The terrace of my home looked promising this morning and I was eager to back to Rocher des Demoiselles to finish the beautiful "Home". The path towards the area looked more dry than earlier this week and I was motivated even more by it. The motivation quickly turned into fear when I entered the area and noticed the first few boulders to be wet by condensation. I was lucky though and found "Home" in a suitable state for trying. I worked out some of the moves again, tweaking the method a bit and quickly found one that required less power than the method that I tried a few days ago. I only needed three attempts now to make my way to the top of "Home", a true beauty when you like steep overhanging compression moves on bad slopers.
Fontainebleau - Rocher des Demoiselles - Home 7B+(7B)
On the way back, I stopped at and tried "L'Eveil du Sphinx (assis)", but after three times falling off the very last move, I decided to call it a day and went back home. The year ended well for me.
It was forecasted to start raining early afternoon and I had planned to do some work in the garden, so I spent the whole morning doing just that. When it still hadn't rained by 14h, I was doubting between going for a climb or just doing a walk a walk in the forest. I chose the first, as that involved some walking as well. My body felt quite soar from the days before, so I decided to go for something not too hard in the nearby Justice de Noisy. When I entered the area, and felt the state of the boulders, it turned out to be quite some good conditions thanks to the fair amount of wind that blowing through the trees. On the spot, instead of going straight to "Le Grand Collisionneur", I decided to try "Psychologique" again. Having tried it a few times in Summer, it was too warm for me to even stick the second move. Those very bad slopers do require good conditions. Thanks to the good conditions, I was suddenly able to stick the second move and I started to believe in sending. I tried a couple of methods, but in the end it was the quite unusual method from Maxime Baroud that got me to the top.
Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Psychologique 7C(7B+)
Still motivated by the send of "Psychologique", I walked on to "Grand Collisionneur", of which I had intended to come and try the sitstart. I could have flashed it, but due to bad foot placement, I only did it on my second attempt. Nice problem, but quite easy for the grade, at least with such good conditions.
Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Grand Collisionneur (assis) 7A+
My plan was to go to Rocher des Demoiselles, where I had selected a couple of boulders to try. I warmed up in "Tri Sélectif", which I was able to finish quickly.
Fontainebleau - Rocher des Demoiselles - Tri Sélectif 7B(7A+)
Next up was the beautiful "Home", of which I was able to work out all the moves and do the problem in two overlapping parts. Unfortunately, my skin was worn out and I wasn't able to finish it from the start. I will gladly go back for that beauty.
Even though it had rained a bit during the night, the situation didn't look hopeless this morning. There was a mild wind and depending on the choice of area to go for a climb, one could potentially be lucky. My choice for Petit Rempart and the far end of Cuvier Rempart seemed to be a good one. Dry boulders with quite good conditions. After having tried a few other problems, I ended up at the "Vu" boulder, on which I wanted to try "J'avais pas Vu", with a hard exit on very bad slopers. The conditions were in favor and I quickly made good progression, but I had quite some difficulty to do the far move left hand near the end. Climbing on such bad slopers and requiring a lot of body tension, I felt I was approaching my energy reserves after a while and even though I had been able to do all the moves, including the topout, I was starting to doubt that I would be able to send it today. After a short break and some persistence, I squeezed everything out, and made my way to the top. It was close to failing, as it felt like I could come out any moment near the end, but I didn't want to let go anymore and struggled my way up.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Rempart - J'avais pas Vu 7C
Merry Christmas! I was lucky to find one dry and climbable boulder, and even more to find that the conditions on it were pretty good. That's all folks.
We didn't see much of the heavy snow fall that was announced earlier this week but we did have a small layer of about one centimeter. As it was freezing cold the whole week and no more precipitation, it wasn't wet, but the choice of climbable boulders was mild. The small layer of snow that covered most of the boulders didn't melt but a small layer of ice had formed between the snow and the rock. Slapping off the snow was in most cases not enough to be able to have a doable topout. Yesterday, I did manage to work out moves of "Entrée de Game (assis)" and could climb from the sit into the standing start. Despite the good conditions of the friction, I had lost quite some skin. Christophe (Laumone) showed how good the conditions were by doing the first ascent of "Gengis Khan (assis)". This morning, with only -6°C when I arrived at the Dame Jouanne area, it was extremely cold. Knowing how quickly my toes are freezing with that icy temperature, I knew that I didn't have to go anything that would likely take me too long. I therefor chose for "L'Etoile Filante", a boulder that seemed to fit my style and wasn't too exposed. Even though it looked less hard than it turned out to be, the hardest battle was the one against freezing toes. I was glad that it didn't take me too long.
Looking for "Attention à la Branche", I turned up at "Just Do It", realizing that I didn't find the first. I must have walked right passed it without noticing. I decided to stay where I was and just try "Just Do It". I only needed two attempts, but was caught by surprise by the tricky topout, especially with these icy and snowy conditions. I didn't rush myself though and took a minute for a possible and safe way up. It was sketchy, but in the end I just did it and grabbing the moss under the snow, struggled myself on top of the boulder.
My initial plan was to go and try "La Tour de Babel" in Dame Jouanne, but when I arrived at the boulder and took my phone out of my pocket, I noticed that Pieter had sent me a message when I was driving. Bram (Honorez) was with him, and they wanted to go and try "Le Dolmen du Divin" in Rocher de Milly. I was at that boulder a few weeks ago and had worked out the moves of "Entrailles" which exits on the right. Working out the method had taken such a long time though, that I couldn't finish it anymore from the start. As the boulder is at a half hour walk from the parking, I was very tempted to join them as it would spare me from carrying two crashpads that whole way. I gave "La Tour de Babel" a few tries, but quickly told myself that it was too morpho for the time being and used it as an excuse to pack up and drive back to join Pieter and Bram to try "Entrailles". While they were working on "Le Dolmen du Divin", I quickly tried the separate moves of "Entrailles", using a completely different method than what I had seen on the few videos of it on the web, at least for the last part. I did the separate moves quicker than expected and was able to send "Entrailles" on my first attempt when coming from the start. Leaving "La Tour de Babel" to join Pieter and Bram had proven to have been totally worth it.
Last Sunday it remained wet all day, so I continued the work in my barn. I managed to remove the old wooden door in front of the high window. I also put in the plexiglass and filled up the open edges with isolation foam. I was amazed by the amount of daylight that is now able to light up the barn. I don't even have to put the light on anymore during the day. I still have to do some finishing touches, but that will be for the upcoming weekend.
