Still trying to avoid popular areas and big crowds, I drove to Boissy Le Goulot in the beautiful surroundings of Boissy-aux-Cailles.
I had the desire to try "Into the Wild", but wasn't able to work on it for very long. I hurt my back yesterday, and the small roof with very reachy small holds wasn't doing it any good.
I did however, get away with "One Thing", which I never tried before because it was either humid or looked dirty. It was still dirty at the start in the pit, but at least it was pitch dry. Just like the whole forest.
"One Thing" is actually a very nice problem. Much nicer than it looks!
With again a long and beautiful pre-Summer weekend ahead of us, it promised to be very crowded again in the popular areas.
Making sure to keep my distance, I headed to the quiet area of Mare aux Joncs in the Coquibus.
It started to get hot soon though, but the boulder of "Plasma" was luckily for the most in the shade. Not a luxury with the bad slopers that had to be used for the last moves.
I had noted down quite some boulders that I wanted to try again, but already after my first attempt on "Plasma', I knew that I would have to make the choice between keeping on trying until the finish and loose a major amount of skin on my first boulder of the day, or go for the others first.
For several reasons, I chose the first option, lost a lot of skin, but ended up doing "Plasma".
Fontainebleau - Mare aux Joncs - Plasma 7B
I did still try the nearby "Le Tri-Phasé" which unfortunately was getting direct sun after a short time and got close-but-no-cigar on "Les Abstentionnistes" on the same boulder, but then the shady side.
Close to home, the gendarmerie had blocked the access roads towards the big popular parkings of Les Trois Pignons.
I wasn't exaggerating yesterday when I mentioned that crowds visiting the forest was worse than any Easter weekend that I can remember. Browsing through the local news, I actually stumbled upon a news article that mentioned this. It's in French, but the picture on it can give you an idea: https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/noisy-sur-ecole_77339/seine-marne-dimpressionnants-bouchons-foret-fontainebleau-plus-300-pv-dresses_33775245.html
Police gave over 300 fines yesterday apparently.
When I came back from Les Béorlots Ouest, where I climbed this morning, the gendarmerie (police) had blocked the road between Le Vaudoué and Milly-la-Forêt. The situation was apparently the same as yesterday, even though I didn't cross or see anyone during the few hours that I was in Les Béorlots Ouest.
My session started at the big roof boulder of "Jeu de Pierre".
I wanted to warm up in "Santa Carina" with a backwards dyno, which turned out to to become much more than a warmup.
Not a far jump, but the lip is not that good for taking the big swing. I needed a lot of attempts and lost a huge amount of skin with this one. Felt like at least a 7A+.
Fontainebleau - Les Béorlots Ouest - Santa Carina 7A
I had hoped to do some good attempts in "Jeu de Pierre" and "Egérie sans Vergogne", but my skin was so wrecked that it was no use.
Instead, I decided to stroll around and have a look for a recently boulder from David Evrard, the one with "Petit Lu".
Les Béorlots Ouest is a wide area, with spread out pockets of boulders, and as there was indication as to where exactly the boulder is located, I had no choice but to walk up onto the plateau and aim for luck.
Somehow, out of several possible locations, I immediately chose the right one and had walked straight towards the boulder. I found it with a lot of luck.
My first idea to try was "Petit Lu (assis)", but during my attempts, I realized that it was harder than it looked (especially with this wrecked skin), so moved a few meters over to the right and started with "La Rayée".
I got a bit lucky with "La Rayée" as I got on there with the last bot of skin that I had. Very nice problem!
It was announced to be very warm today, with temperatures tickling the 30°C. Considering the huge crowds that made it to the forest last weekend and the fact that today is the first day of an elongated weekend, it promised to be very busy again.
Trying to avoid the peak, I left early to Rocher du Guetteur, where I worked in "Mister Freeze" last week. I could do all the moves, but couldn't hold the swing of the dyno when coming from the start. Due to lack of skin and power left in me, I had to leave it behind, but with the intention to come back and finish it very soon; as in today.
