Rope Course at Mountain View = Paying for Torture!

We always tend to do a lot of strenuous activities under the team management of one TM Kulas.

That 3-hour walk all over Malapascua Island that ended in disappointment because the wonderful beach that was promised wasn't there because of the low tide. The 30-minute walk turned 2-hour death march to Dao Falls in Samboan. Even that tiring hike to SM with Louie that I was hassled into undertaking instead of comfortably riding a jeepney.

The latest physical challenge happened last Saturday, February 23, 2013. This was planned 2 weeks before, and was described as an obstacle course at the Mountain View Nature's Park in Busay.

Bored waiting for Brenda (over an hour!!!)

Mountain View, here we come!

Mountain View lol :P

Brunch!

Hayag's signature eating style! :P

Busog na!

Pre-Rope Course shots

Now, my idea of an obstacle course was something along the likes of what we had gone through back when I was a cadet girl scout in my last year of high school. The ERUF had prepared an obstacle course during a week-long camping trip at Camp Marina, which included suspension bridges, a spiderweb-like rope course that you needed to climb over and down from, a layout of tires that you needed to go through, and even a crawl through the mud under a trellis-like structure that had leaves and branches sticking out of it. Something similar to this:

taken from this

I was NOT expecting a ROPE course - which was done entirely above ground level.

Ze Rope Course!

For starters, I have a fear of heights. That's the reason why I didn't jump off the diving board at FUNtastic Gibitngil Island in Medellin back in 2011, and why I hated swimming competitions that used the length of the pool because I was required to dive off the diving block (back when I used to swim).

And if it somehow hasn't been clear from the pictures of me in my other posts, I am on the heavy side. Granted, I didn't use to be this big, but the reality is I now look like a baby elephant. That translates to me loving food and hating exercise. My being in the call center industry doesn't help, either, as my job is to sit in front of the computer for 7 hours and 30 minutes, 5 days a week, answering chats from customers of this popular gaming console. Upper body strength? Nope, got none of that!

For the life of me, I don't know why I even agreed to go through with this. Only 8 of us decided to pay up and do the rope course, the other 7 in our party of 15 bowed out. Damn my need to always try new things (that didn't involve diving)!

Le waiver!

Signing off our lives, er, yeah hahaha :P

Excited!

Bonjing :P

Feeling model lang oh hahaha!

I thought it was all easy peasy. It did start off that way, and there was even a short zip line as the 4th part of the course (this was weird in that the stopper was you bumping onto this tilted landing board, and crawling your way up to the landing.

Phase 1 - let's cross the bridge when we get there!

Phase 2 - the balancing act

Phase 3 - crossing the net

Phase 4 - zip line!

But from then on, it started to go downhill - for me, at least.

The next course was this series of tires that were tied side by side and hung vertically. I put my foot into the hole of the first tire, and promptly had my leg fall through. I ended up sitting on the air, with my legs through the tires. I didn't trust the harness enough at first to let go, but when I did, I used up a lot of energy in trying to be free of the tires. I ended up having to "zip line" my way to the end of the this section, where Kuya had to pull me up because I couldn't find the energy to pull myself up the last tire onto the landing.

Phase 5 - the first hard part (for me :P)

Then came the swings. You had to go across each swing to get to the next segment, and yes, I was scared, but Kuya was there to save the day yet again by following suit and stepping on the swing I was currently standing on every time it looked like I was losing my balance. But the worst was yet to come - in the next segment.

Aris just laughed his way through this whole thing

QUIT SMILING, RIVIR! Haha! That Kuya was actually on his way to help me out :P

Phase 5 - swinging steps

This next part involved having to go through these huge crosses that kind of gave the vibe of pogo sticks. You had to stand upright on them, hugging the body of the cross, and then sort of twist to the right, grab a hold of the next cross, and then transfer and repeat. This was where I lost it. I was supposed to be 5th on the line, with Jacky, Brenda, and Pretzy behind me, but I ended up at the last as I switched my harness with each one of them and let them go first. I just couldn't find both the courage and energy to go through this. I did try going on the first cross, and promptly shouted to be let down.

They were having fun while I screamed in fright :P

Haha.

I tried moving to the next cross, and just gave up. Kuya kept encouraging me, but I snapped and whined like a big baby that in the end, he had to finish crossing over to the end of this section (without a harness!), and dragging me along who was now sitting on my harness while suspended on the air.

