Hail in Fribourg

30mins ago, there was some intense hail, with hailstones big enough to damage cars... My new car is full of dips&stuff, I am glad I didn't take the cheapest insurance...

Rateau W- Candau pillar

There it is, some real alpine climbing, after many week ends with bad or average weather... Actually, the weather was not perfect all day long with some thunderstorms developing at the of the afternoon... which means starting early and climbing fast, which is the essence of mountaineering! So the all was a good training for us.

The climb went fast, which is quite exhilarating actually, albeit I agree you don't take advantage that much of the views, and of the aesthetic of the climb. Indeed, the Candau pillar is a reasonably long and technical alpine climb (up to rock grade 5sup - NZ grade 18ish), mostly on a thin edge with a fair amount of exposure. Furthermore, it is not over-equipped with not more than 10 pitons over the 400metres of pillar, which is quite rare for a nice climb in Europe. One picture with the route is there.