Finally, some natural light in my barn.
Speaking of light, there wasn't very much of it today. A thick fog covered the whole region and I had to carefully choose where to try my chances for a possible climb. It turned that I had made a good choice to go to "La Fosse aux Oreilles" in Drei Zinnen. Even there in the area, it looked like it was the only boulder that was dry enough to climb. I had tried it very briefly long ago but couldn't even get out of the small cave as I didn't think of the kneebar possibility. After seeing a video of it, I now knew about the kneebar and started working out the moves. I had only brought one crashpad though and made quite a bad fall onto the rock below when trying the moves higher up. It was only then that I wisely decided to go back to the car to get a second crashpad. Protected by both crashpads, I felt much more relaxed while climbing and quickly found a method for the upper part as well. The send followed pretty soon after. On my way back home, I still had a walk through the Gorge aux Châts area, but there was nothing of interest that was dry enough to climb.
Fontainebleau - Drei Zinnen - La Fosse aux Oreilles 7B+(7B)
It rained yesterday and last night, so everything was soaking wet this morning. It didn't bother me much because I had also planned to build a big window to replace an old crooked wooden door that covered an opening in my barn at a height of about three meters; presumably used long ago to enter hay at a time the house was still a farm. After several hours of work, the frame was fixed and as good as everything prepared to remove the door and put in the plexiglass tomorrow. It was already well in the afternoon, and as it hadn't rained anymore since last night, it looked like there was a small window to maybe, just maybe, find a dry piece of rock to climb on.
Making a window.
Instead of my original plan to go to the quick drying area of 91.1, I changed my mind when I parked the car and decided to go the high part of Justice de Noisy closer to the parking. There is a new problem that was published this week, opened on a boulder that I knew had a big chance of being dry. I turned out to be lucky, as the line of "Bourg-des-Comptes (droite)" was dry enough, except for the flat topout. I worked out the moves separately as a warmup and sent the problem barely twenty minutes after my arrival.
Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Bourg-des-Comptes (droite) 7A+
The weather forecast didn't look good for today, but yesterday it had changed and there was no more rain to be expected. It hadn't rained for a few days now, but without sun and much wind, it dried very slowly. During the weekend one will never see me in Franchard Isatis, except when passing through. On a regular Wednesday though, it is a good place to be. Instead of an otherwise full parking lot, there were only four cars this morning, mine included. The conditions looked bad though when I entered the area and saw the first boulders. Upon touching them however, they were dry and in surprisingly good conditions as well. I started with "Le Surplomb Gauche" as a warmup, but my fingers were cold, and my body still had to wake up. Nevertheless, it didn't take me very long.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Isatis - Le Surplomb Gauche 7A
The sitstart followed immediately after practicing the first move a couple of times.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Isatis - Le Surplomb Gauche (assis) 7B+(7B)
I continued my way and stopped at "Patte de Chat" of which I could do the 7B version on my second attempt. With these conditions it didn't feel harder than 7A+.
Next, I had the intention of trying "Panzer", but on my way there, my attention was drawn by the low start version of "El Poussah" on the boulder right next to "Panzer". Having two crashpads with me, I decided to work in "El Poussah (rallongé)" instead. Again, with these surprisingly good conditions, it went down much faster than I had expected at first. I still had some time but decided to leave home to build a second climbing module and fix to the wall in my barn.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Isatis - El Poussah (rallongé) 7B
About a month ago, I had a concrete floor installed in my barn, and one of the first things that I wanted, was to build a small overhanging bouldering wall. After many designs using the free online version of SketchUp, I finally ended with a definite design and started building a few weeks ago.
The final design.
Because I took my time and also built other things in between, the progress was slow, but steady and earlier this week it came to the point that it was ready to put in place. I wanted a completely free-standing wall, without anything fixed to the wall, so putting it all up was not something I could do by myself. I therefor gladly accepted Pieter's proposal to help me out this weekend. The structure being very heavy, I called Christophe (Laumone) and Jean-Hervé (Baudot) asking if they could come over and give us an extra hand on Sunday, I was delighted that they both confirmed without any hesitation.
I met Pieter yesterday morning on the parking of Roche aux Sabots and we made our way to the Cul de Chien area with the intention to try and hopefully finish the beautiful and popular "Arabesque", also known as "L'Autre Toit". The first ten minutes we were alone at the big roof, but it didn't take long before other climbers arrived at the spot. I managed to get away with "Arabesque", after which we decided to leave and look for a calmer spot at the 91.1 area on our way back.
We ended up at the boulder with "La Serpe d'Or", which I was able to repeat quite fast. Pieter tried a lot but couldn't keep the left heel hook long enough and he came up with the idea to try something seemingly new on the arete to the right of it. Starting with a slopey crimp behind the arete right hand and the undercling left hand, it looked logical to make a dynamic move to some bad slopers, match it with both hands and then finish left into the top of "La Serpe d'Or". Maybe it were the conditions but it took quite a few attempts for me to make it. Pieter agreed to name it "L'Arbitre" and even though he hadn't done it yet, the grade of 7A+(7A) seemed appropriate.
Fontainebleau - 91.1 - L'Arbitre 7A+(7A)
I left home to finish hammering the T-nuts on the panels for my wall, while Pieter stayed in the area and continue working "L'Arbitre". When he arrived at my home a few hours later, it was nice to hear that he had done it as well and confirmed the grade. Being motivated by Pieter, we made some finishing touches to the structure of the wall and decided to try and put it up after a well-deserved pizza. We made big progress and thanks to Pieter managed to put it up and fix it a few hours later, it had become much later than anticipated and exhausted we went to sleep.
The structure erected; no Viagra was used.
After a good sleep, and the arrival of Christophe and Jean-Hervé, it all went very quick and barely an hour after their arrival, the panels were on the wall and well fixed. It was time to screw on the first holds.
Fixing the last heavy panel.
The first holds on the wall.
A huge, enormous thanks to Pieter, Christophe and Jean-Hervé, for helping out without any hesitation and on such a short notice! It is much appreciated! Funny enough, when the wall was completely finished, we went for a climb ... in the forest. The weather allowed it and dry boulders outside are more attractive than an indoor artificial overhang. Climbing it would be for rainy days and dark evenings. At Mont Pivot, Pieter climbed "Pulpo", and I was able to repeat it. Then it was time to go higher up and try the classic but scary "Pancras". Even though we both had already worked the sitstart in the past, Pieter and I had never even done the standing start, so we wisely decided to focus on that one. We were both exhausted from all the work, but to my big surprise, I ended up finishing this beauty. It was scary though.
