A Yoga Holiday in the Alps

Another special week of Yoga at La Source… We had 4 wonderful Irish women across 2 generations, and a lovely American traveller. Back at base, there was also a group doing rock climbing, hiking, a journalist from The Guardian (so look out for us in the Travel Section) and a journalist from Adventure Travel Magazine. From the first night, everyone was excitedly chatting as though they had known each other for weeks!

 

Rain was forecast for 3 days, but every morning, we woke up and the sun peeped through the clouds until (at least) after our morning yoga practice by the lake. We were only forced indoors one morning and the dojo is so calming that it was hardly a sacrifice!

 

So, as always at La Source, the weeks are spontaneous and adventurous. We skipped the overnight in a refuge due to the impending storm, but the girls did a day hike up instead. It was only the promise of hot lemon tart and Gina’s Reike that got everyone to the top and it was well worth it for the views and satisfaction. It was also good training for Sarah and Miriam’s little involuntary adventure… They ended up getting lost one afternoon and hiking miles up a dead end canyon.

 

By the end of the week it was close to 30 degrees in the sunshine. The Irish gals were in bliss and could not get enough warm rays.

 

My cousin John – mountain legend and free spirit was here leading the rock climbing. He spent 10 years studying White Crane – a gentle form of martial art so we did a White Crane yoga session by the Lake one morning. A lovely ancient French woman passing on her bicycle stopped and started to mimic our actions. We invited her into our circle and she practiced with us for a little white. We had other guests, like the neighbors cows, and a few goats. Of course Java, our dog showed us all up doing downward dog.

 

Everyone made great progress with the yoga. The grass really helped give confidence to those a little anxious about headstand. The group were experienced yogi’s and we managed to get quite experimental with postures and in meditation. We drew upon Deepak Chopra’s 7 daily spiritual laws of Yoga.

 

After some serious hikes and 3 hours of yoga a day, the girls decided to have an afternoon treating themselves to Shiatsu massages by our local Tai Chi master. He describes where one holds tension and the emotional aspects of physical tension which ties in well with the yoga. He kindly offered to lead us in an interesting Dance of Shiva – a sort of a meditative Tai Chi Dance which was a novel experience. It is amazing what you come across deep in the countryside!  

Climbing and Yoga June 2009

Climbing & Yoga Camps

June 6^th – 13th - Ed, Robbie, Sarah, Lizze and Chantal

June 21st-28^th - Christina, Clodagh and Ellie

We have just finished two Climbing Yoga courses almost back to back. For these two weeks we were joined by legendary Verbier based mountain guide, telemark guru, 007 stunt skier and “sporting yoda” John Falkiner.

In keeping with the family vibe at La Source, Johnny, who actually is family, set the tone for a super calm couple of weeks of climbing instruction. The old hippie mixed up the yoga pre or post climbing with some fab White Crane martial arts movements, a kind of Tai Chi - Yoga mix.

During the weeks he pushed hard when it was required and gently encouraged when the rock and flow just needed a little nudge. During the first week we successfully turned the 4 who had not lead into outdoor leaders and climbers and the 5^th into a smoother more confident leader. The key is to believe that you actually can do it, “trust the rubber and it will not let you down”.

16-year-old Robbie who was on work experience got literally to "hang out" with a real mountain legend and watch Johnny lead the 'sessions on the rock' during the day and 'the wine lubricated impromptu guitar ones' back at the ranch as the sun went down.

The first day was just about blowing off the cobwebs, looking how you should move over stone and, for many realising that “hey the holds are not coloured”. The main things to overcome, especially for a few who were new to real rock, were the subtleties of climbing on real rock, footwork, footwork, footwork, and oh yeah some time the holds are real small and come at you in funny angles.

Crag choice is becoming increasingly important as we roll into summer. Some of the teaching spots are full of kids and school groups trying to scare each other, and it's getting hot. Late afternoon thunderstorms are now quite a dramatic way to finish a days cragging. To add a little adventure to the end of week 1, we made a play for a big day out. We rose early (missed the yoga) and drove 2 hours through the Mont Blanc tunnel into the granite lined Valle d’Aosta in Italy. After a compulsory espresso stop at the not to be under estimated Autogrilla motorway service station ( how come in Italy even the service stations take pride in fresh food and 5 star coffee, and in the UK it is reduced to floppy damp sandwiches and iceberg lettuce salads?) We drove through Arnad village to reach the foot of the 300m high Corma di Machaby. After a sweaty 20 minute approach, Johnny choose the 10 pitch “Diretta Al Banano” and I choose the very varied 9 pitch “Bucce d’ Arancio”. Both the mega slab fests weigh in at 5c, (but it's a help if you can lead 6a). “Bucce” is a bit more sustained. To add more colour to the day, if it was needed, we were accompanied by free-ski super legend Glen Plake and his wife Kimberly. Glen performed his amazing levitating boomerang hat trick on pitch two of “Tike Saab”(you’ll need to ask him) whilst Robbie and Chantal looked on in amazement. A little tip for Machaby, don’t descend down the front face of the hill beside the crag unless you want more adventure. Sneak off down past the church onto a nice road, rather than experience the wobbly ladder down climbing thing ( I won’t be doing that again).

The transition from limestone pockets and positive edges to the subtitles of hot long granite slab climbing is something that we should all experience every so often. In fact so often that we went back there during week two with Christina, Clodagh, and Ellie; just to impress on the girls that footwork counts. On that day, by pitch 5 out of 9, the thunderheads started to rise above Monte Bianche. We put on some fast shoes and blasted up the last 4 pitches just before the rain drops arrived. There is no better way to help slab-climbing toe than to indulge in a cold beer and some Italian pasta.

After a big day on the hill a more leisurely start and some Yoga stretching it was time to push the bodies a bit and some top ropes were strung up on a few routes that were on the limit just to get the weight of the sore toes. Its amazing how climbing pushes the buttons, of self confidence, commitment, going beyond what you thought you could do and puts you into new territory both physically and emotionally. If it comes together positively as it did these last few weeks its wonderful to behold. It is no beach holiday (as my ole' climbing buddies in the States used to say 'It ain't no weenie roast'), but far more valuable and memorable.