The UoH weekly activity group
Sunday Climbers of University of Hyderabad (UoH) is an extremely vibrant and engaging weekly activity group, encouraging extensive exposure to the lush green campus and the most beautiful rock formations one can ever experience within the campus. In this group, students, faculty, and all other members of this esteemed varsity engage themselves into all kinds of thrilling activities, such as bouldering, climbing and several hours of trekking in the breathtaking greenery that the off-road environment has to offer. Dedicated to the awareness of nature and the importance of its existence, members of Sunday Climbers have also engaged the varsity community, every now and then, in events organised by Society to Save the Rocks as well as Greater Hyderabad Adventure Club. All these experiences have given participants not only the thrill of enjoying exciting group activities, but have also instilled the virtues of patience, perseverance, self confidence and most importantly the strong understanding of coexistence in a socially and culturally diverse community in the University.
Since its unofficial inception in 2011 through friendly outings and a network of rock climbing and trekking enthusiasts in the UoH campus, Sunday Climbers has come a long way, through its official Facebook page creation on 29th September 2013 and the various high octane events that have been conducted every weekend. Through its various activities, the group members together with the participants have been able to scout through all possible areas in the sprawling campus running across 2000 plus acres of land. A largely visible part of the campus topography is covered with huge plots of dense to sparse forests and various kinds of water bodies, water passage routes and lakes. Among all these lie the various breathtaking rock formations where everyone tries out their skills, climbing till the top and pushing themselves to new boundaries of thrill and confidence, while testing and developing one’s own balancing skills in the process. As a rigorous sport, bouldering, scrambling and climbing has been always a full adventure activity encouraging people from all ages to enjoy and live the vigour and strength of a youthful spirit.
In the process of exploration, the group has covered some well known and important rock formations. Mushroom Rock, V. C. Rocks (just before V. C. Bungalow) etc are some of the most well known rocks, but as the pictures in the FB group will depict, there are countless more which have been explored every weekend. Duckling rock, Temple rock, Saucer rock, Cone Rock complex, several Chimney climb rocks, Horizon rock (one of the highest in campus), Buffalo Lake Cliff, several run and Climb rocks and so many others, befitting their name, have been covered. Mostly a feast to the eye, such rock formations provide some of the most challenging and rewarding experience for climbers as well as adventurous photographers. Several amazing rocks are also connected through trees in between, which the climbers have to cross to get from one rock formation to another. Some tall rocks are also situated just beside the frequently visited water bodies like Peacock Lake and Buffalo Lake, providing breathtaking experience from the topmost height (see image of Buffalo lake form the cliff in the FB group photo). Climbing techniques are some of the most interesting skills to learn in the activities of the group. Chimney climbing, bouldering, scrambling and even tree climbing are rigorously used, under proper guidance, to cover all the kinds of formations.
With all these and so much more to offer, the general participation has been varying from at least 15 to 25 students for regular weekly activities, while big events have seen 200 plus participants in the campus. Yearly rock walks conducted by Society to Save the Rocks have been able to bring 60 to 80 adventurous participants for in-campus trekking and bouldering where as the first two Rockathon events of Hyderabad, conducted jointly by Society to Save the Rocks and Greater Hyderabad Adventure Group has been able to bring 200 plus. The Sunday Climbers have been actively volunteering in all such nature walk and awareness events and campaigns within as well as outside the varsity campus. The experience of the participants of all the events, weekly or annual, have been extremely thrilling and cheerful. In all cases, several of the students, have always reported that some of these activities have actually been the best experiences of their life. While they eagerly await the next week’s destination, they have always talked about the kind of joyful exposure and freshness of natural surroundings that they can escape away to. In all, Sunday Climbers actually provides for more than just a weekend adrenaline rush. It binds everyone into a united community, which survives by helping each other out and pulling each other forward through thick and thins. Sunday Climbers helps us climb the ladder of humanity and has been one of the most successful activity groups in the UoH fraternity, capable of justifying the very cause behind its very inception … build the values of leadership, self esteem, social responsibility and most of all, protect and preserve the elements of nature.
We invite all the students and faculty alike to always join us every Sunday and together make this weekly activity very vibrant and partake in this positive initiative by all possible means.
Abhijit Debnath
Ph. D. Student, CNCS,
Founder: Sunday Climbers,
Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/sundayclimbers/ for more info and notifications.