Rappelling At Bad Bentheim

While I was in the Netherlands, I went rock rappelling with the Kabels and their friends.  It was a lovely day to be spent in the woods of Germany, talking and relaxing and risking death for kicks.  I was really nervous to go over the edge; I haven't rappelled off a real cliff since, well, a very long time.  The last time may have been with these exact people at this exact place...  I remember it being completely terrifying to back off the edge and then completely thrilling on the descent, feeling weightless and free, bouncing in horizontal space.
Somehow I've gotten old and boring, though, because while the terrifying parts were not nearly as terrifying, the thrilling parts were not as thrilling either!  Maybe I have more self-preservation, so that the trip down the cliff felt more like work.  Maybe I'm heavier, so that the trip down the cliff WAS more work.  Whatever it was, the thrill was much less worth the fear, so I only did each cliff once, and then I was happy to hang out and breath the fresh air (so scarce in Paris).

These pics are all from Guus Kabel's camera.  Thanks Oom Guus!!

"What are you looking at?  I'm putting on a carabiner, if you don't mind."

"I did it!"

...and so on and so forth.

This little boy kept putting the big end of the figure 8 thing in his mouth, and then whipping it back out when I went to take a picture.  I got a whole bunch of rascally grin images, but no 8-in-the-mouth.  

Darn.

This little girl was so scared to go over the edge, she cried.  But she did it in the end!  How brave. 

Isn't this a sweet pic of Jason?

Me.  Relaxing.

Sebaas didn't rappel himself, but he secured most of us on our way down.

I like this pic best.  

The End!