It was 9h30 when I arrived packed with two crashpads on the top of the hill of Rocher du Guetteur, and I was amazed by the huge numbers of people that were already on the red '25 Bosses' path that passes right next to "Mister Freeze".
Last week, I was a bit surprised by the swing after the dyno, and landed beyond the crashpad a few times. An extra crashpad was not an unnecessary luxury. It definitely made me feel more at ease and climb more focused on the actual moves.
It was already starting to get hot up there, and the amount of people walking by grew by the minute, so I was glad to top "Mister Freeze" quite quickly and move to more silent grounds.
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Guetteur - Mister Freeze 7C
The way back home was zig-zag'ing between cars that were parked everywhere. The number of visitors in one day must have broken some record. I had never seen anything like that; it was worse than the busiest Easter weekend that I can remember.
I left early towards Franchard, only to discover that the parking of Franchard Isatis was still not accessible. Despite that I was early, a good handful of cars was already parked along the road instead, and so did I.
With social distancing on my mind, I had planned to try some isolated boulders in Franchard Hauts Sablons and walked straight to the one with "Délit de Droite".
The skin on my fingers felt sore from yesterday, but still I was able to do "Délit de Droite" on my first warm up attempt. The boulder still felt cold from the night and the slopers were in quite good condition.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Hauts Sablons - Délit de Droite 7B
On the same boulder and sharing the same exit, "La Gauche au Pouvoir" took me quite some more tries and skin, but I managed to work me up. Very bad sloper for the left hand on the first move.
I nearly finished the longer version that starts all the way left, but my fingers skin was starting to become sweaty and the slopers were warming up in the sun.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Hauts Sablons - La Gauche au Pouvoir 7B+
Back at the car, cars were now parked until very far in both directions and both sides.
Making a detour through Achêres-la-Forêt on the way home, all parkings of the Trois Pignons were more than full and area around Noisy-sur-Ecole was completely congested as it would be on an extremely busy Easter weekend.
After all, you can't blame all the people that want to enjoy the forest after such a long time.
UPDATE: The line "Pas à Moi" on boulder 15 on the topo of La Charbonnière, was opened by David Evrard; originally with a sitstart. David has opened much more variations, that can be seen his video on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/326997026
The forest has opened up again, but social distancing is advised and groups can not be bigger than 10 people.
I left early today and went to Mont Pivot, knowing that I would not see much people there.
A few years ago, I had tried "Le Passeur", but somehow, despite many attempts, never was able to hold steady on those starting crimps and couldn't even set off for the dynamic move.
It didn't give me much trouble now, as I did it on my first attempt today.
Fontainebleau - Mont Pivot - Le Passeur 7A
I briefly tried "Stalker" next to it, but couldn't even lift my butt off the ground, so decided to walk to the more or less isolated boulder of "À Bout de Souffle", just below "Pancras".
I can't remember who and when told me about an easier "biscuited" 7B variation on "À Bout de Souffle", with a dyno to an oblique hold on the left, but it turned out to be a very nice version. The dyno is less far, but the swing afterwards is quite hard to hold.
Took me quite some effort and lost a good amount of skin, but it was well worth it. I wonder why it has never been published.
Fontainebleau - Mont Pivot - À Bout de Souffle Biscuit 7B
In the meantime I heard a lot of hikers walking on the nearby 25 Bosses path and by the time I arrived back at the car, it was fully parked everywhere and there was no sign of social distancing.
For two months we were ordered to be quarantined, but were allowed to go out for necessary shopping after completing a document stating the reason why one was out. Outdoor physical activities were allowed, as long as they were practiced within a one kilometre perimeter from home. The forests were closed down by the ONF though, but luckily from where I live, the privately owned forests of La Charbonnière, La Renardière and Le Groison are all well within my 1km perimeter and not allowed to be closed down by the ONF.
