THE CLIMB OF MY LIFE

Commando team commander MSG Cheang Qing Xin is a Singapore Mountaineering Federation Rock Climbing Instructor. He was also part of the winning team during the World Championship Climb to the Sky(park) at the Marina Bay Sands opening ceremony in 2010.

Standing on El Capitan Meadows with the 3,000ft (915m) granite monolith known as the King of Big Walls staring down at me and my partner, it felt surreal that we were finally here.

After a year of dreaming, six months of training, a 20-hour flight and six hours of driving, my fiancee Kelly Khiew and I arrived in Yosemite Valley, the rock climbing mecca.

Being prepared

Climbing a big wall like the El Capitan is a mission that requires planning, mental strength and physical endurance. Looking back, my military training helped a lot in those five weeks of adventure. Having the physical endurance to hang off a rope for five days as well as the ability to think and remain composed during difficult times on the wall helped to make the trip a safe and enjoyable one.

After a few practice climbs, we finally began our ascent of El Capitan via The Nose route (a five-day climb of grade 6 difficulty) on 7 Jul 2011.

I was reminded of packing for missions as we filled our haul bags with 24 litres of water and just enough food for five days.

The plan was to climb slow and steady, sleeping on four bivy sites (rest points with just enough space for setting up sleeping bags) on the wall. If we didn't get to the sites as planned every day, we ran the risk of running out of food and water and eventually becoming too tired and weak to finish the climb.

As we moved higher, pine trees slowly transformed into needles sticking out from the ground and the green tourist bus that came by daily got smaller and smaller.

We soon became exhibition items on the wall: Every evening, there were hundreds of tourists snapping pictures. I felt like a superstar until Kelly reminded me that we were probably so tiny that no one would be able to spot us.

Staying motivated

We climbed through several well-known features on the wall and did very challenging pitches; and I couldn't believe we were doing all the things I had read on magazines and the Internet.

There were times when I fell and it hurt too much to continue and there were also times when the climbing seemed so dangerous that I froze. Staying happy and motivating each other, just as I do with my fellow servicemen, on the wall was the key to success.

Kelly and I stood on top of El Capitan on 12 Jul 2011 at 1532hrs. We took five days to climb the giant: Even though it's not a speed record by any standards, it was a great feeling to know that we were one of the first Singaporeans to stand on top of this iconic rock feature by the less travelled way.

"Climbing El Capitan is a mission that requires seamless planning, mental strength and physical endurance. Looking back, my military training helped a lot in those five weeks of adventure."

- MSG Cheang