A Climb With a View (Southern Laos)

The view from our climb out of The Bolaven Plateau

As it started to pour from the angry sky we began our ascent from the tropical valley floor. We stumbled up the hillside on our hands and knees. Grabbing roots, branches, or rocks to drag ourselves up the steep terrain.

Though no real path was present we clambered up a small muddy indent in the slope where all the rainwater flowed. Soaking wet, muddy, and exhausted we reached flatter ground and soon stopped at the edge of sheer rock face going up hundreds of feet, our only exit from the valley we were in.

As my eyes followed the rusty metal rungs rising upwards imbedded in the rock face, I felt sick to my stomach. They went up and then around to the other side of the towering wall above us. Please note I’m terrified of heights and have never even scaled a fake plastic rock wall, I wasn't sure I could do it.

I was horrified. With each step forward in line I felt even more nervous. I looked upwards; far above me members of my group were scrambling across the rungs and soon it would be my turn.

When I found myself in the front of the line, rain poured down as I clipped myself onto the metal rope that follows the rungs and began to climb. My heart raced and my hands were shaking. After a few steps on the rungs I was forced to unclip and move upwards to re-clip my carabiner.

Soon I’d reached the top of this portion and had to move across to the right on a slanted rock face, hanging backwards, holding onto the rungs above me for dear life. Balancing my feet sideways I started making my way across.

As I slowly moved onwards I had no choice but to stare down at the drop below. At this point adrenaline had fully taken over my body - I could feel the rush in my blood stream and one of my legs began to spasm uncontrollably. My knuckles were white from holding on for dear life.

With a combination of dizziness from hyperventilating and the intoxication of an extreme adrenaline rush, I pushed forward. There was no other way. The rock face curved and the last rung on this side of the bend seemed impossibly far from the rungs beyond the curve. It took a while but somehow I managed to swing my shaking body from one side of the cliff to the other, grasping the rung above me for dear life. I will admit even an experienced sailor would have been taken aback by my language throughout this process.

I pulled myself upwards onto a slippery ledge. From here we could see the most incredible view of the valley we had climbed from, and we were high up! We took a moment to take in the beautiful scenery and to take advantage of having something beneath us that wasn't so small and unstable we had to cling to metal bars above us to avoid tumbling off a cliff.

We continued climbing. Soon we reached a strange tunnel like area, the ground beneath us was dirt and tree roots grew over giving us a sort of natural awning.

More beautiful views awaited from this vantage point. We were relieved and thankful to stand on solid ground.

While making our way out of the overhanging tree roots I turned to take some of photos of my sister Kat. As I was taking the photos of her making her way through the pathway, a portion of the ledge beneath her gave out and she toppled straight over the edge.

Her carabiner came to the rescue but it was a traumatic experience for both of us. Seeing your sister drop off the side of a cliff isn't a fun experience and I’m sure neither is falling from a crumbling ledge. We spent a few minutes hysterically laughing on the ground hugging and then continued our journey. At this point adrenaline had served its purpose and then some.

We climbed on for what seemed like forever until I finally pulled myself up onto another ledge and found a rope. The rope lead up a steep muddy slope. At the top, members of our group who had started the climb before us were taking a break. I admit at this point I was pretty excited to see an end to the climb and dragged myself upwards on the rope in fits of euphoria. Our group watched from above as I finally arrived on my hands and knees up the slope, cackling and close to tears.

From that point on we trekked back through the jungle. We tightroped over waterfalls and zip lined over the edges of more falls but compared to what we had just done it felt like nothing.

Kat walking across a river bed a few feet from a giant drop into the valley

The hike back took hours and was mostly uphill. Somehow we found ourselves back at the small village from where we started this day long adventure. I truly felt like a completely different person than I had been when we arrived early that morning.

I faced so many fears, completely ripped from my comfort zone in every possible way.

It was one of the most unforgettable days of my life.
~Sam