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| Birthday boy wishing he hadn´t eaten so many pies |
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The last couple of days have been beautiful and sunny here in Verbier. There is a bit of unstable weather forecast in the shape of showers and some thunder, but this is quite normal weather for this time of the year. Humidity is quite high too, due to the advancing weather front, which hopefully should not be around for too long.
On Monday evening I went climbing at La Balme, which is a massive tower of rock that sticks out of the forest at the Patier end of Verbier. We arrived as the sun was starting to lose its power. Even so, it was a lovely warm evening spent in the forest. As we arrived we were witness to a very impressive sight. A young local guy who recently became paralysed in both legs was climbing a tough route with the aid of a pair of artificial leg braces. I was in awe of his commitment.
We set up some 5c/6a routes for some of the guys that had just started climbing this summer. Next I went to lead an overhanging 6b route with a really tough crux on the main overhang. The route was really hard work after the last weekend of biking, but I got there in the end and it was a beautiful climb.
On Tuesday night we all went down to Sembrancher to play football and then popped into the Rosbif pub, T-Bar and Pub Mont Fort for post game analysis! The pubs, bars and restaurants have all started to get busier and tonight we are off to the opening night of Coup d’Etat which is promising to be a fun night, especially as it is a friend’s birthday.
This weekend the lift system opens up for the next few months. As well as the lift to Ruinettes, which has been running occasionally through June, the Savoleyres and Mont Fort sectors will be open too. This will increase the accessible area massively. The lift to Le Chable will open too, allowing people to uplift from the valley and bikers to run from Col de Gentianes down to the valley floor, a decent of over 2000m.
Some of my friends have also been golfing quite a lot, swimming in the outdoor pool at the sports centre and even playing ice hockey at the indoor ice rink. The weather forecast for the next few days could be quite mixed with more of a probability of sunshine and clear skies in the morning and showers and thunder in the evening.
Don't forget, the commencement of the Verbier music festival gets closer with everything kicking off on the 17th July and runs until the 2nd August. More information on the festival is available at The Verbier Music Festival official website
Verbier is also preparing for the prestigious Tour de France which arrives in Verbier on the 19th July and stops over for a rest day on the 20th, before departing from Martigny the next day. Verbier and the surrounding area is gearing up for the arrival of the tens of thousands of race enthusiasts and people keen to take advantage of the carnival atmosphere.
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