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Suunto are filling the gap that mobile phone manufacturers are leaving open.

Byrichard

For a period of time I would buy new mobile phones every six months. This was to test new hardware, new operating systems and new versions. Recently mobile phone development has hit a development wall. http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/31/white-nexus-4-available/ of a phone is excellent, if that’s the reason you chose one phone or another. That’s not how I select my phones. Battery life is. For the last two years I have looked at mobile phones and battery life and it has not improved. I like to use my phones as GPS during via ferrata trips, walks and other outdoor activities. Within an hour you are usually down to half a battery or less and by the time you arrive home the phone is dead, unless you get an external battery to recharge the device. The fashion to develop phones that are thinner and thinner with bigger screens is only making things worse. I’d love to see manufacturers once again double phone size and triple battery capacity. I’d like something thick that I could use for a day in the mountains.

Suunto have provided an alternative:

This is a device that you wear as an ordinary watch on your wrist. It has an integrated GPS, pressure sensor and a rechargeable battery. In day to day use the battery loses around 1% of battery charge per day when in normal mode and around 3% per hour of exercise. It takes just a few seconds to get the watch in to activity tracking mode, to pause, tracking, or to stop tracking all together. The data it collects is synced with a computer very easily. If you spend a little extra money you can buy accessories for cycling, for heart rate monitoring, for cadence and more.

Satellite acquisition is fast. Every time you sync the watch and charge it Geo-stationary satellite information is downloaded and synchronised with the watch. This speeds up the time it takes to have an accurate location. It takes around 4 seconds when near the location of synching and less than 30 seconds when 1-200 kilometers away. It’s fast.

The beauty of such devices is that they encourage physical activity. Online you can share your tracks with friends and you can tailor apps to the types of sports you do or goals you set. There are apps for 10k runs, marathons and many more similar activities. Part of the purpose of this watch is to be a fitness trainer and app developers have made a variety of apps for interval training, distance etc.

This watch has replaced my need for a mobile phone app to track the activities I do when outdoors. I can preserve battery life on the mobile phone until I am back on the home cellphone network or using the phone for in car navigation.

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The St Hilaire du Touvet Water fall ice climb

Byrichard

The first time I went to St Hilaire du Touvet was for the Coupe D’Icare event which is held every September. It is a mountain film festival and parapente competition. The second time I went was with Glocals friends to climb up the via ferrata. There are two routes up. One is an easier one. The second is a hard one. What makes the second one so hard is that it’s vertical, up a chimney of sorts. What made me uncomfortable was the friable nature of the rock. I thought that if I fell the spikes would not hold. A few weeks later I found out that this is one of the hardest via ferrata, supposedly the hardest via ferrata in France.

The video above is nothing like that. They’re climbing up the beautiful waterfall that the via ferrata goes along. I was attracted by the width of the water fall.

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Two via ferrata later in Leysin

Byrichard

Running down a ski slope in hiking shoes is fun. You’re jumping, bounding and landing back down. The snow is slush and you sink, you rise up and fall on the second thought. Continue for a few hundred meters and you get to the bottom. You can also sledge down and get soaked without worrying about it. The truth is that was the easiest part. You still have a 30 minute walk straight up a hill to the base of the cliff. From here you walk across and to the right until the beginning of the via ferrata. As a distraction you may spot the occasional marmot at this time of year.

The via ferrata itself starts vertically and then goes by two chimneys before flattening out. By the time you’re to the top the vista is nice.

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If you’re not tired by the first via ferrata there is a second one lower down the valley. This is an adventure one with quite a few bits of overhanging rocks a dozen or so meters off the ground with a short patch over two bridges and through the trees. It is divided into three sections. The first one is the hardest for the arms and particularly for the hands. The second part is quite easy but if you are slightly shorter be methodical about your actions. You might get stuck. For the third part you have two ladders going out from the rock and outwards. There is a squeeze between the bag on your back and the ladder. The way down is more comfortable.

The Leukerbad via ferrata

Byrichard

The Leukerbad via ferrata is beautiful and challenging and should be attempted once you have more experience of via ferrata. In particular experience both of the spikes and of rock climbing are recommended. There is a telecabine to the top which will cost you 15 CHF rather than 32 with the demi tariff.

