Swiss O week: Stage 4

After a rest day that was, well, restful (and very welcome), day 4 dawned very early for Eric who set off for the railway station while Elise and Samuel were still sleeping for his earliest start of the event. Elise and Samuel decided on a more civilised departure time as they didn't have the inconvenience of pre set start times.

The early departure did have its benefits - a near empty train and an early ride on the chairlift which started in cloud and mist in the valley only to climb above the cloud to enjoy a glorious sunny morning. The view from the top of the hills over the sea of cloud in the valley was breathtaking.

Todays race was another fairly high day. The courses were a mix of about 70% open pasture and 30% forest (100% steep again though - what a surprise!). Samuels course was particularly tough both for navigation and steepness and he did well to get round. Many of the steep paddocks were very muddy which makes it extra hard to turn the legs over.

Part of Samuels course

Elise took some photos out on her course which show some of the toughness of the terrain.

Before heading home we paid a quick visit to the first aid tent where Elise got some treatment for her back which was getting quite sore from the endless climbing. One aspect of alpine orienteering is the need to carry heaps of gear to the race each day in case of inclement weather. As a consequence Eric got stuck with carrying three bags (plus groceries) home which meant that there was more than one sore back by the end of the day. Just two more days to go...

Video Day 4

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