Tennis and the GOATS

A decade long dream of seeing a G.O.A.T live in action came true at the US Open in Flushing meadows, Queens NYC. Time to get nostalgic and relive the glorious moments of seeing Rafa Nadal in action against a worthy opponent – Marin Cilic. While my friend and I are veteran fans of the GOATS, we were newbies when it came to planning a trip to a Grand Slam tournament. We were debating the options to buy tickets since all three Novak, Roger and Rafa were likely playing that weekend. Thanks to this hardcore tennis website https://www.roadto45tennis.com/a-serious-tennis-fans-tips-for-the-us-open-tickets-more/ we made some sensible decisions. The first debate was about the stadium. While we definitely knew we wanted to step into the Arthur Ashe stadium, the asking price was also exorbitant for a Sunday crowd puller event. So instead we picked Monday. The goats always played in the Arthur Ashe, so this meant we were likely to see at least one of them in action. Since we had only time for a single session, we picked the evening session and prayed for the schedule to be in our favor!

Why were you busy you ask? I’ll tell you why. We also got tickets, well it is really an admission to the taping session of Steven Colbert’s Late Show. Another wish came true and this trip just reached the next level of amazing, well not really since we didn’t know the schedule yet.

The schedule was out and Sunday was a blockbuster much to the chagrin of my friend who is a Roger worshipper. The day session had Roger vs Goffin and night session had Novak playing against Wawrinka. Imagine the fortunes of those lucky people! Their luck did not last long since the Federer match was one-sided and Novak had to retire. Nobody wants to see Roger or Novak win a easy breezy 3 setter walk over match. We all come from the tradition of the 6 hour marathon Wimbledon 2008 finals between Roger and Rafa.

Lo and behold, it was Monday. We saw the breathtaking moment of Nadal leaping into action at net for toss and then carefully executing his idiosyncrasies of not crossing any white lines and taking a eternity to serve. His quirks, mistakes and the spirit for fighting for every point was the reason we have followed his career like loyal customers of the iPhone. The same day we saw Bianca in action who eventually went onto win the women championship beating Serena Williams.  Rafa of course won the championship after a nail biter final match with Medvedeev. My friend is still hoping to catch his favorite player in action and hope it comes true while the GOATS still reign. This is one place in the world, the tennis country with its loyal citizens who don’t mind a dictatorship.

How was the show, Colbert and the band you ask? The word “electric” comes to mind. While the show is taped, you get to be the live audience that cracks at the jokes and needs to be calmed for the next punch line. It was quite a smug moment sitting in the super cold Ed Sullivan theater like vegetables in the refrigerator.

 

Cautious chickens

We started this trip with lofty goals. We had to summit Mt Massive, a 14er, check out this thing called rafting and get out of the droning daily life. Riding on the success at Yosemite the previous year, we vastly miscalculated our physical prowess. We chose a more difficult trail or you can call it the lack thereof to summit this eponymous peak (east ridge). However we got back home thanks to the information in 14ers website and the people who have added some pictures of the trail. We also used a gpx file to a  great extent.

https://www.14ers.com/routelist.php?peak=Mt.%20Massive

We started before dawn, took the highline trail after a few minutes we found ourselves in mosquito ridden wilderness. My legs were like lead and began yielding very early in the hike. This trail climbed around 700 feet every mile compared to yosemite which rises 250 feet every mile although the roundtrip mileage of the latter is greater. As we reached around 10000 feet I felt a little better. We left the canopy of the alpine trees and started strolling through the alpine meadow with beautiful and resilient wildflowers peeping through the cracks.  When we reached closed to 12000 feet, one of us felt dizzy owing to the altitude. As we went further, the trail required some path finding and bouldering. We eventually gave up around 13900 feet with 500 feet to go. The summit was near our sight and yet not in our reach.

SO close yet so far

Long’s peak

Sometimes failures prod us to try harder while also encouraging extravagant plans to challenge the incredible Long’s peak next year.  The next day we had rafting on the schedule with a local whitewater outfitter. Of course, there was a slight technical problem that involved me rushing to the local and the quite frequented kayaking store in town to rent a dry suit for the endeavor. We tried  3-4 level rapids which was not a super adrenaline junkie thing to do but nevertheless a good experience while listening to our guide talk about the local history of the state during gold and the coal rush.

