Melissa i
Strong

Ah, vacation land—what can I say, boast about the amazing rock in the Ticino Valley, the beautiful scenery, the nice people, the delicious wine, pizza, and gelato, about our mini-vacations from our vacation?  Or complain that I popped my knee on day three in Chironico (week 1 of the vacation), that I have a huge holen in my finger skin, that I am not as young as I once was and have to take more rest days, that it has rained, that life in dreamland is not necessarily affordable?  Or a bit of both…

I have said it before but Switzerland has been a dream of mine ever since my first overseas adventure to Fontainebleau, France.  The beautiful forest of Font, littered with blocks of sandstone sleeping giants, was my first climbing trip abroad.  Usually, you train, plan, and execute—not in Font—I trained, planned, and struggled!  Unless I move to Font (one of our many dreams is to retire in Barbazon, France-ha!) I will always struggle there—searching for the intermediate holds that are never there while barely standing on polished technical feet—I panic, I suck and I simply do not excel at that style of climbing, epically with only having a month to climb and learn in-between rain.  Despite its challenges, I love Font—it is a magical forest (that, yes, has some strange elements like a healthy prostitution ring servicing the busy nearby trucking route).  After three challenging trips to Napoleon's hunting grounds and many useless, annoying, extra pounds I packed on with a lack of self-control around fresh baguettes and plenty of almond croissants avec chocolate, I really wanted to climb and travel somewhere else--and Adam listened!  Yes he wanted to go back to Font.  I do, too, but next was Switzerland for us--and here we are on our 51-day vacation in the land with granite blocks!

We are staying in the small town of Claro, Switzerland, about 10 minutes south of Cresciano, 35 minutes south of Chironico, 1 hour southeast of Magic Wood, and 1 & 1/2 hour west from Brione—not forgetting to mention 30 minutes from the Italian border and 1 to 3 hours from the bountiful Italian rolling hills of the Piedmont vineyards.  We are in a nice little apartment with surprisingly good internet run by a pleasant German couple, the Stillhearts.

Besides TREMENDOUSLY missing our beloved pets life is great!  The rock is amazing, the texture is some of the best granite/gneiss I have ever clamped my fingers on—it is steep and has crimps— it is my style!  Out of the car and off to the races I am not disappointed.  The disappointment came with my knee's loud popping noise when I stupidly engaged in an aggressive heel/toe cam on day 3 of climbing.  The psych was high, my shoulder felt good, and I was feeling strong and wham-O.  In the end I am very lucky.  I am not completely screwed.  My knee swelled, and I was not happy, but I could walk, function, and try to climb.  I just had to take my short list (and yes short list was established in just a few days) and reconsider a few right heel hooking problems.  I continue to have fun and climb tons of new, easier problems, but what I was psyched about--a few harder climbs for me, I put on the back burner.

This week, I am already seeing some progress and hope for my kneee.  Some ibuprofen cream combined with rock tape, plus I am figuring out what heel hooks I can get away with—I consider myself very fortunate.

The weather has been stunning, but lately, it has taken a turn to the damp side.  Honestly we cannot complain about forced weather rests too much—our aging bodies need some extra downtime when we can get it.  With this latest bad weather spell, we are making another dream trip to the Piedmont vineyards come true.  We are leaving tomorrow for a big wine adventure—which I think should be its own blog post, so enough about that.

Layla Mammi, a long-time friend from Germany, is also vacationing here and has toured us around!  It is a true gift to have fewer days of being completely lost and steered in the right direction instead.  I am very fortunate to have a good friend who knows me so well--Layla has basically made my short list—taking me straight to things that are my style with beta—I cannot explain how grateful I am for this gesture of kindness and friendship.  Plus, she has introduced us to locals and plenty of German friends who have been fun to climb with (see the Switzerland gallery for pictures of Layla, Barti, Tebea, Chris, Kathrin & Line)!  Our friend and co-worker Andrew Rothner joined us last week, and recently, Colin Barns.

Off to Piedmont tomorrow, and more to come from the Ticino Valley soon!