Cadets: Fear of Heights, No More!
By Vince Giovannani, Contributor; Edited by Rawnie Sun ‘25, Head Editor-in-Chief
The Ridley College MS and US Cadets spent a day on a 35-foot rappel tower mastering the skills of climbing and rappelling in addition to learning how to build a fire, prepare wild game, and cook on an open fire. The training day brought the Cadets to new “heights,” as they managed to conquer their fear of heights and trusted one another when on the rope, demonstrating that teamwork is the key to success. At first, the Cadets scaled the 35-foot climbing wall not knowing that technique, skill, and knowledge would be what got them to the top. Not the “death grip” of holding onto a mould or rope or your belayer pulling you up along the way. Once on top of the tower, it was time to get to the bottom, and the only way down was to rappel! Understanding the psychology of fear and its effect on performance, how it wells up in the first place, and what we can do to deal with it was something we would work on throughout the day.
Rappelling is a technique used by climbers, mountaineers, cavers, rope rescue technicians, and search and rescue teams to descend cliffs or slopes when they are too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.
To descend safely, abseilers use a variety of techniques to increase the friction on the rope to the point where it can be controlled comfortably. These techniques range from wrapping the rope around their body to using custom-built devices like a figure of 8 plates, or more modern devices such as mechanical ascenders/belay devices.
Standing at the top of the tower, on the rope, and moving closer to the edge was a true test of “mind over body.” Each Cadet listened attentively to the instructors, the seriousness on their faces was visible, their bodies were tense, and as they inched closer to the edge of the tower, it was their time to go down. Their back to the open space below, hands on the rope, looking over their shoulder as they slowly let the rope out of the descender, and they began to lower their body under the platform and then into the great open space dangling on the rope! A safe descent slowly lowering themselves to the ground to get off the rope with a large smile on their face and a great sense of accomplishment!
Once on the ground, it was time to enjoy some time amongst friends and new friends beside a nice open fire, and of course, enjoy the cooked stew that the Cadets prepared with some assistance from our chefs before heading back to school!
Mission accomplished!
Terar Dum Prosim
