Despite the heat, I was eager to go for a climb after work and try the recently published "La Boule à Frédo" in Bois des Hauts de Milly, a small isolated sector where I was certain to be on my own. That last statement couldn't be less true as there was a small crowd around the boulder and most of them were trying the problem that I came for. Not having an alternative in mind, I didn't let it come to me and asked if I could join them, which they luckily didn't mind. Some of them I had crossed paths with in the forest in the past, so we weren't complete strangers after all. It became a fun short session with sharing ideas and supporting each other. It also helped being forced to take small rests in between attempts while the others were having their turn. As soon as I got a method figured out with help of the others, it didn't take long anymore to finish it off. Not having tried the topout before, the others' presence was more than welcome as it was thanks to them that I was able to finish after the crux. A nice problem, a friendly crowd and a short productive session.
Fontainebleau - Bois des Hauts de Milly - La Boule à Frédo 7C
When I left home this morning and drove to Apremont, I had no idea about the fire that struck the area yesterday and that people had to be evacuated away from the popular area (source). It came a bit as a surprise when I saw a few fire trucks at the buvette. As I was walking towards Apremont Portes du Désert and had to step aside for another fire truck passing by, I thought that there was a big exercise going on, because I couldn't see any smoke, but after passing a few other of them parked next to the path and big fire hoses going deep into the forest and up the hills, I suspected that there was something real going on. It was only when I arrived at the boulder of "Bulle de Distorsion" and could hear a lot of activity and even the sound of fire hoses spraying, that I realized the importance of it being real. I could climb "Bulle de Distorsion" fairly quickly, but even though I could get from the sitstart into the stand, I couldn't keep enough friction, so I will have to go back for the sitstart one day, or maybe more.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Portes du Désert - Bulle de Distorsion 7B+
On my way back via the main area, I passed by "La Colonne Plinienne" and even though having done the standing start back in 2017, I had never bothered trying the sitstart. I needed some more time for it, but with the slopers being full in the sun, I had to pull harder than I remembered from 2017.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Portes du Désert - La Colonne Plinienne (assis) 7B(7B+)
On my way back to the car, I passed some fire trucks again and this time I had the chance to talk to some of the fire fighters who confirmed that they were still fighting a big fire that started yesterday. Luckily they had it under control now. They visibly appreciated me saying how profound my respect for them and their work is. At first they were reluctant when I asked to take a picture, but when I said that it was to be able to show my ten year old son and to tell him who the real heroes of the forest are, they had a big smile on their faces when they posed for the picture. I blurred out their faces for their privacy.
Some of the real heroes! (Faces intentionally blurred out for privacy)
I had written down several boulders that I wanted to try at Rocher du Mauvais Passage, but I started off with the wrong ones and had trouble finding enough motivation to try hard enough. Somehow, I was only thinking about "Equinox (direct)", also on my list. Because it's such a nice boulder, I decided to pack up and move over to the boulder that kept going through my mind. I had already done "Equinox" and the extended version, so I knew that I could do the first part and focused on the direct exit first. As soon as I had the hang of it, it didn't long before doing the whole thing from the start. Really like this boulder!
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Mauvais Passage - Equinox (direct) 7B(7B+)
On my way back to the car, I stopped at the small sector with "Le Pan ne Suffit Pas" and was able to send it first go when I took a break from trying the much harder "Le Pan Mini (assis)".
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Mauvais Passage - Le Pan ne Suffit Pas 7A+
I asked Anthony to drive me to Franchard Raymond so I could try "Etalonnage Physique" again. It's a quite hard and reachy problem that became even harder after a key hold broke back in 2018. What was once a pretty good four finger crimp had since become a bad shallow two finger crimp. I had tried "Etalonnage Physique" several times, before and after the hold broke, but even before the hold had broken, I had never managed to do the reachy last part of the problem, let alone after the hold broke. Located on the on the North side of the hill, just below the ridge, it's a slow drying boulder, but after a couple of days with beautiful weather, I thought I would take the chance. The boulder was perfectly dry, but as the last registered repetitions were from 2018, before the hold broke, I had to start with brushing the upper part of the problem again. Nature tends to take over again faster on the North side.
