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The first time I climbed up to La Barillette on a bike it took me two and a half hours. This time it took one hour and sixteen minutes. I was going so slowly that I had to work to keep the bike upright. Since then I have gone from a mountain bike with tyres that weren’t pumped enough and soft suspension to the same bike with slick tires, hardened suspension and higher pressure in the tyres. I then swapped that bike two or three years later and tried the same climb. I struggled with the road bike as well. I had to stop at least two or three times. I also found that clipped in pedals on such steep gradients are a hindrance because you can’t stop until the flatter bits.

Yesterday I went to Geneva airport for an event but found that there were no spaces in any of the parkings so I went to Decathlon and Mediamarkt before deciding to go and watch planes land instead. I watched nine planes land.

During this plane watching session I was on the Meyrin side standing underneath the flight path and then slightly to the right as I stood and to the left from the plane’s perspective.

Plaque describing Farinet

For a week or two in April the weather was nice but since then the weather has been bad. We had new snow, high winds and rain. Yesterday rain was announced yet again for parts of Switzerland but luckily only clouds were announced for Saillon where the Via Farinetta is. I expected it to be cold and grey but practicable.

We had moments of sunshine and the weather was even pleasant. As a result of all the rain and snow the waterfalls were full of water, to the point of growing with water and spraying the first part of the Via Ferrata.

In the middle of summer you may go sailing on the lake and find that there is no, or very little wind. On such days you may spend long periods of time hoping for the wind to pick up and get from point A to point B.

https://youtu.be/rSb-8HC9KAQ

On other days the lake looks like in the footage above. After two days of constant wind the lake has been churned up and the waves are nice and large. They crash into the rocks and sometimes over them. The beaches are eroded and so you get this silty grey water.

Spring and Summer are playing with us. A few weeks ago it was warm and sunny. It felt as if summer was finally here and that we could start planning outdoor activities that don’t require enormous amounts of fossil fuels, like skiing and snowboarding do. ;-)

Looking down towards the Lac Leman. You can see the white lines at the top of waves being pushed along by the wind.

Duolingo is a mobile phone app that allows you to learn a number of languages whenever you have a few minutes. In so doing you can learn several minutes at a time, when commuting for example, or you can learn as a focused 20 minute session.

The Variety of learning options

Listening

There are two methods of learning by listening. The first option is that you hear a word or phrase and you have to select the correct one from a list. The second version is that you write the correct word with the correct spelling. This can also include listening and writing it in English

The Via Ferrata Jacques Revaclier is located on the Salève a short drive from Vitam Parc and within easy driving distance of Geneva and Nyon. The Via Ferrata requires scrambling over a few metres of rock to get to the start.

This via Ferrata has two parkings. The first of these is for the Abbaye de Pomier and the second is for the “promeneurs”. If the abbaye parking is empty use this one because you may hit the bottom of your car on the dirt track heaving up to the hiking parking.

Reverso Four wear and tear is normal. I have been using mine for years and it was used most heavily during an IFSC World Cup climbing event two or three years ago. Over the years I have grown in proficiency with the device and I trust it.

The beauty of the Reverso 4 and similar climbing devices lies in the simplicity of use. Pass the rope through, clip the carabiner through and attach it to the harness.

I went to Vitam to climb on Thursday and I went to Rocspot to climb on Thursday. I climbed twice this week because the Wednesday session went so well. The reason for which it went so well is that I am climbing regularly again. I climb at least once to twice per week, which is nothing by some standards but better than in the last two years.

We started on Wednesday by climbing top roped routes to warm up. In the process I decided to take harder routes. I climbed up routes that were graded from 6a to 6c. The beauty of climbing top roped is that you can familiarise yourself with more challenging routes and experiment without a fall being as bad.

Yesterday I took over 16,000 steps. Some of those steps were during a short run from Eysins to Nyon and the rest were during the walk around Nyon and back to Eysins. By the end of the day I had manage to accumulate the step goal of 15300 steps.

With Fitbit and other activity trackers this would be fantastic because you would have met your step goal and you could look forward to meeting the same daily goal day after day. Garmin Connect is different. If you reach and exceed the goal on one day the goal is boosted the next day, and the day after that.