So yesterday it happened, I went through with my goal and dangled 31 stories above the ground.
I arrived at the Sheraton at about 9:20. I was given a 10:42 rappel time and instructed to be there an hour early to sign the necessary forms, get geared up and perform a short practice run. Since I was still 20 minutes early I took a peak around the building so I could see some of the rappels that were already underway. In the days leading up to the event, as expected, everyone asked me the same question "are you nervous?" Surprisingly, for the most part, I was not nervous. I had a strange sense of calm about things. When I turned the corner and saw the rappel site, however, I got my first taste of fear. It is one thing to be familiar with the building and imagine rappelling down the side. It is another thing, however, to see a tiny body way up top stepping over the edge and making her way down. The image is akin to taking a plastic toy soldier and dangling it off the top of a refrigerator (and not those small dorm sized ones either). Crap, I thought, what did I do to myself?
Time was a tickin', so I decided to head up to the mezzanine level of the hotel and sign-in. When I got to the sign-in room, there was a panel of about 8 people waiting to give me instructions. Initial this form, fill out this questionnaire, put this name badge on your right arm and this number on your left, give me everything in your pockets, etc... After about 10 minutes everything that I needed to do in room 1 was taken care of. I was then to go to room 2, the staging area where I would be outfitted with all the necessary rappel gear. They were running behind though and the group currently being geared up had not yet finished. I ended up waiting on the lanai with some of the volunteers.
One thing I have to say about the Over The Edge event, their volunteers were super fantastic. Everyone I encountered was very friendly,supportive and informative. I gather that some of the group was from the Special Olympics, others from the rappel company, and they also had a group from the military that were there to assist. I talked to a few of the guys on the balcony who were in the marines and they explained they rappelled frequently as part of their training. Their advice to me, don't look down.
As I waited on the lanai, other rappellers began to show up. It is a strange bond you start to form with people who are about to experience the same fate as you. There was a helicopter engineer, a guy from Queens hospital, an attorney from legal aide (coincidentally, we knew several of the same people), and another couple signed up to rappel simultaneously. As we talked, none of us had a clear reason for signing up to do this. The consensus was more of a why NOT do it. Eventually, room 2 was ready for the 6 of us and we were geared up as a group. Harness, check. Gloves, check. Helmet, check.
Next, we were escorted to a small lanai that was set up for our practice run. We were given some instructions on how to maneuver the rappel trigger and how to unlock the apparatus should we go too fast causing the automatic locking mechanism to kick in. I was praying my mind would not go blank and I would remember all of the instructions. It was now time for the practice run. No one stepped up so I volunteered to go first. Generally, I don't mind going first. I'd rather get it over with and besides, people give you some leeway if you mess up.
As a practice, we were to rappel down about 3 stories so we could get the feel for things. The distance is a fairly small one and standing on the edge you almost fee safe. A fall from that height I guessed would hurt, but would not kill me. Overall, the practice went well. The only difficult part was when he ledge ends and you have to shift from walking down the wall to merely hanging. Of course, my super ungraceful self managed to mess things up and slam into the wall. It was more embarrassing than anything else. I don't think anyone noticed, however. They had their own safety to worry about.
At this point, I was on my own while the rest of the group practiced. I was taken by a volunteer up to the roof. In situations like these I usually set a point of no return for myself, a point where I decide I will succumb to whatever happens and not turn back. There is a saying I am fond of, "don't look back unless you plan on going that way". For this adventure my point of no return was the elevator. Once I got in that elevator, the only way down would be on the exterior of the building, I was not about to ride the elevator back down.
The roof of the Sheraton was a lot different than I expected. It is totally barricaded on the perimeter, so you cannot see off the building. The only time you actually see what you are doing is once you climb the scaffolding set up for the event. Three rappellers were already in decent when I arrived on the roof so I waited to be called to climb up the scaffolding onto the platform. I tried to think of something inspirational to calm my nerves. Something that would encompass the adventure I was about to have. The only thing that came to mind, however, was GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE. From that point on, GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE was my mantra.
They were finally ready for me and I climbed the small ramp and metal ladder leading up to the platform. Standing atop the scaffolding was the most terrifying part of the experience. I was firmly gripping one of the metal poles on the landing as I was tied to the ropes and given further instructions. I briefly imagined a scenario where they would have to pry my hands from the pole, but then I thought of my mantra. Finally, I had to pull myself up and over the railing and lean back into the harness. There was a photographer there to take photos and he instructed me to let go with both hands. Are you crazy I first thought, but after being reassured that it was safe, I complied.
The actual decent was not as bad as I thought it would be. I decided for the first half I would not look down. I would concentrate on the task ahead of me and deal with pulling the trigger. That totally worked. At the half way point I began to get braver. I looked around briefly and was able to make eye contact with the family and friends there to support me. I even went faster. Unfortunately, at one point I went too fast and locked up. I had to signal the guys up top to give me some slack so I could unlock the mechanism. Until that happened, however, I just dangled there.
Eventually I made it to the bottom!
I then did a quick interview with the announcer. I was surprised to learn that they had a large number of people logging onto the live stream to watch me. I hope I did not make too much of a fool of myself.
All in all, it was a great experience. I am not ashamed to say I am very proud of myself. It was actually fun and I would definitely do it again. Hopefully next time someone will be waiting at the bottom of the rope prepared to do the
truffle shuffle in celebration.
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