Switzerland, Part One

September 28, 2024

Switzerland, Part One

September 4 – September 28

Returning to Rocklands this summer, we knew what to expect from our prior trip. Rocklands is one of the most popular bouldering destinations in the world. As a result, you often find yourself climbing with many different people under almost every boulder, providing extra pads and support. The phone app we use for climbing information (GPS directions, information on the climbs) is called 27-crags, which has ample information on the climbs in Rocklands.

This curated experience is in stark contrast to the areas in Switzerland where we are climbing, which created a lot of apprehensions about leaving Rocklands and the next phase of the trip. For starters, we have not previously climbed in Switzerland (aside from a 2 week trip in 2016 where we went to one sector called Plex). There is also a lot of information on 27-crags but it is more limited and in general, The Valais region is more of ‘local’ climbing areas, so they are less crowded, but also less public information.

At this point, we had already been climbing outside for 3 months. We were honestly feeling a bit tired and injury prone. Even though we were feeling better at outdoor climbing, we were feeling weaker from months of not training or strength conditioning. We also worried about finding a lot of the climbs, how much would be in season, the cost of living, and how much it would rain in Switzerland. For this reason, we shortened our stay from the end of November to early October.

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The first day we arrived, we went to Fionnay and searched for some of the boulders using 27 crags. Sheep Fatale, a classic v8, was one of the first ones we came across. Zane ran around looking for other boulders in this area, and ran to a cool-looking v6 but it had massive logs fallen atop it. The other boulders he found were pretty tall and covered in moss. “Oh, man, here we go,” I thought. Again, it felt a bit different from the ready-to-go, heavily trafficked boulders in Rocklands.

After exploring this area, we drove down the road and found another classic climb called “Welcome to Jamrock,” a steep boulder on a river-side beach, and then the “F*** the System” Boulder. We were blown away by both of these boulders, but were awe-struck by the “F the system” boulder. It is a massive boulder with so many lines. I was worried since most of the lines were quite hard and tall, but as we turned the corner, the backside of the boulder had even more climbing closer to the ground. We were psyched! Putting in extra work to discover a new place is worth it.

• • •

As I mentioned, one of our apprehensions of this area was finding the boulders and understanding the areas. We had a serendipitous moment in Rocklands. We were at the Plateau, a popular zone, where I was warming up before trying Minki. We ran into a couple and exchanged the typical pleasantries of “Where are you from?, how long are you here? etc.” Jimena said she was from Switzerland, so I pried further asking specifically where in Switzerland she was from. To our surprise, she was from Verbier (the mountain town where we are staying in Zane's family condo). I think she was just as surprised to learn we would be traveling there for climbing after Rocklands. This connection was huge, easing our apprehensions. Jimena shared local climber’s contacts, and crucial information on the area, like eating out and the gym. We were also a bit worried about language barriers, but she reassured us that most people speak English in Verbier. She was also such a kind person to meet and we were happy we ran into her and her family several times before leaving Rocklands. When we arrived in Switzerland, we were able to link up and climb some days with a couple through this contact.

Additionally, in 2016 we traveled to Switzerland and climbed in an alpine bouldering zone called Plex. This was before we had 27 crags, and Zane found enough information by emailing a local who was largely responsible for establishing the area. When we were climbing there, we met locals, Marie and Theo. 8 years later, we reached out again and they graciously shared information on the area and we have linked up to climb.

When we climbed on the “F the system” cave, we also met another strong local climber, Sam, who was more than welcoming. He shared information on crash pad stashers and offered a ton of beta on specific climbs and the Valais areas.

• • •

The first day we went out to explore the boulders, we plugged in Fionnay in the GPS. Google informed us that all routes to this major climbing area are closed. This couldn’t be true, right? We went for it, and thankfully, the road was open. As we drove through one of the mountain roads past Fionnay, it was clear there was a massive landslide. The amount of debris was insane, even burying houses along its path. We later ran into the local, Sam, at “F the system” cave who told us the road was closed all summer (since July) and opened on September 3rd! We arrived on September 4th… talk about good luck!

• • •

We have been fortunate enough to stay in Zane’s family condo in Verbier, which is very comfortable. It has a beautiful big window leading to the patio, overlooking the Valais and mountains. It is also within walking distance from the town center, so we have enjoyed walking to the bakery to get fresh bread, croissants, and pain chocolat.

After we arrived, we joined Zane’s family, his parents, and siblings in the condo. Anne, his sister, traveled to Paris a couple of days after our arrival, and Luke, his brother, went home about five days later. We enjoyed the time with family and were about to spend more time with Zane’s parents.

• • •

After weeks of rain in Rocklands, we were especially anxious about the weather in Switzerland. We have gotten lucky and have had overall great weather (so far). It was so sunny for a long stretch that we even went on hikes on two beautiful rest days. It has rained, but so far, the weather has come in at manageable intervals, and sun and cooler temperatures have followed.

As I mentioned, we changed our flights to fly home at the beginning of October. As the weeks passed, we became more comfortable with the climbing areas, met locals, and settled into the routine here. We were also pleasantly surprised by the agreeable weather, the fact that groceries are largely the same price as they are in the U.S., and that the climbing style is well-suited to us, with smaller in-cut holds. Rocklands has a variety of climbing for everyone but a lot of the holds are flatter, and the difficulty of the climbing often comes from larger spans, not necessarily super small holds.

As we neared our departure, we looked up weather back home and saw it is 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit in Joe's Valley! This is too hot for bouldering. We changed our flight again for little cost and extended our trip to the end of October. We are excited about the extra time here, as the temperatures are about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Many zones in the Valais, like Vernayaz, are also best in November and even December. We climbed there in September, regrettably, but maybe now we can snag better weather windows to enjoy the lower-elevation zones.

We can’t wait to spend another month here! However, we will be equally excited to see friends and family and start planning life beyond this trip.