Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge

It was my second day in Sydney, the day I'd climb the infamous Sydney Harbor Bridge, the most breathtaking bridge climb in the world, the tallest metal arch bridge in the world. I was already tired after walking around the Opera house and botanical garden in the morning. My body was saying no but I was all ready in my heart to do this climb.

You can book your climb online at http://www.bridgeclimb.com/. Climb is relatively expensive as most things in Sydney, ranging from 250 to 350 dollars depending on the day of the week and time of the day. There are climbs each hour starting from 9 in the morning till 8 at night. There are two different climbs, full climb and express climb. Express climb takes you to the top of the bridge cutting off the fun of the climbing, if you like the adventure of climbing and not just the views, it would be best you do the full climb.You can book tickets until just 1 hour before the climb. Therefore the best is to book the climb while you are in Sydney after checking the weather forecast. I'm sure nobody would want to book a climb weeks ahead and then miss the views or miss the climb altogether due to rain! The most picturesque would be to climb at dawn or at sunset and those are the most expensive too. The second best would be to climb in the afternoon, this is because the Sun is facing you when you take pictures with the Opera house on the background, and your pictures would look better. I picked an evening slot at 4pm at 288 dollars striking a balance between price and views.

For the 4pm climb I was asked to be present at the bridge climb office at cumberland street, Rocks by 3.15 pm which was just a short walk from my hotel. I was at the office by 2.45pm and produced the booking on my phone and was issued a ticket which had my name printed on it after excluding a list of medical conditions including diabetes and epilepsy. The guy at the counter was not happy I hadn't had my lunch, and he recommended I had some lunch before the climb. In the climb office itself there's a small cafeteria and I settled for a Mexican chicken panini. chai late and a chocolate bar. I am not going to fall off that bridge due to hypoglycemia... As most attraction anywhere in Australia, ticket office had a small souvenir shop, I browsed through the souvenirs ranging from key tags to T shirts while waiting to be called for the climb, well all were too expensive, I'd rather hold onto my ticket as a souvenir...

45 minutes before the actual climb the briefing started.  First announcement , No cameras, mobiles allowed on the bridge! Damn you pay 280 dollars and wouldn't get to take a picture your self? Was it a safety feature or a business trick to sell their own photos? Then we were tested for alcohol in our breath and asked to sign a disclaimer form. I am sure nobody read it and everybody just signed their lives off.

After signing the disclaimer we were taken to a second room where we had to stand in a circle, and introduce ourselves to each other. There were 15 of us, what a nice combination from all over the world and different ages, and everybody seemed very friendly, and the family from the UK seemed to know more about Sri Lankan cricket than me, shame...

We were then handed over our overalls and escorted to a changing area. Instruction was to undress down to underware and put on the overall, as it was a hot summer day. Then we were given a locker for each to put our personal belongings including all cameras and mobikes.  Our climb leader met us in the locker room, he was a very friendly tall bald man. He helped us to complete our climbing gear with a harness around our waist, radio and cap. Then we were given a small training session on climbing up and down ladders. After 45 minutes of all these preparations,  actual climb started...

The harnesses which went around our waists were connected to a cable which would go around the entire path of the climb, keeping us safely attached to the bridge. We walked along the flat planks of the bridge as vehicles flew past below our feet. There were very narrow spaces to negotiate and I wonder why they didn't have any warnings about climber sizes on website. Following this walk along the planks, you need to climb 4 flights of vertical ladders, which is the hardest part of the climb. The preparation climbing skills come pretty handy here. After this 4 flight climb you get to the base of the arch and climbing the arch is pretty easy. There are water fountains and sprinklers at set points to freshen up as you climb.



The views form the top are stunning. Our guide pointed out the important areas of Sydney. For the first time I got to know what a Pilot boat is, a boat which helps a ship to navigate in and out of the harbour, the ship captain basically follows the pilot boat, pretty interesting. Unfortunately we had to be satisfied with the pictures our guide would take. After spending sometime at the top of the arch, the descent began. Climbing down the vertical ladders was harder than the climb up. Midway the descent, two trains passed just a few feet away on either side of me, with deafening noise! I just stood petrified while the two trains passed besides me, it was a nerve wrecking experience!

After the descent you are given a climber certificate and you need to purchase the photos that your guide took. Who would climb the bridge and wouldn't take the pictures? It costs an extra 50 dollars! You get 1 printed group picture and all other pictures in a pen drive. I felt the prices for the pictures were very unethical!

Tips

• Climb in the afternoon, so your pictures would look good with you facing the sun.
• Ticket for a weekday afternoon (3-4pm) would be the choice if you need to balance between the experience and the price you pay.
• No phones or cameras are allowed.
• There are narrow spaces to negotiate, so wont be the best climb if you are big made.
• Set aside 2.5 to 3 hours,
• Make sure the hooks on the arms of your overall doesn't get tangled in the nails of the bridge, I almost pricked my palm.