So we opted to go hiking in Kunti Betta and see if we could identify or bolt some new climbs. We didn’t try too hard, and didn’t find anything.
I have been wanting to bolt some things here but Bangalore climbers justifiably don’t find it attractive because they have better options on the way…so this is a pending project for me and Prashanth. If you can arrange a drill and have genuine enthusiasm to develop climbing in Kunti Betta, message me or Prashanth Rajashekhar.
Day 5: Boom Shankar. Now this one is a mega classic! A 5-star route, in the league of Savandurga/BTP in my opinion. I am so happy I got to climb this route. Don’t ask me what is a classic or why this one is a classic; some just are and you know it when you climb it, and this is one of those. Dini described it to us and Sunny had the fortitude to explore it and I was happy to tag along. The quality of rock is perfect, the setting is grand, the exposure is terrific and in hindsight, the approach isn’t too bad either though I had serious qualms about it earlier.
The route is on the middle hillock in the picture below.
The approach seemed difficult (as you can see from the picture above), and while it did have some tough sections, including one where you are precariously crawling on all fours taking care not to unsettle a red ant nest or the thorny brambles, finally emerging out of the opening that is made and maintained by a resident bear (yeah, we were essentially following the trail made by a local bear; many of these climbs in Ramanagara are in bear territory, but me coming from leopard territory (which is IITB Powai campus!), I see it as just another animal-human co-existence, take basic precautions and move on.
Of course, as belayer while Sunny was leading the first pitch, I was a sitting duck should the bear come to investigate or the bees get agitated (there was an active bee hive at shouting distance and the leader would be an easy target for them), I was mentally ready for my emergency protocol in case I get attacked by the bear: lock off the belay and just get on the route asap. If bees, lock off the belay and roll on the ground and cover my head.
None of that happened and all we got was 5-star climbing. Here’s Sunny leading Pitch 1: Starts as a thin crack, the first part filled by a banyan tree root that you can use as holds, continues as a roof crack above the tree, followed by the crux move. 
Sunny finishing Pitch 2.
Peering down from Pitch 1 belay.
This is me just after the crux. One of the hardest single moves I have done on a crack climb so far. The route is graded 5.8, but in my view it is much harder, around 5.10. 
By now the crux is past and the rest of the route is fun. I wish I was carrying my Gri-Gri, which would allow me to take a few pics of Sunny leading as well (the device isn’t a hands-free device but it is easier to take pics while using one). But that’s in hindsight. before the climb all you have is the fear of the unknown, the anxiety to finish as safely and quickly as possible, and hence any extra weight is a luxury I could do without… 
Pitch 2
Pitch 2 is sheer joy. The point when you change from a grimace to a smile of relief as you realize the route is done! 
Once at the top, Sunny cleaning the anchor while I sit down to take in the views. Did someone ask why climb? Dubaara Mat Poochna! What a way to end a 5 day partnership with the Yogi of trad climbing, Sadhguru Sunny Jamshedji. A man from whom you learn a lot about everything including diet and life, besides the finer aspects of this art called trad climbing (onsight!). “Evolution”. “Expansion of the mind”. “Chop Chop Chop” (to do things quickly, with practiced precision). These are words that will haunt in my ears, and play at the back of my mind as I shift from climbing mode to my work mode. Until we meet again and the whole cycle begins. That is why we climb.
Actually this wasn’t the end, we spent some more time exploring stuff on Madhepura Betta and climbed the three single pitch routes there. Neither of us was tired ( at least I wasn’t, as I wasn’t leading) but it got dark and drizzled by then and I had to go back to my family and prep for our journey to Bombay and that’s how this trip ended. One a high note if there was one. Many notes higher than what I had envisaged when I first heard I had a fracture.
Thanks Sunny for some spectacular partnership/mentorship and coaxing me to do things I wouldn’t do if left to my choice, Dini, Sohan and Bangalore climbers for route development and info sharing.
The end!
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