Fontainebleau - Mont Pivot - Pancras 7A+(7A)
Thanks again Pieter, Christophe and Jean-Hervé for helping me make what started as a design, a reality!
I have started building a bouldering wall in the barn of my house, and as I was eager to continue working on it, I decided to stay close and try to keep the climbing short. When I arrived at the boulder of "Malus Auto" in Rocher Cailleau and warmed up in "Guide de la Pince", I was surprised with how good the conditions were and how good the friction was. For a moment, I was thinking that maybe I should have gone back to "Entrailles" in Rocher de Milly, but the work on my bouldering wall felt more important. Besides, I did make my visit to Rocher Cailleau worth it.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Cailleau - Guide de la Pince 7A(6C+)
After "Guide de la Pince", I began on "Malus Auto (direct)", of which I was able to work out the first few moves last Wednesday but couldn't continue due to the boulder being too humid higher up. With a crux that high, I needed it to be in good condition. The rather quick ascent of "Malus Auto (direct)" proved how good the conditions were, but despite that, the topout was really scary and quite sketchy. The feet felt so bad and made me think I could slip off any moment until I found myself completely on top of this beautiful high prow.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Cailleau - Malus Auto (direct) 7B(7B+)
Having some time left in my planning, I decided to look for the new boulder of "Voûte Entoilée" on top of the neighboring hill, above the phallus shaped boulder with "Le Gland Incarné". The contrast between the 4- or 5-meters high prow of "Malus Auto (direct)" and the barely 2 meters low "Voûte Entoilée" almost couldn't be greater. The first moves under the low roof looked too morpho at first, but it didn't take long to find a possible method. I quickly worked out the moves at the end and sent the problem immediately after. It made up for not having done the long walk to "Entrailles" and with a sense of relief I went back home to work on my bouldering wall. It will be a 2m50 wide and 3m40 high 35° overhanging face. I'll post a picture on my blog when it's erected and finished.
Last Saturday I repeated a few problems on the big boulder of "Le Cadeau" in Rocher du Télégraphe and Sunday we were quite a few who went to the "Dolmen du Divin" boulder in Rocher de Milly where I worked out "Entrailles" but lost too much energy on working out a method and was unable to send the whole problem from the start. It's on my list though. When I looked at the weather forecast yesterday, it didn't look like it would be possible to climb, but when the forecast changed this morning, there opened up a window for a climb. Not risking doing the long walk back to Rocher de Milly, I preferred to stay close and went to Rocher Cailleau to check out the newly published problems opened by Tony (Fouchereau). I had noticed the big boulder of "Malus Auto" already a couple of years ago, and I remembered thinking when someone would do the effort to open a few lines on it. It turns out that Tony did it. I had hoped to try the beautiful prow of "Malus Auto (direct)", but the left shady side of the boulder was still too wet to climb. Luckily, the face with "Guide de la Verticale" on the boulder next to it, was dry enough. It took me quite some time to find a good possible method, but when I finally did, I was surprised by the nice way it climbs.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Cailleau - Guide de la Verticale 7A+(7A)
I met with Pieter and Bram (Honorez) this morning on the parking La Feuillardière as we agreed to go climbing together in Rocher du Télégraphe. The boulders near the base of the hill were very damp, but higher up, the boulder with "Le Plat du Chef" was dry. I didn't really have a specific problem in mind, but as we all hadn't done "Le Plat du Chef" yet, we agreed to start with that one. Pieter wasn't in his best shape, and Bram, who didn't climb for at least nine months, wasn't as well. I was the only one of us who got the send.
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Télégraphe - Le Plat du Chef 7A+
While the others were still trying "Le Plat du Chef", I was able to do the relatively new "Karim Abdoul Gullish" unexpectedly. It somehow didn't give me much trouble, besides the topout being somewhat scary.
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Télégraphe - Karim Abdoul Gullish 7C
After a while, we moved over to "Coup d'Epaule" on the boulder next to it. I had done it already back in 2016, and the sitstart as well, but not the direct version, without the good holds behind the arete. I had tried it a few times long ago but couldn't do more than one move. After we witnessed Bram flashing "Coup d'Epaule", I somehow managed to get past the crux of "Coup d'Epaule (direct)" but jumped back off to turn on the camera. I was able to finish this beauty off on my second attempt afterwards. This one came truly unexpected but made me want to come back for its sitstart some other day.
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Télégraphe - Coup d'Epaule (direct) 7B+
After last night's and this morning's rain showers, I expected and was prepared for bad conditions in Franchard Sablons. I was hoping to try "Modulor" and carried two crashpads to be on the safe side. The boulders near the base of the hill were wet but got dryer when moving higher up and I felt lucky to find "Modulor" dry. I had spent a few short sessions on it long ago but had never been able to release the left toehoek without swinging out too far and touching the boulder on the left. Even though there was quite some humidity, the parts of the boulder that I had to use were dry and actually in pretty good conditions. For a moment I thought that I would end up touching the left boulder again all the time, but when I was finally able to reach high enough, I barely took a swing and topped out this beauty much quicker than I had anticipated.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Sablons - Modulor 7B+
As I had carried both crashpads, I wanted to make it count and moved over to the boulder with "Jokari", of which I wanted to try the sitstart. After a few fruitless attempts trying the first move and then matching both hands on the high undercling, I feared that it wasn't going to work out and that it would just be impossible for me. I took my time though, made some tiny foot placement adjustments and after a while, I had the first move and matching both hands dialed and was able to get into the position of the standing start soon after that. When I was then able to quickly repeat the standing start, I setup the camera and went for it from the sitstart. Two attempts later, it was done. I made it count.
It was a bit risky to leave for a climb this morning because they predicted rain, and it looked like it could start any moment. I was lucky though and no rain had fallen by the time I arrived at "Reverse Progression" in Franchard Hautes Plaines. My skin was barely warmed u and nor was my body, but I was able to finish "Reverse Proression" on my second attempt, almost without blinking my eyes. This felt like a mild 7B at most.
