A more satisfying way to climb

“But the biggest impact has been on my philosophy: taking public transit unites my environmental convictions with my passion for bouldering. This is deeply satisfying. It has enriched my overall bouldering experience.”

Ever since I moved to Switzerland, I have spent my free time bouldering in the world famous Ticino region (world famous for bouldering standards). All throughout the hillsides, nestled between chestnuts and pines, lie hundreds of dark grey stones, many the size of houses, all with various cracks, edges, crystals, and depressions perfectly placed to make climbing them possible, but not without a fight. There is easily more than a lifetime’s worth of bouldering, and yet first ascents still happen every year. Coupled with rustic architecture and abundant wildlife, one quickly realizes that living so close to Ticino is an absolute privilege. By ‘close’, I live in Schwyz, Switzerland, so Ticino is reachable as a day trip both by car or by train+bus.

Conquistador, 8A+. Projected over 5 sessions via public transit.

For years, I drove to Ticino. With hot coffee in my thermos, I’d queue up a podcast and hit the road. Drive, boulder, drive, repeat. Despite having personal convictions of my environmental impact, I never questioned it. I told myself that my climbing is more important than the carbon emissions produced from my exhaust pipe. That is, until I saw this video of Belgian climbers, Nico Favresse and Sebastien Berthe, complete the Alpine Trilogy (three of the Alps hardest multi-pitch climbs located in Switzerland and Austria) transporting themselves, their gear and food, all via bike and public transit in an effort to have each ascent be carbon neutral. Amazing!

Around the same time, British boulderer, Aidan Roberts, vocalized the idea of giving up flying altogether, and limiting his bouldering to Europe for similar reasons. With the inspiration of these two examples, I began to question whether the transportation to my bouldering projects could become a vital part of the process, something that could actually enrich the overall experience. What if every boulder I climb this upcoming season could be a carbon neutral ascent?

Nico and Seb completing the ‘carbon-neutral Alpine Trilogy’

In October 2021, I looked into the logistics to see if this kind of approach was even possible. Chironico is the closest bouldering destination from Schwyz and is massive area with four main sectors. It’s one of my favorite places to climb and home to the infamous, Alphane 9A/V17. To my great surprise, I discovered that there is a bus stop at each of the four sectors. Perfect! But how long does it take to get there? By car, it’s a 1 hour and 20 minutes drive, so I assumed the train+bus combo must be significantly longer, but hoped it would be somewhat reasonable. Again, I was blown away when I found out that it’s 1 hour and 42 minutes. Only 22 minutes longer!

>>This is the part of the blog where I tell you it was a fairy tale ending filled with public transit dreams, but what about those bulky crash pads?! It’s funny how old habits truly die hard…<<

Despite having educated myself on the public transit route in October, I continued to drive for the entirety of 2022 winter/spring season. I felt that it simply wasn’t possible to travel by train with crash pads. They are too bulky, not to mention the additions of shoes, chalk, food, water, etc. I felt justified in surrendering to inconvenience and on the outside no one questioned it, this is, except my loving partner, Jania. She thought it was a bit ridiculous that my only excuse was the crash pads are too bulky. I recall her saying, “Didn’t you haul a 40lbs bag up El Cap for three days? And you’re now surrendering your convictions to a block of foam?”. “Well, two blocks of foam, and a backpack.”, I’d retort. Deep down, I knew she was right. Gently, she pushed to give the train a try. Just once. Then I’d know for sure that it just isn’t possible. “What is the worst that could happen?”, concluded her argument. So in November 2022, I planned a day trip from Schwyz to Chironico with two crash pads, and a backpack of the climbing essentials.

In hindsight, I quickly learned this idea was far from revolutionary, due to the fact that on this first journey, I met half a dozen people doing the same thing. Yet the night before departure, I had quite a bit of anxiety about the logistics. Jania dropped me off at the train station, the pads were indeed bulky and my pack a bit heavy, but I quickly realized the “walk” to the platform could be measured in seconds. Promptly, I set down the pads, waited the few minutes for the train, boarded (again measured in seconds), sat down, and before I realized it I was calm, relaxed, sipping coffee from my thermos and queuing up a podcast. Exactly what I’d be doing if I was driving, except I didn’t have to drive. “This is quite nice. I can completely relax”, I wrote in my journal.

I love a good podcast. Check out: The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast

A single train, winding through the beautiful Swiss Alps, eventually dropped me in the village of Lavorgo. Again, a seconds long walk, and a few minutes wait, had me then climbing aboard a small bus that takes you directly to the Chironico parking lot. I didn’t even notice the additional 22 minutes to the journey and the two bulky pads, my biggest worry, turned out to be no burden at all. My arrival was just after 10:00 with the return bus leaving just after 17:00. I had the whole day to climb and in the end, it was easy. In fact, this initial trip began to change my overall climbing experience. Plus, I sent an old project!

“Now, I actually look forward to the journey. No longer being behind the wheel means I can read, write, listen to podcasts, eat breakfast/dinner, etc.”

As of writing (March 2023), I have been coming weekly to Chironico exclusively via public transit. Now, I actually look forward to the journey. No longer being behind the wheel means I can read, write, listen to podcasts, eat breakfast/dinner, etc. I arrive at the boulders with more mental space, and have felt a better connection to the process of climbing. But the biggest impact has been on my philosophy: taking public transit unites my environmental convictions with my passion for bouldering. This is deeply satisfying. It has enriched my overall bouldering experience. As someone who spends months training in the hopes to get the the top of really hard boulders, the knowledge that I achieve such an experience in a way that also aligns with my environmental beliefs makes the moment even more special.

Serre moi fort, 8A. Projected over 5 sessions via public transit. No send on this one, so I’ll be back next season!

I think the majority of us climb for the sense of adventure, mastery of movement, and opportunity to spend time in nature, and I have found that my public transit commute is an opportunity for all three. Working out the train and bus logistics with pads/conditions is an adventure. Using the relaxing time on the train allows me to mentally prepare for my session, and the knowledge that my commute to and from the boulders no longer requires me to personally burn fossil fuels is deeply satisfying. As a bonus, I’m climbing better than I ever have, which is a nice cherry on top.

Back at the bus stop after sending Conquistador.