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Descending
to victory His craze for heights took root when he was an 18-year-old A/L student at Dharmashoka College, Ambalangoda. Be it swimming or cricket or whatever sport he played, Nilantha never found much satisfaction in any of them. He was in need of something more challenging and something not many people were interested in. I guess you could say ‘rock descending’ fit the bill. World’s End was his first quest in 1999, which he completed in one hour, breaking the existent record by 23 minutes. His next obstacle was the Mathugama Pahiy-angala said to be one of the biggest rock caves in Asia that can accommodate up to 3000 people within its alcove. In 1999 he descended it in a record timing of 14 minutes and 34 seconds, breaking the previous record of 35 minutes. Between his second and third challenges Nilantha took a small break to complete his studies and get some job exposure. He took a year-long web designing course followed by a job as a Lab Instructor at an IT firm, also for about a year. Partly due to the dry spell of not having set out on any ‘rocky’ ventures and partly to disprove public speculations of him being unfit since he hadn’t done anything for a while, Nilantha was on the look out for a new challenge. And he found a dual challenge in the form of ‘Little World’s End’ and the Bambarakande falls (which is the highest water-fall in the country) and conquered these in two consecutive days, last August. This was to be a true test of his strength, skill and endurance. Overcoming ‘Little World’s End’ in 15 minutes, he beat the standing record of 40 minutes to descend the falls with ease in a mere five minutes and 20 seconds. The double victory paved the way to April 16, 2004, when he took up the Diyaluma falls challenge. Although Bambaraka-nde is higher than Diyaluma according to Nilantha it had proved to be much more of an accomplishment, as the torrents had been quite continuous and unmerciful. Having a huge turnout to watch him perform, Nilantha had been told of the many anxious moments endured by his spectators. Some had even started tearing, each time he had stopped for a break, assuming he was in some sort of trouble, he said. The fear had been doubled as a result of the news of a foreigner who had attempted the very same feat sometime back and had slipped and plummeted to his death. Nilantha said that he could have finished off much quicker if not for the unpredictable and volatile nature of the water. Therefore, he had to take regular breaks on the way down, as it was a very trying and tedious journey. Residing in Kosgoda, which is an essentially flat ground area he lacks a proper place to train. There is also the difficulty of having to lug around all of his heavy gear from place to place. However, two to three weeks before a set challenge, he puts himself through some physical fitness, like early morning running to help prepare him for his big day. He said that descending a waterfall according to a pre-determined plan was almost impossible, as you can never predict what the falls have in store for you. However, when it comes to rocks, it’s easier to stick to a certain plan, as it is more of a predictable course, with a few exceptions of course. “So, now I’ve completely given up planning for waterfalls,” says Nilantha smiling “I just take it as it comes and deal with each situation accordingly.” |
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