 

 

 

 

 

making blind turns

On the way back, we saw Mt Evans looming large challenging us to another duel that will involve less of our physical strength. This fourteener boasts of hosting the tallest paved road in all of North America. We wanted to reach the summit even if it was using a car and hence began the drive that was a mere 14 miles long. We encountered some curious bends and then came some really treacherous blind turns. It was too hard to proceed with just speculation and bad visibility. Hence for a second time we decided not to risk our lives. We reversed with great difficulty, but need dictated that we execute it with great precision. In the process we held up some people behind us, one of whom yelled at us to do it fast. I marveled at them who were busy  pursuing the summit and could not be flummoxed by fog or blindspots or any other obstacles like us in their way.

 

This trip was lesson for us from Nature in being judicious and having foresight.

 

“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you!” – Tolstoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet another non-guide to hiking the yosemite half dome

If you’re skimming this  before your maiden voyage to the half dome summit, I wish you all the best and hope our experience may help you avoid some of the pitfalls. I say pitfalls but you’ll soon see they were truly challenges that we overcame with flying colors and a feeling of exhilaration.  I have watched videos of people clambering up and down the last 400 feet of the half dome summit using the metal cables and knew this was going to be quite a demanding physical task not including the 14-16 miles of round trip distance. However I was quite skeptical when I read testimonials of how heart pounding the last 400meters was. I knew it would be pushing the limits of my cardio output owing to the ascent and thin atmosphere at 8000 feet altitude but never expected the pure adrenaline rush. Here let me elucidate..

One fine hour of the night, me and my accomplice rolled out of bed and drove 2.5 hours and reached Yosemite half dome trailhead around 630 AM. We had reached on time. I had read a couple of articles the night before about having a non negotiable summit turnaround time of about 3.30 PM. I have an intense fear of the finicky weather atop mountains and since we were in good shape, I thought we could reach the summit before 1PM. So we began the hike from the mist trail with Merced river accompanying us until we ascended the stairs steeply alongside the beautiful Vernal falls. I wish I had let my avid photographer friend to click some pictures of the breathtaking scenery of the gushing falls creating a cooling mist and drenching its onlookers.

We quickly moved on but lost the trail for a bit. There were not many hikers that day but a lone photographer guided us back into the trail. Later on, I realized I could simply use the GPS on my phone! Need the tech especially when you’re on a deadline!

We glimpsed the Nevada falls and came to the junction where the John muir trail and the mist trail merges to lead to half dome summit trail. We had another 4.5 miles to go from here. The first 2.5 miles is relatively easy and gives a break to the legs. We didn’t take a break however and kept plodding on. The final 2 miles are switchbacks leading to the sub dome.

 

Once you reach the top of the sub dome, you’ll find the cables erected looking innocently back at you. I began tottering up the cables. Here i must point out our first mistake – we both had worn running shoes which had very poor grip on the granite rock well worn out or rather polished by human feet. I was able to use all my arm strength and clip myself to the cables with my elbows but was quite appalled at my state after having completed only 25% of the way. The dome looked far away and the incline only getting closer ninety degrees. I looked back at my friend couple of rungs below me and told him I’m quitting since I wasn’t sure I can descend the cables! He told me to try descending one rung. So I had an idea – I took off my shoes and tossed them into my bag while still holding on the cables with one hand. I tried descending and VIOLA! So the perilous cables can indeed be conquered barefoot. My friend however was able to climb with his running shoes given that he has better arm and upper body strength. We had reached the summit and in perfect time! It was a sunny 11:00 AM on the top of the half dome. Little did we know what was going to befall us in 30 minutes.

