Cow Fighting In Switzerland

Today I am still recovering from a strained muscle in my lower back.  This is probably caused by the large and heavy backpack I wore for 14 hours over two days last week.  The backpack included sleeping equipment/towel/change of clothes/avalanche equipment, water and food, etc for the trip up the mountain. It was too heavy for me to carry for a long period of time without having practiced carrying heavy weight before.  Thank God I made the right decision in hiring two porters, aside from my Sherpa, to comprise my team in Everest.  It will save me from intense back pain (old disc problem).

I rested and tried to recover the last couple of days and so today I decided to test my back and walk down 8 km (700 meters) via the small villages to Le Chable. I already devoted a blog on my last trip there a couple of weeks ago, so I won't repeat myself. The weather was partly cloudy with spitting rain and breaks of some sunshine.

The Swiss Valais region celebrates a traditional event this weekend called "cow fighting".  It is differentiated from "bullfighting" since that involves humans.  The terminology "cows" has a more general usage in Europe whilst in American English cows generally refer to just the female of the species versus males called bulls and ox.These cow fights have originated in the 1920's and can draw up to 50,000 spectators. The fights are called "combat de reines" and the winner is "La Reine des Reines" and its value increases dramatically.

The cows horns are blunted and therefore it is mainly a pushing contest.  I stood there and joined the numerous spectators trying to ascertain what made one cow better at pushing than another but I gave up in the end.  Many of the Swiss spectators were heavily involved and concentrating intensely on which cows they placed bets on. I think perhaps betting made the contest much more interesting but honestly, aside from the pick the number approach, I wouldn't be able to make an educated guess which cow to go for. Mooo!

The back has definitely not healed, so after my little descent to Le Chable and this cow fighting experience, it was back to bed rest for me.  It's only a week to go before Everest. I need to get better quickly!!