From the top there is a 20 minute walk to the base of the via ferrata. From there the climb is a nice one. You are accompanied by the sound of an alpen horn being played in the valley below. You climb quite a few ladders, you pass by a wooden Swiss flag painted on planks of wood which have been bolted to the rock. As you climb further you find your hand and foot holds planted straight on to the rock. The cable is there and you could pull yourself up on it but this is less elegant.

You pass by a few waterfalls and streams running down from where the snow is melting in a cavern. The cavern starts with a vertical crack in the rock for a little time. From there the climb goes from being horizontal to vertical. There are two options. The easy and the hard option. Both meet a few meters above. The easy option has a ladder whilst the hard option has rungs. These are ever so slightly overhanging. You also cross two wooden bridges. When both paths meet again you climb and exit the cave. You have a nice view over the valley once more and the climb goes vertical again. If you have done the Belvedère via ferrata at St Hilaire du Touvet in France then you will experience a familiar feeling but at a greater altitude.

Once to the top of this “chimney” there are two options once again. You can walk up along the scree path or go through a cave. I skipped the cave and chose the easier route at this point whilst those I was with chose the other. From what they told me there is a path with an aerial view. At this point you are getting to the end of the via ferrata with another traverse and the final ladder. The final ladder brings you to the summit.

The ladder brings you to an impressive view of a snow field and glacier in the distance. From here there is a 40 minute walk back down to the telecabine and back to normal life.

This is a beautiful via ferrata but go with experienced friends, get some experience of via ferrata with direct contact with the rock. If you’re going for speed take two or three bottles of water and make sure to travel as light as possible. If you are going for a less rushed approach still travel light but have a torch in case for the walk back down to the valley in case you miss the last telecabine.

I trained well but was carrying too much weight so the via ferrata tired me out. As a consequence my right calf muscle felt as if someone had taken a bite out of it.

Good luck as you attempt this most challenging of swiss Via ferrata.

Here are a few image so you can get a sense of scale.
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St Hilaire du Touvet РVia Ferrata du Belved̬re

Byrichard

St Hilaire du Touvet is a place I have always thought of as one where in Septembre there is an adventure film festival. What I found out on Saturday is that it has two interesting via ferrata. There is an easier one which you can explore as a novice and a more challenging one you can try if you like to overcome your fear of heights and fragile looking rock ascent.

I tried the latter and enjoyed the challenge. At first you park your car at the summit before walking down for half an hour. You meet a fork and start heading back up towards the start of the via ferrata. The path is not as clearly marked as it could be so we ended up scrambling up what is a river when the rain is falling. It was dry on Saturday.

The first part of the via ferrata is easy. You have a vertical climb with some contact with the rocks. There is some loose material so wearing a helmet is useful. There is a split where you can choose whether to do the hard or very hard via ferrata. For the easy one you go down to where the waterfall has dug itself a small pool. Beware the slippery rocks. After that I don’t know what the via ferrata is like as I did not explore this option. As you go to the left so you start a more challenging bit of the via ferrata. You climb for a few minutes before getting to a beautiful crack in the rock at the base of which is an overhang. The overhang is a physically challenge. It’s also a nice way to overcome your fear of heights.

I passed the obstacle suspending myself from my arms. I might as well have a little fun right? My feet were floating in mid air. The next part is hard (extremelly difficult by Via ferrata norms). You’re at least 20 meters off the ground and you’re heading straight up. The rocks do not look that solid although there are a lot of hand holds and foot rests should you prefer to use these than the metal path. The ascent is hard and there are few places to rest. You go from one side of the crack to the next and back.

There is a nice resting platform at one point, to the side from the via ferrata. Here you can rest for a bit, gather some strenght before the last 30-40 meters of ascent. From here you traverse to the left and reach a ladder. It faces outwards so you’re looking at the landscape. As if this ladder wasn’t enough of a mental challenge you have the reveral to get back on to the rock. This is not a natural thing to do. From this point on the via ferrata is normal as you make your way up to the parapente take off point.

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