 

 

We had only seen two people ahead of us reaching the summit around the same time and soon followed by maybe ten more people. We were all excited and relieved to have made it. Everyone flew to different corners and ledges trying to snap pictures from different perspectives. I even joked that I had 1G service which was met with some hearty laughter by fellow summiters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We snacked on a few bars, spotted a marmot while my friend was waiting for his hamstring cramps to subside. We began our descent around 11:30 AM. I climbed a couple rungs down confidently especially now with no shoes and I had no acrophobia (fear of heights). Then I sensed a few droplets on my hand. There were about 5 people behind us and about 6-8 ahead of me. The droplets started falling consistently. It was official – the rock had become butter. Barefoot or shoes, it was slippery all the way. One guy before me yelled – “Watch out that part is slippery!”  and right on cue I skidded only to stop myself in time with my toes on the wooden stave and clipped my armpits to the cables. The wooden footholds are about 2-3 feet apart and it is the intermediate part that was incredibly treacherous. The rain was incessant and we were in a do or die situation but my brain was telling me not to move, analyzing if there was any rescue options.

The people behind me and my friend were skidding too,  desperately holding onto the yawing cable, the tremor of ever fall thus felt by everyone. One of them had collided into another and was held on by the sheer weight of the guy. Another time, the pole drilled into the rock caught the body of someone from falling off the 400 feet cliff. Those images are still fresh in my memory and even now I feel like I’m falling when I close my eyes. I can only confabulate the chatter behind me during all this milieu. We were reassuring each other we were almost there. One of the guys behind me yelled – “We are in this together!”. It was quite dramatic and brought a smile in my head!

My friend now tells me he had started praying. He too was in a precarious position. I was quite slow  since the guy ahead of me was already many rungs away. I was scared to follow him quickly since he was trying his own survival technique of sitting and sliding while using his hands as a harness. It was less dangerous to slide that way I suppose – increasing friction by increasing the sliding area. But I wasn’t tall enough to do that. Some guys behind us were anxious to get down since they were perched at a steeper angle and begged me to go faster. So I did. I held on and after a few nerve racking moments I got down and rid off the cables soon followed by my friend. We waited for a couple behind us and two more fellows behind them to make it down. One of them yelled – “We are not done yet, march on till we reach the tree line” and so we marched. We reached the treeline soaking wet, exhausted but extremely pleased to just be alive. We saw a batch of hikers who had climbed down before us resting and chatting about the exhilarating experience. They called us “the crew” since we were the last to make it back safely. I smiled and replied “Yeah, we lived!” with a jaunty step ahead. We told everyone still on the way how dangerous the cables were hoping they would heed our advice.

I had kept prodding my friend to keep moving but this time we weren’t on a deadline and since this was summer, we had daylight late until 8PM. We took short breaks until we reached cabin near nevada falls. I was oscillating between taking the shorter yet slippery Mist trail or the drier and longer Muir trail back to the Happy Isles bridge.

My partner made a quick decision picking the safer route especially given our faltering worn out knees. Muir trail adds just another mile or two of winding switchbacks down the nevada and vernal falls back to the trailhead. We reached our car around 4:45 PM taking more time for the downhill trip.

Thus ended our adventure of a lifetime that makes me despise gravity! We sat in the airport next day googling some facts about tragedies on the half dome cables and surprised to know there was none since 2011. I must admit we made a few mistakes. We lacked proper shoes although barefoot would have worked brilliantly if rain hadn’t piled on. We were also such newbies at rock climbing that we were unaware of conceptions called a “harness” – you could buy them at a sport store and clip yourself to the cables for safety. We didn’t need gloves for the most part but our fingers got clotted maybe owing to the sheer pressure with which we were grasping the cables. When we ascended, we didn’t spot any clouds to be forewarned of the rain. I guess the cloud cover quickly moved and caught us off guard – proving my unrelenting fear of weather atop mountains. We also read that lightning could have screwed us even further by electrocuting us. I’ll count my blessings that day for making it back home alive.

Holiday in NYC!