Still no rain and I had packed up to move to try "Le Solitaire (assis)", but when I had a last look at "Reverse Progression", I was tempted to stay and try a very low crouching start, almost lying down. I figured that there had to be a way to start both hands on a low slopey crimp behind the right arete, and a toehoek on the left. After quite some fails and continuous tweaking small details, I managed to fight my way up from the very low crouching start. This one felt more like hard 7B+ or mild 7C, depending on one's body morphology. Loved the moves on this one!
The conditions were not very promising when I left for Mont Ussy Est. I had made note of a few boulders that I wanted to find, and hopefully try. First on the list was "Bouboule", but when I unexpectedly walked by the new "Hey J", I decided to give a try, even though it wasn't really on my list. It took a moment before I was able to figure how to go for and hold the vertical crimp in the left face, but once I knew what to do, it went down quick.
Fontainebleau - Mont Ussy Est - Hey J 7A
Looking for the boulder of "Bouboule", I found the boulder of "Le Corps Epouse la Forme" by coincidence, which was on my list, but too humid to try, especially given the bad landing, so I continued my search for "Bouboule". The high ferns made it difficult to walk through and look far, and thinking it was the right boulder, I found myself in front of another boulder on my list, "Vite avant Cours". Being there, I used the occasion, worked out the moves and sent it rather quick. Very cool problem.
Fontainebleau - Mont Ussy Est - Vite avant Cours 7A+
According to what I read, "Vite avant Cours" is supposed to be above the boulder with "Bouboule", so logically, I walked down the valley looking everywhere I could, but nothing that resembled the boulder I was looking for. It's as if someone just blew it up and made it disappear. Having walked all the way down the valley, I decided to walk on to the boulder with "Percolation Critique", but as that was too humid to try. "Criminsix", right next to it, was dry, but required some cleaning. Not feeling like leaving, I decided to stay and clean the boulder again. Due to humid air, the holds stayed quite dirty and sandy, which made the standing start of "Criminsix" feel like hard 7A instead of the published 6C+. After I finished the standing start, I went for the sitstart and was able to top this out as well after a handful of attempts. The dirty and sandy holds made it feel like the proposed 7B+, but I can very well imagine that it would rather be 7B with better conditions.
Fontainebleau - Mont Ussy Est - Criminsix (assis) 7B+
Being off work on Wednesdays until the end of the year allowed me to spend another climbing session as good as alone in yet another otherwise popular and densely crowded area, like Apremont. Following Jan's (Gorrebeeck) advice, I decided to try "L'Arête du Boucher", its sitstart and hopefully also "Un Os sous l'Arête". The standing start of "L'Arête du Boucher" didn't feel too hard, and I flashed it with relative ease as a warmup.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Est - L'Arête du Boucher / Appréhension 7A(6C+)
Almost immediately followed by the sitstart, on my second attempt.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Est - L'Arête du Boucher (assis) 7A+
"Un Os sous l'Arête" sitstarts far left, follows the arete to the right on bad slopers and a few crimps in the overhang, to finally exit in "L'Arête du Boucher". Working out the moves went quicker than I expected and soon I was able to make the whole linkup to the standing start of "L'Arête du Boucher". Even though the weather conditions were in favor, my skin was not, and I wasn't able to keep the friction long enough to make it to the end. I had a feeling that with this skin, it was pointless to keep on trying, but being able to make the link up to the standing start felt like a good progress, it definitely feels possible. Satisfied with the progress, I decided to move to the central area of Apremont and try "Marginal (droite)", which was also on my list. I was surprised to top it out on my first attempt.
Still eager to climb, I doubted between "Massacre à l'Intermarché" and "Futura Santé". Even though I had tried the latter long ago and it felt impossible at that time, I decided to go for "Futura Santé". With only one very hard move to a bad sloper instead of the continuous bad slopers of "Massacre à l'Intermarché", it was probably better with such bad skin. I had tried "Futura Santé" briefly about four years ago, but as it felt so impossible, I had opened another easier left version back then. This time, I was determined to spend more time on it and see if there would be any possibility for progress. The first couple of attempts seemed to confirm my thought that it was indeed impossible for me, but after some time, making minor adjustments, there was mild progress. The right hand move from a low undercling to a high bad sloper is huge and really hard, but when I was finally able to touch the sloper, I turned on the camera to add some pressure. It still took more than an hour of attempt after attempt until I finally stuck the move, but still fell off afterwards. Thinking it would go fast now, it took almost another half an hour of attempts before I stuck the move again. This time, I stayed focused and struggled further to the top of this small boulder. A one move wonder followed by a sketchy mantle with bad and slightly sandy slopers.
After many months, I finally returned back to Belgium for a long weekend to attend a family reunion, and to be honest, it was good to be back in Belgium and spend some days with family. People who know where I live will probably understand that it felt good to be back home as well, maybe even better. It was a long drive, but after a coffee at home, I left to the forest for a climb. Feeling pretty tired, I stayed close and went to Bois Rond Auberge to climb something not too hard and walked straight to "Les Evadés", which I had never bothered trying before. It went down quickly.
Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Les Evadés 6C+
"Les Evadés (prolongé)" followed immediately after.
Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Les Evadés (prolongé) 6C+(7A)
Having done both versions so quickly, I was still eager to climb, and "Avatar" on the boulder next to it, was a logical next step, even though I didn't come with the intention to try it. I had tried several times before, but never got further than lifting my butt off the ground, and I was never able to figure out what to do next. That was several years ago though, so I guessed it wouldn't hurt giving it another shot. It took a while before I finally found a possible method and started making progress. I was very pleased to very unexpectedly and unplanned tick this problem off. It's good to be back.
My last session trying "Gengis Khan" in Rocher de la Reine was on the 6th of November 2021, almost exactly one year ago, give or take a few days. Thanks to some tips that I got from Christophe Laumone the week before, I had a method that got me really close, always falling off the last hard move, the one to the pinch left hand. I could do the move separately and climb on to the top, except not when coming from the start. I decided back then to step away from it for a while, a while that apparently almost lasted a whole year. The weather promised to be very good today, maybe a bit warm for the bad slopers right hand of "Gengis Khan", but I had made up my mind and decided to give it another chance. I had kept some recordings of my best attempts from last year, so I watched them before leaving, to make sure that I wouldn't lose too much time searching for the important small details in the method that suited me quite well last year. Arriving the boulder, I warmed up doing the blue problem next to "Gengis Khan" a few times and started cleaning the crimps and slopers. Obviously, the person who tried it before me, probably yesterday, didn't clean the holds before he or she left, leaving me with the task to do it for him or her. I even had to clean more and longer than when I left later today. Please clean the holds of any problem you tried before leaving, and for your own benefit, try to clean every time as well in between attempts. It only took a couple attempts before I came at the same point I fell almost every attempt last year. It all comes down to the small details, and after an hour of fine-tuning tiny details, I felt that it could down any moment now. I wisely decided to take a longer break and sent "Gengis Khan" on my second attempt after the break, filled with joy.
Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Reine - Gengis Khan 7C
My body and the skin on my fingers felt sore when I got out of bed this morning. It was probably a good thing to meet a Belgian bunch for some climbing together in Marion des Roches. With Pieter, Jan (Gorrebeeck), Stijn and later also Jan (de Smit), Nataleigh and Dario, we were indeed a bunch at the big boulder of "PMH". We decided to start with "La Fissure du Clodo (assis)" to wake up the body, which apparently took some time. Once warmed up and the moves worked out, I was the first to grab the ascent.
Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - La Fissure du Clodo (assis) 7A(7A+)
Almost immediately after, I also got away with "PMH (assis)" on my second attempt.
Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - PMH (assis) 7A+(7A)
The remainder of the session was spent playing around some of the other many lines on the boulder, but my main interest went to repeating "Pierrot", which I was able to climb in a clean controlled fashion. It is already seven years ago, back in 2015, that I first climbed "Pierrot", and when I looked up my video from then, I almost bursted out laughing. The way I climbed "Pierrot" that time, is in no way comparable with the way I did it today. There was no way in my mind that even came close to doing "Pierrot" the way I did in 2015. I wish I would have recorded my ascent from today, just to be able to show the difference. Now I only have the 'what the hell did I do' method.
Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - Pierrot 7B (2015)
As Pieter has spent a few weeks in Japan with his wife, visiting her family, it was a while ago since we last climbed together, so I was delighted to see him back and spend a good climbing session. We met in Rocher Brûlé, with the intention to try some of the problems on the "Donuts" boulder. "Donuts" being the easiest problem, it was obvious to start with and warm up in that one. Surprisingly, it took a while before we figured out a method to get into the second part of the problem, but once we did, I managed to top out immediately after turning on the camera.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts 6C+(7A)
While Pieter was tweaking the method to suite his morphology and flexibility, I sent "Donuts (assis)" on my first attempt. Pieter did the standing start soon after.
Pieter wanted to skip the sitstart, so the next logical step was to try "Donuts à la Crème" as it would give us an idea about the tiny crimps used for the exit of "Crème Brûlée" as well. Starting from the low boulder underneath, we spent quite some time finding a method for the upper part. When we both finally did the upper part, it still took quite some attempts before I was able to send "Donuts à la Crème" from the start. Pieter was still struggling a bit, but after a longer break, during which I had turned off the camera, he sent it immediately after it, executing every move perfectly and without hesitation. I wish I had turned on the camera again immediately after the break.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts à la Crème 7B
Eager to try "Crème Brûlée", we skipped the sitstart of "Donuts à la Crème" but working out the moves of "Crème Brûlée" took a lot of time and energy. When I finally had all the moves dialed, I didn't have energy or skin left to make any good attempts from the start. Nevertheless, "Crème Brûlée" should definitely be possible when coming back with a fresh body and skin.
After some heavy rain yesterday evening and very early this morning, the sun had come out a few times so there was hope for a quick climb after work, if only would choose the right quick drying boulder. Manuel (Marquès) had opened a new variant on the boulder with "Entre Eaux Os" in Justice de Noisy, and knowing that this boulder, being exposed to the South and catching a lot of sun thanks to a gap in the trees, dries extremely quick, the choice was quickly made. I came close to doing "Un Os en Eau" on my first attempt, but my skin wasn't in the best shape, and I slid off at a crucial point. The same happened a few times in a row, but each time closer to the top, so there was quick progress. Each attempt could be the successful one. On half an hour, I lost quite some skin on my right-hand fingertips, but then it all stuck and I topped out.
Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Un Os en Eau 7B+
Until the end of the year, I'm off work on Wednesdays again and by miracle, today was the only day of the work week with good weather, warm and most importantly, dry. Being off on Wednesday, gives me the chance and motivation to visit the otherwise so crowded areas, like Cuvier for example, one of the areas where I am rarely to be found during the weekend. For today, I had set my mind on "Vert Clair" on the very popular boulder of "Holey Moley" and "Le Biceps Mou". Being Wednesday, and early, I arrived at the boulder, and I was alone. The side of "Holey Moley" was still wet, but the side with "Vert Clair" had already received some early morning sun and was dry. I had tried "Vert Clair" once before, but when I couldn't figure out the right heel-toe jam, I had given up on it pretty quickly. Today however, I was going to spend some time on it. As expected, I did indeed need some time to figure out that heel-toe, but once I did, the other moves didn't feel like too much of a problem for me. When I then tried the first move separately and did it, I turned on the camera and sent "Vert Clair" without hesitation, much faster than I had imagined.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier - Vert Clair 7B+
I briefly spent some time trying "Vert Nulle Part", but when the surroundings started to become more populated and louder, I decided to leave the area and make a small detour via "Rocher Saint-Germain Ouest" on my way back home. I tried it a few times after I had done "Deus Ex Machina", and even though being really close, the heat that day was too much to bear. The boulder was directly in the sun, but it was much less hot than last time, and I was able to send it quite fast. I love those Wednesdays being off work.
Similar scenario as yesterday, except that it cleared up a little earlier and with well over 20°C, it was a quite warm afternoon, even pretty hot in the sun. I had done a walk with my youngest son, Noah, around Coquibus Grandes Vallées in the morning, and as it was already starting to dry there high on top of the hill, I returned quickly for a climb in the well known roof of "En Dessous de Tout". With at least nine published problems on that boulder, there were still a few that I hadn't done yet. I started with "L'Etroit Mousse, plus Bas que Tout", a very conventional problem, where it's mostly about endurance, one of my weaker points. I considered it as a good training.
Given the number of moves, I had to rest long enough between attempts if I wanted to succeed. After I ended up finishing, I was pumped, but relieved.
Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - L'Etroit Mousse, plus Bas que Tout 7A+(7B)
Despite being pumped, I was still eager to climb and started trying "Plus de Mousse que de Tout". I wisely worked out the crux move after failing on my first attempt, but once I knew what to do, it was a pretty quick send.
Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - Plus de Mousse que de Tout 7A+(7A)
My intention was to call it a day there, but after watching another climber, Julien, topping out "LEtroit Mousse, plus Bas que Terre", I decided to pick another line, but a slightly easier one this time. I quite easily topped "En Dessous de Terre" to finish the session.
Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - En Dessous de Terre 7A(6C+)
Rain yesterday and this morning made the possibility for any climbing as good as non-existent, but when it cleared up in the afternoon, I got some hope. There was a nice breeze and I patiently waited until parts of the street started to dry. Greg (Gars des Bois on bleau.info), sent me a message earlier this week, mentioning that the new "Sunset Roof" in Bois Rond Auberge dries quickly and told me about a possible left exit version still to be opened. He hadn't done it yet, but notified me about it being a gift, one that gracefully accepted. The first boulders of the area were soaking wet, but as I got closer to the "Le Grand Requin Blanc" sector, it started to look more and more dry. I found the small roof of "Sunset Roof" dry and was able to flash the original problem with ease. It felt like 6C+ at most, but nevertheless, a very nice climb.
Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof 7A
Not being sure about what kind of left exit Greg had envisioned, I did a somewhat first impression of it on my first attempt.
Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans convention) 7A
Greg joined me and explained how he saw it. Following his indications, I also managed to do this version, without the pocket and only the low part of the arete, on my first attempt as well.
Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans le trou) 7A+
Being there, and still eager for another climb, I did another version of the left exit, eliminating the right edge of the roof and the arete as a whole. Also on my first attempt.
Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans l'arête) 7A+
The weather was forecasted to be like a nice after Summer day and I went to Cuvier with the intention to spend some time trying "La Gaule (assis)" and maybe also "Imothep". I was disappointed however, to notice a big tree that had fallen just in front and partly on the boulder, making it impossible to try it. The tree is way too big to be moved by hand, and will need a to be sawn in pieces. Completely obliterated, I moved on to "Imothep", but gave up after a few tries as I couldn't find enough motivation to try hard and really go for it. Markus (Neher) and his wife Cathy were going to join me soon and I wrote that I would be either at "Imothep" or "Démoniaque". On my way to "Démoniaque" though, I stopped at the boulder of "Evolution", realizing that I hadn't tried it before. It was with a bit of luck that I noticed Cathy walking about 50m down the hill, so I made myself aware of my presence, upon which they joined me at "Evolution". Being an overhanging slopey arete, "Evolution" is quite my anti style, but I got away with the ascent relatively quick.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Ouest - Evolution 7A
At the "Démoniaque" boulder, I had a hard time trying to repeat it and when the sun came from behind the few clouds, it started to become too hot there to stick around. On top of that, a bunch of ladybirds seemed to enjoy the good weather as well and it was astonishing to see how many they were in numbers. We decided to move over to "La Grotte Geneviève", which was for the most part in the shade. It took a few tries, but in the end, I managed to get the send, I had to let the sharp crimp dig deep into the skin of my fingers, but at least it got me there.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Ouest - La Grotte Geneviève 7A
Back on top of the hill, the boulders that were in the sun were covered with ladybirds. I have to admit that I squished one of them when going for the edge of "Démoniaque". When I passed "Imothep" again on my way back, there so many of them on the boulder, that it would have been impossible doing one move without squishing more than of them.
The weather started out bad last Sunday, but it cleared up and late in the afternoon there seemed a small window of opportunity. The sun came out from time to time and there was a good breeze. I figured to try my chance on "Karagena" just below the ridge of the hill behind the main area of Gorge aux Châts. When I was just below the top of the hill close at about hundred meters from "Katagena", I suddenly noticed smoke coming out of the ground in a small pit between some boulders. When I got closer, there was a clear smell of burning and noticed some glowing heat in the pit. I tried to move some of the soil and emptied the small amount of water that I had with me, on it. The hissing sound when I poured my water made it clear that it was very hot underground, at which point I decided to call the fire brigade. They geo-located me and said that they would be there soon, asking me to stay near so they try and get to my using my geo-location as I was not near any path. While waiting, the wind blowing on the heat even made it fire up from to time. I guess it was a good thing that it had rained the day before and earlier that morning, making the top layer of the pine needles less dry than the days before. Below ground though, it was still very dry.
Fire in the hole.
After about twenty minutes, I could hear a distinct siren and one of the firemen called me, asking if I could come down to the path and guide them as they weren't able to see any smoke. After meeting them and having taken them to the location of the fire, they confirmed that I had done the right thing calling them. They are familiar with these kinds of underground fires and told me that if nothing would be done, the area around would have definitely caught fire. This one went for about half a meter deep and they needed to carry up several containers of water to be able to extinguish it. Asking them about the possible cause, the fire officer was convinced that it was due to some campers who probably used a gas stove causing the ground below to heat up and starting the underground fire. Most likely some campers caused it the day or evening before, he said. While they continued their work, I gave them my contact details and continued my way to "Katagena" and by coincidence ran into a small tent not even fifty meters from where the fire was. I warned the fire officer about it and together we went back to the tent. After a few attempts asking if anyone was in there, there was some movement and an English-speaking climber put his head out of the tent. The officer told him about camping being forbidden, upon which the camper, looking like he was on some drug or alcohol, showed some climbing shoes, thinking it would be okay for climbers to camp out there. He was made aware that the police would come over soon and give him a fine if he didn't pack up. Asking him about the fire, he claimed that he didn't have anything to do with it, but leftovers of food around the tent made us believe the contrary. By that time, a light drizzle had made the boulders wet enough to not be able to climb anymore, so I went back home.
This morning, I decided to go back to "Katagena", but I still can't figure out how that problem actually starts and what is allowed to be used, that problem seems majorly hard the way I imagine it going. The camper had apparently left, and I noticed a possible line that looked attractive, exactly at the spot where he was staying. He had setup his tent right under the small roof at the spot where imagined a sitstart. It was done quickly, but not without some effort. As I couldn't find any pictures or description that completely matched the problem, I decided to conveniently name it "Camping Interdit" for the time being.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Camping Interdit 6C(7A)
On my way back down on the other, shady, side of the hill, I decided to stop at "Backdoor Man" and give it a try, now that it was dry. It was quick done deal, but I liked it, nevertheless.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Backdoor Man 6C+(7A)
The lesson I learned thanks to the whole fire story, is to never hesitate to call the fire brigade, even if what you see looks really small and practically nothing to worry about. What I saw, looked like something quite innocent, and I hesitated at first if I should call the fire brigade or not. Luckily, I did, because according to their feedback, it had prevented a potential disaster.