Phase 6 - Crossing crosses (See how scary!). The others made it - Congratulations! :P

My whining didn't stop there, though. I was seriously tired by then, with the pain being concentrated on my forearms from all the grabbing I did early on in the course. I'm feeling the pain even as I type, and I swear there's some swelling on both of my forearms, and right above my inner elbow (biceps brachii but then I could be wrong as my anatomy is horribly screwed now). It's PAINFUL.

Phase 7 - balancing act (advance level lol)

Phase 8 - the surfboard

Phase 9 - the grid

Phase 13 - the spider web

Phase 14 - the string swing

I did complete the entire course, but he had to pull me up the parts that needed the use of my arms to climb up. Haha. I felt sorry that he had to go through all that trouble, but I did tell him that I wanted to quit right before the cross part, but he wouldn't let me.

Needless to say, I made thorough use of all the services that came with the Php 150 fee. :P

And yes, I was the last one to finish. I came down to applause, as everyone was waiting for me so we  could all go home haha! No matter, what's important is that I did it! With a ton of help, yes, but still..

FINALLY!

I SURVIVED THAT DARN ROPE COURSE! ^_^


I was pretty wasted for a while after finishing, even in the car as we made our way down the mountain. When Kulas dropped us off at Ayala, I made a beeline for Rose Pharmacy and got a bottle of Gatorade (for sugar and some electrolytes to counter dehydration), and a bar of Kit Kat. I did feel better afterwards. :) That enabled me to move on to SM to meet up with Zarky - but that's another story for another time. :P

Happy smiles :D

Ximximi @ Mountain View!

Oi, Rivir oh! (Sorry, just had to put this in XP)

So if my experience didn't scare you, and you're thinking, "Pfft! What a baby! I bet I can finish that course quickly!", then please do visit the Mountain View Nature Park for the experience of a lifetime.

If you're still reading up to this point, let me share a few tips before you take on the challenge:

1. DON'T DO IT. Why pay for torture? However, if you must do it, and you feel like you'll die if you can't experience this hellish course, then by all means, read on.
2. Warm Up and Stretch. Or better yet, exercise! But yes, stretching is important, especially if you're like me who leads quite a sedentary lifestyle. Wake those muscles up before you put them to work!
3. Keep calm, and breathe. Don't panic, there's a harness, and it managed to carry my weight, didn't it?
4. Don't overexert energy at the beginning of the course. There are some parts that don't really require upper body strength, so use that to your advantage and save your energy for those that do need you to grip and grasp.
5. Listen to Kuya. The Kuyas are there to help, and they tell you what you need to do if you get confused about how to get to the end of one segment.
6. Bring along a team mate who eggs you on. I managed to move quite quickly through the last 3 parts of the rope course because Marko was egging me on, and I couldn't wait to smack his lazy ass that didn't even bother to go through the torture trail. Of course, if you're the type who thrives on encouragements, then bring the opposite of the team-mate-who-eggs-you-on.
7. Have lots of water ready. And chocolates, or anything high in sugar. Yes, Mountain View is high up on the mountain where the air is cool, but if you do the rope course an hour before noon (or anytime while the sun is high up in the sky), then you'll be dehydrated by the time you finish.
8. Cool down. I failed to do this, which I am now blaming for the muscle aches and pains I am feeling now. I used to be a student athlete, but I forgot this one vital thing - stupid.

There you go! You are now ready to take on the rope course, and put your body through hell! Aw! Hahaha! Just kidding. I guess I just am not made for this kind of stuff. :P

Good luck! :D

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Mountain View Nature's Park is located in Sitio Garahe, Busay, Cebu City. It's a mere 10 to 20 minute ride from JY Square.

How to get there:

• By car. Just follow the road. :P
• By habal2x (backriding a motorcycle). Start at JY Square, and look for the motorbikes that will take you up to Busay. Fare is somewhere between Php50-70.
• By shuttle. Contact Mountain View for details (we availed of this service with my former team from my previous company).

What to wear: Comfortable clothes. I wore jeggings and a t-shirt and it worked for me. But do wear closed shoes, preferably sneakers. They do have rubber shoes for rent, I forgot to ask how much they rented them for.

What to bring: Money, food, drinks, and tissues or a small towel. Prices for food and drinks here are way too expensive! Rice costs Php 20, while 1 piece of siomai costs Php 10. O_o

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Expenses:

Php 50 - entrance
Php 150 - rope course fee
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PHP 200 - TOTAL

**We really only paid for the rope course, though, since we used the money we won for last month's RnR for the entrance fees and food. :P