July 17, 2015

Conquering Colossus – 20 Epic Insider Photos

Post by Alex Brown
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Colossus.

43 feet tall. Muddy. Slippery. Intense. Very intense.

When you approach, your first thought is, “whoa, that’s big!” and your second is, “how in the world am I going to do this?”

A crowd gathers around to watch as you take a deep breath and try and slow your racing heart. You scout out the lane that you think will work best for you. Which one is the least muddy? Which rope looks the longest? Are the knots in the right place? How many people are waiting at the top to help me up and over?

You take one more  breath and sprint towards the massive obstacle. One foot slips, but you regain traction. You run forward and up, then go airborne as you lunge for the rope. The person next to you misses their rope and slides back down to the bottom, resting a moment in the mud before trying again. You cling on for dear life and try to get your footing.

Then, you brace your feet against the wall and start to work your way up. Outstretched hands from your fellow Savages reach down toward you, but they are still so far away. You look down, feeling slightly dizzy, and try not to panic. Heights never were your thing. But you’re determined so you keep pulling, keep inching your feet up.

Finally, you’re within reach of the hands reaching down to help you. You let go of the rope with one hand, and grasp for the top edge. As you lock your fingers around the lip at the top, you realize that you’re not able to do much more than just hold on at this point. Someone grabs your elbow, and someone else pulls on the rope to inch you up just a little further. You feel a strong hand wrap around your wrist, and someone says, “it’s ok, we’ve got you.”

You hold on and you pull and you push and they pull and they push and finally, you’re moving upwards. You throw one slippery leg over the edge and they make room for you, pulling you to safety and patting you on the back like a long lost friend. You let out a laugh that is part joy and part relief, as you rest your head on the deck. Another deep breath, and then you stand up.

You’ve conquered Colossus, and now it’s time to help someone else. You kneel down, hand outstretched, ready.

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Are you ready to conquer Colossus at your next Savage Race? Check out our upcoming events and register here.

A very big thank you to our official Savage Race photographer, Mac Stone, for these amazing photos! Mac is also an award-winning natural history and conservation photographer who published Everglades: America’s Wetland earlier this year.

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