Sunday, October 16, 2016

October 16, 2016 - Risks.

It's always a big risk, going to Cuvier on a Sunday, but I left as soon as it was light to be there before the masses would arrive.
After having done the two "Carnazina" versions earlier this week, I wanted to try the sitstart.
Thursday and Friday it rained, so I wasn't able to try it after work.
That's why, today, I stood up early.
I still had the complete sequence from the standstart in my veins, so I didn't want to wait any longer.

When I arrived at the boulder, there were some lone climbers, but nobody on the "Carnage" boulder.
The conditions looked great on the boulder, but I wanted to warm up first, which I did in "Vaudou-Système" right next to it.
It was a short warmup because I did it on my first attempt, no flash as I had done it already in 2011, but it meant that the conditions were good and that I was in shape.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier - Vaudou-Système 7A




As I still had the moves and coordination in my head from the standstart, I only had to figure out the sitstart of "Carnazina (assis)".
I had seen several people using different methods, so it took me a while to find out what was best for me.
Once I had found out, though, it didn't feel hard and I had to impression that it doesn't add that much to the standstart, even though I still needed some tries to link the sitstart up to sticking the dynamic move to the sloper of "La Bérézina".
Then suddenly, the pieces fell together and I finished "Carnazina (assis)" (exit in "Le Carnage").
A short break later, the exit in "La Bérézina" followed too and I even didn't feel really tired.

But now comes the bad part.
I was happy that my main goal for today was achieved, a was a fun, long and fair battle, but I also felt  angry because I had no video from them.
In total, I spent about an hour at the "Carnage" boulder and as time passed, more and more people had gathered on the "Bleau Job Square". Two people were trying "L'Hélicoptère", and another had started trying "Le Carnage".
We all know how busy it can be on a Sunday. This was no exception.
The last drop was when a playing dog ran over the camera that made it fall, so I decided to put it away, I didn't want to risk any damage. Can't blame the dog though!
I will go back one day in the week, after work, when it's calmer. I do have the feeling that as long as the conditions are good, that this a problem that I could repeat quickly.

I very briefly tried "Le Carnage (assis)", but doing the dynamic move when coming from the sitstart feels way harder than "Carnazina (assis)".
Anyway, I needed a break now and I wanted to escape from the crowds.

It is a risk to do the long walk to La Reconnaissance so shortly after a rainy period, but after such a crowd, I needed to be on my own, so it was a risk I was willing to take.
In the worst case, I would have made a nice long walk and, on the other hand, there's still Cuvier Rempart on the way back.

While walking, I decided to try "Wallaby".
It's a problem that I had never taken the time for to look for it, but after having seen a video not long ago, I decided to use the time I had now.

If you end up at the "Reconnaissance" sign from Colinet, you are too far up the hill.

When I looked at the boulders in the area, they all looked humid and I feared that "Wallaby" wouldn't be possible to try.
The risk turned out to be worth having taken, because I found "Wallaby" in a condition that could be much worse.
It felt a bit damp, but not unclimbable.

Sitstart under the roof with two crimps, dyno to slopey hold that you can't see, taking the arete and go for the top.
I could all the separate moves quite quickly, but doing the whole problem with these damp conditions was more difficult than I expected.

Fontainebleau - La Reconnaissance - Wallaby 7B




On the way back, Pieter called me to say that he and Alberto were at Eléphant.
My main goals for today were done, so I was glad to drive over and join them for a while.
Eléphant is also a big risk on a Sunday, but we were going to meet in the back of the area. Besides, I had nothing special that I still wanted to try.
I felt stiff and tired after the short drive, but in the end, Pieter and I still managed to repeat "Envie d'Ange".
Not hard, but scary at the top.

Fontainebleau - Eléphant - Envie d'Ange 7A




Besides the incident with the camera, it was a good day and now I'm really tired!

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