It rained during the qualifiers, but we climbed. It rained while in isolation, so we waited. It rained during the finals, and still we climbed.

While many things could have been done better (hindsight is always 50/50 by the way), the organisers and volunteers from PA Water Venture put in their best, and always had the welfare of the climbers in their sight.  The weather we can’t control, but with spirit and determination, we were still triumphant.  A Pyrrhic victory it may be, but a victory nevertheless.

The organisers could have cancelled the finals, they could have postponed it; but they and the volunteers chose to stay on despite the rain, just so the climbers wouldn’t have to return. The climbers could have complained, they could have boycotted, but they chose to make the best of the situation, and not complain about the condition – because it is the same for everyone.

Beyond the call of duty
Most significantly, the man of the match has to be Rozihan Anwar (Yan), our chief route-setter.

Up and down he went, like Sisyphus rolling his boulder in futility.  But he kept at it.  Just so every climber will have a dry wall to climb on.  Like Sisyphus, Yan never did succeed in drying everything, because it simply wasn’t possible.  But he kept at it, even as the rain kept pouring.

As a climber and fellow route-setter, I feel him.  I felt his weariness, and I felt his desolation; but most of all, I felt his passion – for his work, for the sport, and for the climbers he is route-setting for.

Which way?

When the pressure is on and the chips are down, there may appear 2 paths which we can choose to walk – the easy way, or the right way.  Too often, we choose the former.  But today, when one path leads to a good dinner and a hot shower, and another path leads to fatigue, wet underwear and hunger, Yan chose his…

Thank you Yan, I feel your wet underwear…