Early in this list making journey I posted a list of things I have no intention of doing which was mostly populated by various thrill-seeking activities. I thought it might be fun to do a list of some of the scary (for me) things I have managed.
- Summited Mount Ossa. We had to navigate a boulder field on the way to the top. After sweating through the majority of the boulder field, I did not enjoy hearing our guide say, “The next bit is a bit more technical. Just follow the person in front and make sure you have three solid points of contact before moving” Even worse was when we stopped for a rest just after completing this section, and he said, “It’s worse going down.” For the record, it actually wasn’t worse going down … well not for me.
- Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb
- Via Ferrata in Utah
- Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef
- And some scary rides, as long as they don’t involve big drops. Probably not now, though, because of my migraines.
Comments
19 responses to “List #50: A Few Adventurous Things I Have Done”
Space Mountain is more my speed than the rock climbing adventures you’ve tackled. Holy smokes does that look horrifying. I would never attempt something like that. “Just follow the person in front of you.” That doesn’t sound all that comforting. The older I’ve gotten the less likely I am to even do roller coasters. Must have something to do with aging. I leave that for the younger crowd.
Luckily G was the person in front of me so he went slow so I could follow.
I am with you on not liking drops in roller coasters. I did a free-fall ride once and was NOT A FAN!!
Those are some very fun adventures. It’s special to be able to look back at hard/scary things that have been accomplished. There is a unique sense of satisfaction <3
I was very pleased with some of these things. Conquering fears does give an amazing rush.
Oooh you are so adventurous! FWIW I ALWAYS find it harder to go down than up. I just realized that sounded really dirty. I mean in hiking!
Haha, thanks for livening up the comment section.
I sit in awe of your seemingly fearless ability to climb talllll things. Be it buildings, structures, or out there in nature. I did such way back when I had youth on my side, but now? Not a chance in hell.
I am certainly not fearless, rather very fearful but luckily had some good guides to get me through.
Oh, I’m scared of those kinds of things as well!
It always helps if you have someone with you who is confident and seems to know what they’re doing. Via Ferratas scare me the most. You did so well!
I often wonder whether doing it more actually lowers the fear, or whether we just get better at functioning while scared.
I agree it helps to have a guide or friend who is good at the higher things. I couldn’t have done the via Ferrata or the Mount Ossa summit without the guide. Maybe you would get more confident in your abilities with a bit more practice and experience, which may make things less scary. All I know is that when I made it up to the top of the boulder field my heart was going at over 160bpm and that was not all due to physical exertion.
I have done the Sydney bridge climb! It was such a cool thing to do and I learned so much about the bridge that was really fascinating!
The scariest thing I’ve ever done is bungee jumped in New Zealand. At that time it was the 3rd highest bungee jump in the world but that was back in 2002 so it’s probably not #3 anymore!
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was pretty cool. I could not bungee jump, nope, no way!
I climbed El Capitan (Yosemite) when I was 18. Mountain climbers scale the front, but there is a trail up the back and side that you can manage much more easily, and enjoy being up top. That was the one and only time I’ve done anything like that. Oh, we also climbed to the top of some of the waterfalls, which were so beautiful, but hard on my crummy knees, and slippery in several places.
Your adventures sound amazing. I don’t love heights, and while I used to LOVE rollercoasters, they make me sick to my stomach now.
I would be with you on going up the back trail of El Capitan, although I would be standing well back from the edge.
Oh being on the top of the mountains is great. Getting up there can be scary though. On my 40th birthday we climbed the church spire. There was a way to outside and walk around and I was never so scared in my life. The “hand”rail was below the new and there was no safety. I was seriously scared someone would fall off. I had asked for the key but suffently I felt responsible on top of all my own fear. No fun at all. But the view was amazing. I never posted the pictures. Maybe I should.
I would like to see the pictures. I don’t think I would like being somewhere with only a knee-high rail. I really hate seeing other people near high drops too. When we were in the Grampians there was a guy on one of the unfenced stacks posing for photos and I could not watch.
These all look fun! I usually find it harder to go down, especially if it is something very high, as I have to look at where I am about to drop rather than having it behind me, where I can’t see it! I did a lot of via ferrata routes in Slovenia when I went hiking there, and it was very cool (and great views) but there were so many people, and I found that getting around the other people was the worst part.
When I was going back down I had G below me telling me where to find the footholds so I just felt for them.
I am usually not a thrillseeker but a challenging hike can be so worth it!