Climbing the Saleve

Saturday was D.'s day off so we decided to go climb the Saleve. It was supposed to rain but when we met up, it was dry enough and not above 24C, a perfect compromise to allow us to stay cool. We took the bus up to the border and walked to France after alighting at the bus terminus. We weren't sure of the direction or path to take, but we followed 2 guys that seemed like they knoew where they were going. Just in case though I stopped at the post office and asked one of the customers, who confirmed we were right on our way and he also kindly provided more specific directions to the start of the climbing trail. Outside D. told me the guys also walked back to ask fo direction, so we overtook time, while laughing at each other.

We walked away from the funicular, along train track, then a bridge across the highway, and we were at the bottom of the mountain. The path was slippery with pebbles and gravels, but not as rocky as the previous climb I attempted. We were under the shades of the pine trees and a light rain was scattering above us to keep us refreshed. I nonetheless was sweating buckets and took many breaks to catch my breath.

Some parts of the trail was so slippery that they had a metal ramp along them. Some sections were made of stairs which quite high steps. We met some other climbers in ballerina shoes, or some running down the hill like kamikazes. The guys were ahead when we started the climb, but somehow, when D. and I were taking a break on the stairs, they appeared ever so nonchalantly. They apparently got lost.

For me, the most challenging part of the climb was of course the physical effort. but for D. it was the fact that she had to speak I French, since she was more athletic and seemed to take a stroll in the park. That gave me enough time to focus on my stepping and breathing. The subject of the conversation naturally settled on her experience in Japan and her favourite dramas, so she was free to use every vocabulary she knew to express herself.

After crossing a village in the valley, we managed to get a view of the land blow us, and of Geneva.

Then we found the guys behind us again during a break, because apprently they had to stop because of the rain as they didn't bring raincoats....eish, amateurs!

I dragged myself through the trail, but because we were talking about things we liked, and D. kept on stopping to eat wild raspberries, time flew by an the soreness of my legs disappeared by magic.  I also started to eat the berries, and even had a wild tiny but fragrant strawberry. Nothing better than food to make you forget about pain.

 Eventually, after about 4h climb, we got to the top station of the funicular, and admired the view over Geneva. The weather was not sunny and clear so we could not see the Jura across the plain, but we could see the whole Geneva, with the stadium, the lake, the jet d'eau. We decided to have lunch next to the small boot bu it started to rain, so we took shelter under the jungle gym, that felt like a tree house.

We shared her onigiri (rice balls) and my sandwiches, as well as my green tea and her apples. We then found out we were not on the top of the mountain! So we had to climb another 30min to get to the top. What appeared at our destination was totally unexpected, as it was a Buddhist temple.

 

We enjoyed the view once again and decided to explore the surrounding area. We finally got to a known landmark, one that we can recognize from Geneva, the telecom tower:

It was very windy and we could not really rest again as the day was advancing fast (it was 15:30) and we still had to face the descent. So we took a last picture and started to walk while chatting about our favourite asian actors. Well, this got our blood pumping and soon we were expressing our fangirls' love in the middle of the forest to Lee Min Ho, Won Bin, Abe Hiroshi, Oguri Shun, etc...

Although the descent was quite slippery due to the mud, dust and gravel, we managed to be at the bottom of the funicular in about 2-3 hours. We changed into dry, less smelly clothes, finished the leftover food, and hopped on the bus. I took off my climbing shoes to experience foot orgasm in flip flops. Unfortunately, my muscles strted to cool down as well, and soreness took over my legs and lower back. The walk from the bus stop to the house was like the walk of shame, dragging my bag and shoes...but it was a good day.