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The Hiking Club, St. Stephen’s College organised its 15th National Climbing Competition, from 31st January to 2nd February 2020. The event was a ravishing success with participation in varied categories like lead and speed climbing, between various age groups.

The Adventure Club of St. Stephen’s College, called The Hiking Club, organised its 15th National Climbing Competition. The event commenced on 31stJanuary and went on to 2ndFebruary 2020.  The event was incentivised with prizes worth Rs. 60,000, making the gymnasium of the college echo with loud cheers and hoots.

The National Climbing Competition is an annual event, which awards the player who can climb the set distance in the shortest time. This year’s edition of the Annual Competition was adjudged by Mr Rohit Solanki and Mr Chandan Kumar.

Participants from all over Delhi put on their competitive shoes while eyeing the prizes up for grabs. All participants were full of enthusiasm and eagerly waited for their turns. The results of the competitions were announced on 1stFebruary and 2ndFebruary, and they are:

In the ‘Under 16 Boys Speed’ category, Sachin Saroj bagged the first position, Manujee in the second position and Kabir won the third position.

In the ‘Under 16 Girls Speed’ category, Arshpreet Kaur emerged as the winner, and Simran Kaur and Nandini Dhir came second and third respectively.

For the ‘Open Women Speed’ category, Shivpreet Pannu got the first place, Shivani Charak and Siya Negi, emerging at the second and third place, repectively.

For the ‘Open Men Speed’, Inder Singh was declared the winner, and Bhuvnesh won the second place, while Sarvan bagged the third place.

For the ‘Under 16 Boys Lead’ category, Sachin Saroj again bagged the first place. Manujee and Vansh Bhardwaj bagged the second and third position respectively.

For the ‘Under 16 Girls Lead’ Category, Arshpreet Kaur won the first place, and Nandini Dhir came second, followed by Simran Kaur at the third place.

In the ‘Open Men Lead’ category, Sachin Saroj emerged as the winner, followed by Abhishek Mehta in the second position and Inder Singh in the third place. In the ‘Open Women Lead’ category, Shivpreet Pannu bagged the first place, followed by Shivani Charak and Siya Negi at the second and third positions.

 

Feature image credits- Gyanarjun Saroj for DU Beat

Suhani Malhotra

[email protected]

 

Formed in 1949, this is the second oldest hiking club of India, the oldest being The Himalayan Club of Bombay. The hiking club of St. Stephens consists of 15 adventure sports junkies who take time out from their studies to celebrate the spirit of adventure. “College is the best time of your life. It is about making memories and having some fun”, says Suraj, Secretary of the Club.

The members meet every day and practice climbing at the Eshwaran Bharatan Memorial wall, an artificial rock climbing wall situated outside the college gymnasium. The annual St Stephen’s open short climbing competition also takes place here. The wall has been named after Eshwaran Bharata, president of the club in 1979-80, who was killed in an expedition in Lahaul.

“So what all activities do you do?” I ask Mohamin, President of the Club. “We’ve ventured into mountaineering, trekking, cycling, sport climbing and rafting. People think all this is a just-for-fun thing. But it’s serious business.”

The group has two divisions, one is the climbing team and the other is the organizing team. The latter concerns it with organizing treks and arranging for sponsorships. While membership of the group is strictly restricted to students of the college, everyone (that includes foreign exchange students, students from other colleges) is welcome to join the group in their treks. “The more, the merrier”, says Suraj, with a smile.

The club went to Kedarnath last year and also paid a trek visit to Ladakh. While most students prefer to cuddle in the comfort of their bedrooms during weekends, these guys choose to pedal away their weekends on cycle treks or sometimes go rock climbing in nearby locations like Damdama, Dhauj and Lado Sarai. They also organize talks with eminent personalities so as to learn the finer nuances of trekking.

However, a lot goes behind planning the treks. “We have a lot of work throughout the year. Before choosing a location, we have to see what season in favorable. We organize a long trek in the summer break and shorter treks in October, March and September, depending upon holidays. Then come sponsorships. A 10 day trek will have a budget of around 1 Lakh. So there is a lot to look into.” says Lucky, captain of the club.

Recently, the Equal Opportunity Cell of St. Stephen’s organized a trek for the visually challenged students, which was a great exposure to those students.

On being asked how the whole experience of being has a member of this club has been, they say, “The places where we go trekking are so serene and beautiful, and when you come back to the hustle bustle of the city it makes you appreciate the magical feeling of treks.”