It became quickly obvious for mountain bikers, hikers and even some climbers from the village, like me, to use these parts of the forest as their local outdoor playgrounds, as long as the land owners didn't complain, which they didn't. One of them is a climber by the way.
For two months, whenever I could, I hiked though these dense forests, looking for new boulders and lots of brushing and cleaning them; mostly completely alone, sometimes with the help of my kids. I was amazed by the amount of boulders that had remained hidden well within my allowed area. I even took the time to create a small topo; not detailed, but enough to locate the boulders. Some of them, I even consider as true hidden gems.
Grades are going from 2 up to 7B+, although, be aware that the grading was merely an indication of the moment and is subject to be changed by repeaters. Time will tell.
Location of the boulders. 2, 5 and 16 were already known and published, but added as a reference.
Some of the boulders have several problems and/or variations on them, and some lines are still a project, but for all care, free for all to try and claim a first ascent. As long as you keep the area clean and respect the environment.
I will now sum up the boulders in the order that I cleaned them and opened the first problems. There are a few of them that are very easy, but in the end it was a nice journey of discovery for myself and my kids.
BOULDER 4
As boulder 5, the one with "Shogun" and "Ronin" was already known, I was familiar with that part of the small forest and started my cleaning journey there by cleaning boulder 4. Slightly above and about 30m to the right of "Shogun".
Opened a total of 4 problems, going from about 6B up to 7A+, maybe 7B.
Before cleaning.
After.
"Dans le Périmètre" 6B(6B+)
"Dans le Périmètre (droite)" 6C(6C+)
"Moins d'Un Kilomètre" 7A(7A+)
"Moins d'Un Kilomètre (rallongé)" 7A+(7B)
"Moins d'Un Kilomètre" 7A+(7B) continued
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Dans le Périmètre 6B(6B+)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Dans le Périmètre (droite) 6C(6C+)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Moins d'Un Kilomètre 7A(7A+)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Moins d'Un Kilomètre (rallongé) 7A+(7B)
The following boulders can be found along or close to the yellow path on the topo. The obvious path that enters the forest is almost directly behind a small company called "TLS Etiquettes", look it up for your reference if needed.
BOULDER 13
After about 200m down the path after entering the forest, the huge boulder can be seen at about 50m on the left of the path.
I stood in awe when I walked around what seemingly looked like a small boulder covered with a thick layer of moss. With a big sort of pit in front of it, it turned out to be a huge overhang with several lines waiting to be opened.
While cleaning, I was stuck with only one obvious in mind, and ended up opening only that one, even though there are possibilities to open some more variations.
Boulder 13, "Les Quarante Haines" is one of the gems on the topo.
Before.
During.
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Les Quarante Haines 7B
BOULDER 12
About 50m past "Les Quarante Haines", the arete with "Arête au Confinement!" looks easy, but didn't feel as it looked.
Not as nice as the previous but still worth the visit if you ask me.
"Arête au Confinement!" 7A+
"Arête au Confinement" 7A+ continued
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Arête au Confinement 7A+
BOULDER 15
Boulder 13 was not cleaned by me, nor the problem opened by myself and I do not claim a first ascent of it.
It was a fellow villager who saw me cleaning boulders and he told me about a boulder close to his house and that there was chalk on it. Being a climber himself, he said that he had tried it with some friends and that it might be around 7A.
The next day, I found the boulder and was a bit sad that I flashed the line that my fellow villager told me about. It was a nice boulder and again a beautiful setting.
For the time being, until more information arises about the boulder, I named it "Pas à Moi", because it is not mine.
"Pas à Moi" 7A(6C)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Pas à Moi 7A(6C)
BOULDER 11
Small boulder with an easy problem. Not the nicest problem, but I cleaned the boulder and liked its shape.
"Titrou" starts with both hands in a pocket in the roof and the feet in the back.
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Titrou 5C(6A)
BOULDER 10
This low boulder has some very easy children slabs, a traverse a game and an open project with an extremely hard topout by convention.
