Verbier Activity Review: 5th July 2011
Since the lifts closed at the end of April the snow and crowds disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Once again Verbier and the surrounding stunning mountains were allowed to return to their tranquil selves, albeit for a temporary period. Although the lifts were shut and the town quiet there was still plenty to do in the mountains.
Thankfully the weather through April, May and into June was mostly fantastic with high temperatures, lots of sunshine and dry conditions too.
This allowed me to maximise my climbing time before the distractions of open lifts and bikes arrived. I have climbed at two beautiful new spots over the last few months. Both are surrounded by beautiful Swiss alpine scenery. The first is an area called Bramois, which is by Sion. It has around six major crags up a deep and heavily forested valley which begins on the outskirts of the pretty village of Bramois and is surrounded by vineyards. Through the centre of the valley there is a small river that only adds to the picturesque aspect. There we found a good mix of grades and a beachy area by the river to BBQ our sausages. After that we went for dinner in the old town of the provincial capital of Sion which is well worth a visit when the sun has gone down.
Our second area is called Saleinaz and is in the direction of Chapex-Lac. This area is at the foot of some real mountains and once again it is situated up a long tree covered valley. There are three crags here and all have the same character except the higher one has a great picnic area which has a big gap in the tree line and provides amazing views of alpine forests and snow capped mountains.
As well as the new spots we also went and did climbs on some more regular areas such as Dorenaz and the Trappistes areas, at one point taking in a magnificent 7 pitch half climbing and half mountaineering route.
The biking has not been a wash out as there is still the lift at Dorenaz that provides bike uplift but the tracks are limited and quite a challenge.
In Verbier the lifts are now open and there have been some welcome additions to the old tracks. A new black has been constructed with some nasty jumps in and some elevated wooden sections. The red has also had some work done on it too. As well as the green, blue and the downhill track it will be enough to keep us occupied for the next couple of months.
The golf course is now open and in full swing as is the outdoor swimming pool and beach volleyball area. High up in the mountains the summer time is also a great time to get out and go hiking or catch a ride on a para-ponte.
The Verbier music festival is just around the corner and Verbier is getting ready for that right now so there is lots to do and see in Verbier now that we have slipped into the main summer period. Thankfully the weather so far has been perfect and it looks as if that will continue at least through the foreseeable future.
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See the conditions for yourself with our weekly Video Snow Reports and check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our What's On Calendar and Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Verbier!
