We have neither bungee jumping nor sky-diving, but we have excellent rappelling (or snappling). It generally takes the form of a long and strenuous climb followed by a quick and thrilling descent.
You can economize on time and effort by skipping the climb and just going for the descent. Some of the best rappelling in Israel takes place in Mitzpe Ramon. Here you have about 20 km of cliff face rising 80 meters out of the makhtesh and this is where Adam Sela operates.
He came to Israel from southern Africa, he is a consummate outdoors man with a reputation for safety and reliability. He volunteers for the local mountain rescue unit and is also the village ambulance driver; the point being, you are safe with him.
We were hosting a family with three young children from Petah Tikva, the kids had seen a program about rappelling on TV and they wanted to have a go; they had come to us with that purpose. I went ahead and made the arrangements for them and I decided to accompany them, they were a jolly bunch, Adam was a friend and I was curious to see how it was done.
It was August, we arrived at the visitors’ center at Mitzpe Ramon late afternoon, there was a strong breeze and the air was starting to cool. Adam was there with his son Nadav, they were with another group and I noticed the boys became rather subdued. Apparently they hadn’t shown the drop part on TV. Pictures of people sliding down on ropes laughing but no pictures of the precipice, the abyss.
So when it came to their turn to rope-up, only the youngest of the three brothers was game. Adam took us to a section of cliff with a drop of only ten meters and the boy went down without a hitch. He was thrilled. He ran back up the cliff and wanted to do it again. I thought this would encourage the others but it had the opposite effect because now they were not only afraid, they were also shamed. The wind was gusting, in an hour the light would begin to fade, the clock was ticking. The family had come all the way from Petah Tikva, there were costs involved, the boys’ adventure holiday was turning into a nightmare, I felt really bad for them. Adam was being super patient, talking to them quietly to calm their nerves but it was only making it worse for them. Suddenly the father said, ‘I will go’. His wife and sons looked at him with astonishment and started laughing. He was a dentist in his fifties and he was not at all in good shape. He was corpulent, he had the double chins, the chubby arms and his stomach protruded well beyond the line between his nose and toes. You wouldn’t think that he could walk further than a kilometer on the flat; this man was not built for rappelling. The wife immediately set about dissuading him but he was adamant. He stepped forward and Nadav started strapping him up, Adam didn’t seem to be in the least concerned. The man stepped to the edge of the cliff, his bravely anxious face towards family, and he leaned back into thin air. This had turned into a Hitchcock thriller. The three boys were terrified and thrilled to see their dad disappearing over the edge of the cliff. Adam was calmly feeding rope and calling instructions to the descending dentist; it was over in less than a minute. The two older boys followed their dad over the cliff, running back for more, then the mother went down.
Adam Sela is also a tour guide and he offers jeep tours
and stargazing experiences.
All the pictures inthis post are couretsy of Adam Sela
Contact him: +972-505308272
email: office@adamsela.com
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