I’m sipping coffee from a “I love NY” mug much to the annoyance of my beloved room  mate who was the one person who preached about how sensational NY is before I left for my spring break! So here you go roomie, I bear the testament to your word. The fun began right from the start. It had been a night of sorts with an early morning plane to catch. I had pulled an all-nighter the day before and hence relented to catch a few winks with only 2 hours to spare. I’m to blame for my brain wouldn’t pull me out of the deep sleep mode even with a loud and vibrating alarm. And that is how I got reprimanded, lectured and made an object of ridicule by the shuttle guy who had come to pick my friend and myself. However I’m thankful and sorry to my friend(raji) who had been taunted more than me that day. When we reached the airport, we found ourselves in a long queue adding to our doubt of boarding the plane. Adding insult to injury, raji was subjected to a “Crucio” curse in the process.  I won’t be writing further we hadn’t boarded so no prizes for guessing. I can remember my first comment when I got a bird’s eye view of the city – “It looks like a VLSI chip!!”.  It was not picturesque but absolutely spellbinding. I have heard the saying “Rome was not built-in day” but I was curious to know exactly how long did it take it build what I was seeing! The sky risers and the bridges stood alive in glory of the city. We landed in the LGA airport and received by our friend(ram) who as usual was donning his magic hat filled with one-liners – some ones  I don’t even get! After the hogging session at two temples (specialties – dhokla and masala chai!!) we called it a day.  The next day was Indian special. After a fulfilling lunch, we feasted on some delicious rasagullas and barfis.

The day after, raji and myself grew wings and decided to explore the city by ourselves.  You might be getting the “Sridevi in English Vinglish” vibe while reading this. We felt the same too. However we did everything right unlike her! Got onto the train and got down at Grand Central Terminal and figured out the way to go to the lofty empire  state building and strode along the streets of New York in pride. We felt like Lilliputs next to skyscrapers on all sides. We finally reached our destination.

Empire state

After climbing 86 floors, we made a Guinness world record! LOL! Kidding! We rode the elevator and stepped out to get a glimpse of the city and spotted landmarks such as the Central Park, statue of liberty and the new trade center building. Raji also had the keen sight to spot JCPenny and Macy’s!  I told raji of how ages ago I had been awed on seeing the empire state in “Adisayam” song from the movie Jeans on TV. It felt like a dream that I had come to the same exact place. Anyway, I came back to cloud 0 and shopped a  bit collecting souvenirs.  We then were faced with a pressing problem and had to rush into the NY Public library for no intellectual reason! Our next stop was the famous times square. No surprises – it was colorful,loud and jam-packed. We then boarded the subway heading south towards the 9/11 memorial, Wall Street and Battery Park. Remembering the innocent lives that were taken during the gory incident was a good thing because kindness and humanity is much-needed in today’s world. We lost the way back for some time but thanks to technology (Raji’s Iphone and 3G), we were back on track to see the Charging bull. We got into a church and I must say I felt like Pi from “Life of Pi”. Understanding God through the lens of each religion has a curious effect.

Time square

After walking through the Wall street we finally found people buzzing near the bull. We had completed a walking tour of NY and it was time to head back home. We were already spotting some queer characters hitting the road. At the Subway station, I had a doubt that we were probably on the wrong platform and I was right! Somehow we managed to cross the platform without swiping the card again and losing 6 bucks!  We reached the Grand central and decided to board the train to Poughkeepsie since it was leaving first. We sat there reminiscing the day’s events and basking in pride that we,  the two girls unleashed into the city accomplished the task of touring New York without a trouble. Our moment of pride dissolved into thin air when raji realized that the train we got into won’t stop at our place! I was aghast looking at the map that showed that the first stop of the express train will be miles beyond our home. Anyway, we were lucky that day since the train conductor made an exception and dropped us off on the next station.  We reached home with an adventure to remember forever and sore legs.

Some quiet days followed since we were too tired after our venture into the city by foot. During free time we watched house of cards – a sitcom about politics. I was dense at it and kept pestering Sriram to explain which he graciously did. I also got to eat some delicacies of kerala made by my very own raji. She cooked and I ate royally! LOL! She surprised me at times with her high-pitched shrieks, her scolding tone and her melodious voice even though she claims she can’t sing! The day will not be over without Sriram cracking jokes like chandler and raji whining like monica and both of them putting me in a spot. I had become their coin toss event! LOL!