I had preferred to go back to "La Faufilade" in Boissy Le Plaid last Wednesday, but there is hardly any cell phone reception and I had to be reachable that morning. It was my main goal for today, so this morning I went back to spend a third session on it. On my first session I had worked out all the moves, except for the topout, which turned out to be a second crux, and probably even the hardest. It was only on my second session that I had found a way for the topout, but it was still hard. This morning, I warmed up trying only the topout, which again took some time before I was able to do it again. I repeated it a few times, each time starting lower until I felt confident enough to try from the start. On my previous two sessions, I had learned to not immediately start trying from the start, because falling on that topout, not knowing or remembering what to do sucked the energy out of me. "La Faufilade" went quicker than I expected, but it was not without a hard struggle at the end. It felt like I could still fall out until the very end. Felt like a hard 7B+, and maybe even close to 7C.
I always thought it had something to with meat, mixing up "La Faufilade" with a faux filêt, but apparently it means something like sneaking out, which fits with the problem in a way.
Fontainebleau - Boissy Le Plaid - La Faufilade 7B+
I had to start my workday early, but it allowed me to stop earlier as usual and go back to Roche aux Oiseaux for my fifth session trying "La Mandarine". Already on my first session more than a year ago, I could do the boulder in two overlapping times and had fallen off the last move more than once. I knew that it was possible, but it took a long time before I went back to spend another session where I fell off the last move a lot. As I knew that it was only a matter of time to send it, I decided to give it some real attention. I never felt any pressure and always went back with a free mind, a 'we'll see' attitude. When I arrived this evening, a Swiss climber by the name of Andreas was trying it and I politely asked if I could join him trying. Even I was a bit annoyed at first to not be there alone, I was glad that he didn't mind and it turned out to be a good session. Lots of falling off the last move again, but when I almost wanted to call it a day, it somehow all came together. The friction felt good from the start and when I reached the bad sloper, I somehow felt that it could go down, but still was surprised when I finally made my way to the top. I almost couldn't believe it. Funny enough, motivated by me having done "La Mandarine", Andreas topped out right after me. It was nice to share the joy.
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - La Mandarine 7C+(7C)
It was my wife's birthday last Sunday and I gave her a floater plane flight as a present. Due to bad weather, it wasn't possible to fly on Sunday, so we had to move it to hopefully fly today. As all depended on the weather, the deal was that the pilot would send me a message or call me late in this morning to either confirm the flight or postponing it again. As I had to stay reachable by phone and the conditions looked pretty humid, I couldn't go for a climb where I wanted to, so I went to Rocher de la Reine, not feeling fully motivated. Still not finding the right motivation to climb hard, I quickly gave up on "La Vie il Perd" and decided to go for the much easier "Plato Knows", which I finished already on my second attempt.
Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Reine - Plato Knows 6C+(7A)
Also in the nearby area of Bois Rond, I couldn't find the motivation, so I decided it was best to call it a day and do something else. Late in the afternoon, my wife took off on her flight from the aerodrome of Buno, only five minutes away from home.
Given that it is was wet this morning and more rain forecasted, I didn't expect to climb today, so started the day working in my barn that needs to be emptied for the concrete floor that will be built soon. It didn't rain anymore though and when the sky cleared out later in the afternoon and the surroundings were drying, I decided to take my chance anyway. I stayed close to home and went to the small area of La Grotte aux Fées. Lots of traverses there and many games on only a few boulders, but there are some straight ups and it was "Peter Pend" that attracted me the most. Arriving at the sector, I was amazed by the shapes of the boulders there which reminded me of a waves in an ocean. At first, I had some trouble getting past the first two moves traversing slightly to the left. When I finally found a method, I had more trouble in the roof as some of the small pockets were too humid to hold on to. I was forced to be creative and look for a method avoiding the pockets. Just like last week, I found a way going feet first. Doing the moves this way felt great and made me enjoy this line in that beautiful roof even more.
Fontainebleau - La Grotte aux Fées - Peter Pend 7B(7A+)
It rained as good as all day yesterday and there was no way for a chance of climbing, so I decided to scout the far end of Rocher de la Petite Reine instead. From all the boulders that I saw, there were a handful that I definitely wanted to try any time soon. No more rain this morning, but the sky was grey, and it was still mostly wet outside. It was a bit risky to already leave before 10 o'clock, like I did, but I wanted to go back to that far end of Rocher de la Petite Reine which is almost half an hour of walking. The closer I got to the area, the more hopeful I was. There was a mild breeze and most of the boulders that I passed on the way, didn't look very wet anymore at all.
"Tezcalipoca" was the boulder that I was most keen on trying, so I walked straight to that one, and was delighted to find it dry and even in pretty good conditions. The friction felt good and after doing some separate moves as a warmup, I sent it on my second attempt from the start. Slopers, compression and toehooks, this beauty really fit my style.
Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Petite Reine - Tezcalipoca 7A+
I thought that "La Mère aux Démocrates" would have been easier, but after fruitlessly trying to reach the high sloper right hand, I almost gave up. That right hand move to the far sloper felt way too morpho and I didn't even get close. Jokingly, I told myself to maybe try and go feet first, but the joke turned into real business when I tried it and felt that it might even be possible. A little while later, I had done all the moves, except for the topout, which turned out to be another crux. I decided to give it some real attempts anyway. It still took some time, but when I finally made to the hard topout, I didn't want to let go anymore and buried a tiny sharp crimp deep into the skin of my fingertips and surprisingly topped out. This one felt really hard and felt like at least a hard 7B, maybe even 7B+.
Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Petite Reine - La Mère aux Démocrates 7A+
"La Mère aux Socialistes" on the other hand, felt much less hard and I only needed two attempts. Maybe high end 7A+.
Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Petite Reine - La Mère aux Socialistes 7B
Yesterday I went to Restant du Long Rocher Ouest and spent almost four hours trying the isolated and beautiful "La Ruche". I was able to do the standing start and get passed that the stand when coming from the sitstart, but despite taking long breaks in between three or four attempts, wasn't able to finish it off ... yet. My body felt sore this morning, so today had to be something less hard. Looking for solitude, I left early to Boissy Le Plaid and warmed with "Expansion", which felt on the harder edge of the grade.
