There was a time when I would have gone to Charmey and climbed the Square Vide II route without hesitation. This is a K6 route that starts with an overhang, before continuing over several more overhangs. I tried the first part and decided not to continue. I climbed back down before getting over the overhang.
Years ago I would have done it because I went to climbing gyms every Thursday evening, and did via ferrata almost every weekend so I had a much stronger upper body.
In scuba diving and aviation safety is a discussion that takes place before and after every dive or flight. It is discussed every time divers meet up. With climbing safety is important too but the focus is different. “This is how you should belay, this is how you should climb, this is how you should set up the top rope, and more.
With climbing I know what the safety rules are but I don’t necessarily know what the numbers mean.
Two days ago I was agonising about whether to go for a via ferrata(VF) or a hike. Eventually I decided that I would go for the hike, because hiking was an 18 minute drive away. I went for a walk/run and then I found that I had a burning desire to do the via ferrata. I went down to the cave and rummaged through to find various bits and pieces. I found my Grigri, climbing rope, harnesses and more.
Tonight I rest
French speakers are familiar with the term “Nid-De-Poule”. It is a term used to describe potholes in French. This is a term I heard regularly but due to modern farm practices you don’t see these when they’re made by chickens. Chickens usually live in chicken coops and they don’t have the time to dig their little holes in the ground. As I walk by free range chicken on a regular basisI get to see chickens sitting on wheels, running towards people, or away from them, and I see them sheltering from the rain on a rainy day.
By May we may be able to go back to doing sports in groups as long as they are not “contact sports” in Switzerland. For me this means hiking, running cycling and other related sports. For me climbing is a contact sport because we touch the same hand holds as everyone else climbing the routes, we use the same ropes and we share quickdraws and belay devices.
This being said I also have no desire to do sports like climbing at the moment because they require us to stand around and socialise and I haven’t really socialised in at least 38 days.
I have been thinking of climbing gyms, in other words of fitness centres and the Corona Virus. A few years ago I went to a gym where we wiped down every machine after use. We would get a paper towel, spray it with liquid and clean all the surfaces we touched. This includes exercise bikes, weight lifting equipment, elliptical machines and rowing machines. We also placed a towel so that our body was never in contact with surfaces directly.
Bouldering in Geneva now has a new bouldering wall in a park. There are two structures with bouldering problems to experiment with. Some of these are easy and go straight up while others are overhanging and require more experience.
Rather than place crash mats on the floor that would be exposed to the weather you have loose stones and the walls are not as high as in other places. This affords the chance to fall onto your feet if you are so inclined.
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.