One evening, we made a trip to Edison (NJ), the official Indian locality with Indian food, marketplace, BIG cinemas; the shops on the streets with mannequins dressed in gorgeous saris easily resembled the shopping places in T-Nagar (Chennai) or Brigade road(Bangalore).  We went to the theatre with the intention of watching Kai Po Che. I had wiki-ed the movie since it had a good review and knew that it was about 3 guys starting a cricket coaching center. W e took seats in the hall which was barely filled anyway and found ourselves watching a guy randomly opening fire. We sat there quietly, taking it all for another 10 minutes with a growing doubt in the back of our minds. Raji however doused it saying that this movie was indeed Kai Po Che. She was so wrong. Sriram figured we were watching a Ram Gopal Varma movie.  We got into the wrong hall! Thank God he saved us from the horror.  We laughed about it for a bit before scurrying to the right hall. I checked “watching the wrong movie in a theater without realizing” out of my TO DO list. The movie was good in its own way but obviously ripped from classics like Dil Chahta Hai, Chak De, Iqbal and Bombay.  After the movie, we headed out to hoboken, where Sriram perfected his art of night photography with raji and myself as specimens with the magnificent skyline in the background.

Hoboken

The next evening I met some friends of raji and sriram that included a little boy of 3 years Joshua. I usually hit it off superbly with kids  but that was not my best day perhaps. It was proved once again the same night – my food had egg in it. I was not a strict vegetarian nor a complete eggetarian.  However it didn’t bother me since I had accidentally tasted egg at a Chinese place before. The only problem was I had to stop inhaling when I ate! LOL! Anyway the lady serving us was too kind and served me another dish without the egg. I gorged on my food and some mouth-watering tiramisu!

MIT

We headed to Boston the next day, to step foot into some of the most prestigious universities of the world – Harvard and MIT. From the start, I could not stop associating the character from Big Bang Theory – MIT graduate Howard Wolowitz and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s  Harvard drop out story. The Gothic looking buildings of Harvard lay sprawled over the campus. I was amused seeing Raji and sriram getting excited like kids, hopping around the place taking pictures.   Then we headed to the place I was looking forward to the most – MIT.  With an imposing entrance, gigantic pillars and a brilliantly lit dome,  it stood there boasting years of excellence in engineering studies. I took a moment to absorb its mighty presence. I had to do at least 1 crazy thing before I left the premise. Hence I stripped off a poster from their notice board. We even posed as students and randomly attended a stand up comedy show in one of the classrooms. The day came to an end with driving back home and instantly falling asleep.

On the last day we packed up and went to our final destination – Brooklyn Bridge. Parking was always an issue in the city. After going round and round in circles, we finally parked near a church only to find everyone had a print out of “clergymen parking” on their dashboards.  Just as I was suggesting we take a similar print out and post it on our car, Sriram dashed into the church. Sunday prayer was in session. I peeked in too to find Sriram holding the same print out. Jesus Christ gave us parking permission and we embrace all religions when it comes to parking! LOL! I couldn’t believe we went to the extent of attending Sunday mass for getting a parking permit. Anyway we headed out to the bridge. It was freaking cold and I was shivering to my bones. I had underestimated my resistance to cold and of course the winds had no mercy.  After one final look of admiration of the bridges, the tall buildings, the lady of liberty and the city in general, we left Brooklyn driving to the temple. The grandeur of our holiday ended with some awesome Masala Dosas and jalebis. The week had come to an end – a week of goofiness, comedies, house of cards, cricket match, delicious food,  dutiful raji, witty Sriram and the innocent me! Oh I almost forgot “Bade ache lagte hain” aka “Ek Ladka tha”!

I felt like a Narnia kid going back to reality from the fantasy world. Anyway such is life. As the plane taxied away into the run way, I was fast asleep!

Thank you from my heart for the bringing me to the scene of crime (NY!!) and playing the characters I cherish in friends – ‘Chandler and Monica” in real life. I cannot ask for more!