 CAN CLIMB: 11 year old Unas Nakarmi is already a regular climber. |
But interest has flagged off and these days the club is often almost empty. "It's the exam season," explains Pemba Yanji Sherpa but it is evident the climbing wall needs more publicity.
One former PLMF regular has used the club as a stepping-stone for his own project-building climbing walls in his own house. Paresh Krishna Shrestha's 'Project Climb' will include climbing walls in four rooms of his house in Patan made from recycled wooden containers and grips imported from Singapore. Today, one eight-foot wall is complete and Shrestha says the others will be more challenging with overhangs and traverses.
Layers of thick mattresses have been placed on the ground below the walls to cushion falls. "My main problem is budget because this is expensive and I am building it entirely out of my own pocket," says Paresh. One way he plans to save some money is with locally carved stone grips. "The walls may look amateurish to professional climbers but the intention is to get young kids interested in climbing and they can start here." Once completed Paresh plans to charge Rs 1,000 a year for membership.
Wall or rock climbing can be an excellent way to not only improve your physical stamina and endurance but also to strengthen your character. The challenge to reach another inch further to get a hand or foothold helps to build willpower, self-confidence and determination. That is why Paresh hopes some of his clients will be corporate houses teaching their managers team-building and overcoming challenges.
He says: "This is one reason why climbing as a sport is so addictive because it constantly tests your will power."
