Scouting, Volume 78, Number 4, September 1990 Page: 27
98, E1-E12, [8] p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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(Right, top) A modern-day seat harness
makes rappelling much easier than in
times past. {Right, bottom) Among a
mountaineer's essentials are: hard hats,
stout ropes of proper lengths, and tough,
leather gloves.
Experienced rock climber and
Explorer Advisor, Dr. Chris Mann
instructs Venture crew in rappelling.
fAN YOU IMAGINE
the sensation of step-
ping backward into
space off the top of a
cliff as high as a 30-
story building? If so, then you have a
pretty good idea of why Eagle Scout
Randy Rouse's heart is beating faster
than usual on this bright, cool after-
noon in southern Oklahoma.
From the rocky pinnacle where he
stands silhouetted against a pale blue
sky, Randy can see the rugged wilder-
ness of the Wichita Mountains Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge stretching away
in all directions. Behind him yawns a
dizzying chasm called "The Nar-
rows," considered by many to be the
ultimate test of rappelling skill and en-
durance in the entire American South-
west. Its walls of solid rock are as
steep as those of any skyscraper, stud-
ded by giant boulders and actually
curving inward in spots.
If he dared to look, Randy just might be able to see the bottom—some 280
feet straight down. And although he is a seasoned rappeller with several years
of experience, Randy is admittedly a bit awed as he gives his rope a final tug.
"Man," he says, "I never saw anything like this before."
From this breathtaking height, "The Narrows" seems to have about as much
similarity to the "puny" 50-foot cliffs on which Randy is used to practicing as
the Grand Canyon has to an irrigation ditch. But this is precisely why he and 20
fellow Venture Scouts from First United Methodist Church Troop 250 of
Bedford, Tex., have made the 350-mile round trip to this isolated area north of
Lawton, Okla., then hiked and rock climbed for an hour along a boulder-
strewn streambed to reach this spot.
As any rappeller will tell you, that first step out into nothingness, with only a
strong rope and a harness for support, will set even the stoutest heart aflutter for
a few seconds—especially in a place like "The Narrows."
The big moment arrives. The other
guys let out a low cheer which is almost
lost in the wind as Randy goes over the
edge.
He swings free for a second. Then his
feet find the rocky surface in front of him
and he appears to be walking vertically
backwards down the face of the cliff. He
moves slowly at first, then picks up speed
as the all-important "belayer" stationed
far below him pays out more slack in the
rope.
"Hey, this is fantastic!" Randy ex-
claims, moving like a human fly down the
wall of the chasm, then descending
through mid-air in a long "free fall," his
voice echoing off the rocks. "It's really
great!"
A few minutes later, 15-year-old Eric
Gnann, a less-experienced rappeller, follows the same route down the rocky
wall.
"Wow!" he yells as he approaches the bottom. "Oh, wow! I never thought I
could make it that far. Wow!"
There are simply no adequate words to sum up the feeling of excitement and
sense of accomplishment that Eric and Randy have just experienced. But once
his pulse has returned to normal, Randy offers his own thoughtful explanation
for the vast appeal of rappelling among older Scouts.
"I love it," he says. "Except for jumping out of an (continued on page 94)
Scouting ^ September 1990
27
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 78, Number 4, September 1990, periodical, September 1990; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353668/m1/27/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.