Fontainebleau - Boissy Le Plaid - Expansion 7A
I wasn't sure about the start of "Double Vision", and I didn't have reception to be able to watch Fred's video, so in fear of doing something completely wrong, I moved over the logical looking "Roque". It's a bit morpho, but after carefully working out the moves, I finished it on my second attempt from the start. A really nice line, with very cool and delicate moves.
Fontainebleau - Boissy Le Plaid - Roque 7B
I finished my session with trying "La Faufilade" again and this time, I found a better method for the topout. I could now do the problem in two overlapping parts, but nevertheless, lacked the energy to finish it when coming from the start.
As it's my birthday today, I wanted to get a present for myself and went to the S'Cape climbing shop in Fontainebleau for a new pair of climbing shoes. I actually simply needed new climbing shoes for a while already, but today felt like a good occasion, using the excuse to buy something for myself. Being nearby, I decided to go for a climb in Roche d'Hercule afterwards. I was almost convinced that I had already done "Rince-Mi", but I must have been dreaming because it wasn't on my ticklist. Anyway, it was a good excuse to climb a bit in the beautiful and popular low roof. "Rince-Mi" only took two attempts and was a good warmup for trying the longer version next.
I took the time to work out the first part of "Rince-Mi (rallongé)". There are many pockets in this roof, some bad, some better, so it's easy to make mistakes and start off doing a wrong sequence to arrive comfortably at the end. As soon as I had figured out the method and had the moves dialed, I kept messing up at the very end, making me feel more pumped after each attempt. It was a grey sky, but it was very warm, and it felt like there was a lot of pressure in the air, making me sweat a lot, which didn't quite help with the recovery process between attempts. After a longer rest and slightly changing method at the end, I finally made my way to the top. They didn't have to ask me to do that again.
I have taken the day off today and tomorrow and I had planned to go to the otherwise weekend-crowded Apremont Est area to try "Onde de Choc (accroupi)", the crouching of start of "Onde de Choc". Having done the regular standing start already six years ago, I couldn't remember the details of the beta, so I started practicing the first few moves of the standing start first. As I had no reception, I couldn't even watch the video of my own beta, but it all came back pretty quickly. It didn't come as a shock when barely half an hour after arriving at the boulder, I already topped "Onde de Choc" from the crouching start. It only adds a small 'plus' to the grade, but it is there.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Est - Onde de Choc (accroupi) 7B+
After a week with a lot of rain, the conditions didn't look very good when I was walking with Pieter towards Franchard Sablons Carriers, but on the top of the hill, it was dry enough to climb and I warmed up with a flash repeat of the 6C+(7A) "Le Toit de l'Abri-Bivouac", a nice little roof that I flashed back in 2018 as well. Pieter did it soon after a couple of attempts more. Unfortunately, not much later, it started raining long and hard enough to make everything soaking wet. We kept busy doing moves in a few overhangs that had stayed dry, but knowing that nothing could be topped didn't quite boost the motivation; on the contrary.
Looking at the pictures of "La Roche qui Tremble" in Vallée Casse-Pot, it seemed like a quick drying boulder, and as it contains quite some problems, we decided to go there today. We warmed up with "Bisteak (direct)", which we both flashed with relative ease.
Immediately after, we both also flashed "Bisteak".
Fontainebleau - Vallée Casse-Pot - Bisteak 7A+
We couldn't work ourselves through "Le Dos du Requin (direct)", but I did get away with a quick ascent of "Le Dos du Requin (assis)".
Fontainebleau - Vallée Casse-Pot - Le Dos du Requin (assis) 6C+
Moving to the other side boulder, Pieter flashed "La Roche qui Tremble (droite)", immediately followed by me, also with a flash.
Fontainebleau - Vallée Casse-Pot - La Roche qui Tremble (droite) 7A+
After a short break, we had some discussion about how the line of "La Bouche du Requin" went, and we quickly agreed to stay low going to the left, to then finish on the prow. I checked out the first move and then finished it on my first attempt.
Fontainebleau - Vallée Casse-Pot - La Bouche du Requin 7A+
Pieter had some difficulties with "La Bouche du Requin" and while he was taking a break after a few attempts, I took the occasion to try the traverse "Utinam Remora" and got away with the flash there too.
I ended with showing Pieter the moves again and repeating "La Bouche du Requin", after which he climbed up to the prow, was lying on it with his belly, but still came out after having given it his last bits of energy. That was close, but no cigar.
I hadn't planned to go back again to Videlles 'lAbattoir today, but as I trimmed a lot in the garden yesterday afternoon, I had to take the bags with trimmings to the green waste disposal in Moigny-sur-Ecole. Videlles being next to it and desiring a solitary climb, I figured it was an obvious choice. I hadn't been to the boulder with "Roudor" yet, but decided to spend some time looking for it and hopefully do some attempts. The forest in Videlles is beautiful and peaceful and while enjoying the walk uphill, I noticed the boulder suddenly at about ten meters from the path. Expecting it closer to the top of the hill, it was a pleasant coincidence that I happened to look in the boulder's direction. Carefully inspecting the holds, I noticed that the starting hold for the left hand broke some time ago. I didn't know how it looked like before the break, but it definitely looked like a substantial piece had broken off and I was wondering that maybe that was the reason why all of the three registered repeaters rated it 7B+ instead of the originally proposed 7B. Looking at the other hard looking holds, I reasoned that the best approach would be to work out the moves separately, which turned out to be a good decision. It took some time before I was able to lift my butt off the ground, let alone doing the first move to a far small crimp. Even when I was finally able to it, it wasn't a move that I could every time, it had to be dead on and there was no margin for correction. For the other moves, it took a while before I even could find a possible working method, and I came to realize that every move from beginning to end was hard. Only after I was finally able to do the problem in two overlapping parts, I started making real attempts from the start.
It was a big fight and a hard battle and I came close to giving up when my skin started to burn and felt more painful after each attempt, but then suddenly, it all came together. I was glad that I had also practiced the topout of "Roudor", because it isn't over until it's completely over with this one. Taking a needed and deserved break after topping out, I thought about it and I have to agree with the previous repeaters for 100%. This is definitely harder than 7B, possibly even hard edge 7B+!