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Câlin Confiné 5C(6A)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - La Balade des Confinés 6C(7A)
BOULDER 14
I found boulder 14 on my way back from "Pas à Moi". Located right next to an obvious path through the forest.
Covered with moss and couldn't resist imagining lines.
Ended up opening only two problems, using the same sitstart, because I had found already more boulders to clean in the meantime.
Before.
"Backyard Lockdown" 7A+
"Backyard Lockdown (gauche)" 7A
The first line though, "La Fissure à Noah" was opened by my youngest son, at 7 years old.
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - La Fissure à Noah 3+
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Backyard Lockdown 7A+
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Backyard Lockdown (gauche) 7A
BOULDER 7
I found boulder 7 almost by coincidence. Covered with moss, it was hardly visible through the small trees there, even at only 20m from the path. Located at only a few meters from the fence of someone's garden, discretion is advised.
Before.
"Le Père Est Maître (assis)" 6C+
"Le Fils Est Sûr (gauche assis)" 6A(6B)
"À Vue de Nez" 7A
"À Vue de Nez (gauche)" 6C
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Le Père Est Maître (assis) 6C+
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Le Fils Est Sûr (gauche assis) 6A(6B)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - À Vue de Nez 7A
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - À Vue de Nez (gauche) 6C
BOULDER 3
This time, on the on expedition through another part of the forest, but still within my 1km radius, I went direction the already known boulder 2, with "Beauty Full".
On my way, at only about 100m from the graveled road, I stumbled upon a floating boulder where I imagined a start from in a pit between the boulders it was resting on, and started cleaning to free "Confinîle Flottante". Little gem I would say.
After cleaning.
"Confinîle Flottante" 6C(6B)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Confinîle Flottante 6C(6B)
BOULDER 1
About 250m deeper down in the dense forest, I found another chaos of boulder with still quite some boulders that I already started cleaning, but this was near the end of the lockdown and I still had other easier reachable boulders that I prepared elsewhere, but ended up opening another gem. I literally said "Ouf!" when I discovered the boulder of "Confinouf!".
"Confinouf!" before cleaning.
After cleaning.
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Confinouf! 7B
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Confinouf! (assis) 7B+
BOULDER 6
Back to the previous sector, I had noticed a small cutout in on old quarry, and it attracted me, so I went ahead, cleaned it and opened some games.
After cleaning "Arête de Carrière".
1. "Arête de Carrière" 6B+ (exit left of the arete with a big hold on the left)
2. "Arête de Carrière (direct)" 6C (exit direct and left of the arete without the big hold)
3. "Arête de Carrière (droite)" 6B (exit right of the arete)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Arête de Carrière 6B+
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Arête de Carrière (droite) 6B
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Arête de Carrière (direct) 6C
BOULDER 8
Small boulder of which I didn't know what to expect, but it looked fun.
"Jouet de Bloc" 5C(6A)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Jouet de Bloc 5C(6A)
BOULDER 9
The lockdown was already over when I opened "Déconfinement" but as I had already spent quite some time cleaning this one, right next to the path, I came back to finish what I had in mind for it.
Green: "Déconfinement" 6C+(7A) (sitstart with left hand on low undercling and right hand on the arete; finish right)
Blue: "Déconfinement (gauche)" 7A(7A+) (sitstart left with slopey crimp, traverse to the right with crimps; exit in "Déconfinement")
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Déconfinement 6C+(7A)
Fontainebleau - La Charbonnière - Déconfinement (gauche) 7A(7A+)
Got me four ticks in those two months. Nasty buggers!
It took me several evenings to create the topo and this whole long post, so in the meantime, early this evening I made a fairly quick repetition of "Vétille" in Gorge aux Châts Est.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts Est - Vétille 7A(7A+)
UPDATE May 17, 2020: The line "Pas à Moi" on boulder 15 on the topo of La Charbonnière, was opened by David Evrard; originally with a sitstart. David has opened much more variations, that can be seen his video on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/326997026