I could the first part again immediately, but the upper and reachy part took a long time and many attempts before I had figured out what to do and how to position myself to be able to get to the final jug on the top. Funny enough, almost as if it was destined to happen, only after I had explained Anthony what my intention was and what I was trying to achieve, I suddenly managed to do the upper part. Knowing that the first part wasn't an issue, and knowing how to move at the end, I couldn't completely suppress some upcoming 'sending stress'. I did manage to keep my head with it and surprisingly topped out on my first attempt after putting up the camera. It might not look very hard on the video, but that one doesn't include the multiple sessions and many attempts before. Glad to finally tick off this beauty.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Raymond - Etalonnage Physique 7B+
Unlike yesterday, I wanted to go for something harder today and gave me quite the treat with "Le Charingan" in Canche aux Merciers. It was a bit of a risk going to Canche aux Merciers on a long weekend like this, but I was early and just before the big crowd. Not a luxury, because when I left back home almost two hours later, the place was packed and cars were parked until far on the road. I had noticed "Le Charingan" only last week and the compression style prow with bad slopers attracted me. My skin was worse than I expected from yesterday, but knowing that I won't have time for climbing tomorrow, I didn't care and decided to give it all I had left. I just didn't realize how extremely bad the slopers actually are and how difficult the topout is when you are not tall. The boulder completely wrecked my skin. Nevertheless, a very nice problem that suited my style and gave me a lot of work after all. Me swearing is not about failing on some attempts, but mostly because I was getting frustrated with the ever going growing crowds and I started to get desperate to leave. I was relieved that I could after topping out.
Fontainebleau - Canche aux Merciers - Le Charingan 7C
I was curious what "Le Charingan" actually means and apparently the term comes from the Manga series Naruto and describes the ability that allows a ninja to copy, by mere sight, their opponents’ techniques while gaining incredible reflexes and perceptive abilities. (Source)
I decided to go to Apremont Hauts des Gorges to try some boulders near the one with "Véga". Mainly because it is a quiet spot, but also because there is still a lot that I wanted to do and I didn't want to spend a whole session one something too hard. I rather wanted to go for some quantity. I was quite early and didn't have any problems parking right next to the buvette, which I knew wouldn't last for very long. I had tried "Véga" briefly a couple of times right after it was published, but I never committed on the dyno because the topout kind of scared me a bit. Today, I wanted to start with it and go full on for the dyno. I was still fresh, but still surprised that I stuck the dyno quite fast. I chickened out on the topout and 'biscuited' my way up by going more to the right. A version that I call "Véga Biscuit".
Fontainebleau - Apremont Hauts des Gorges - Véga Biscuit 7B(7A+)
Now that I had seen the top of the boulder, I could better imagine what to do for the straight topout and thought that it would be a quick deal now that I could do the dyno. That was a huge overstatement though because I had to try much more and longer to be able to stick it again. Once I did though, I topped out straight up.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Hauts des Gorges - Véga 7B
Not far from there, I wanted to try "Lepraria". I didn't have any phone reception there so couldn't watch Bart's (Van Raaij) video again, but I remembered most of it as soon as I analyzed the problem. The move to the two finger pocket in the crack was hard to get at first because I couldn't see where it was and had to go blind. Slowly, after each attempt, I got the right coordination and topped out.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Hauts des Gorges - Lepraria 7A+
With the muscle memory still there, I was able to "Lepraria (gauche)" quickly as well. Going left didn't add a lot of difficulty, but I found the mantle much harder.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Hauts des Gorges - Lepraria (gauche) 7B
Last but not least, I tackled "Folie". The very bad slopey pinch right hand had been warming up in the sun though and didn't expect to top this one out. It was a nice surprise when I did, because I was about to let it go.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Hauts des Gorges - Folie 7B(7A+)
It was a short, but quite productive session. Satisfied, I went back home to finish some work in my barn and wasn't surprised that the road from the buvette to Barbizon was fully packed with cars parked on both sides. Oh yeah, I got my first tick of the season, and I surely hope it will be the last, but I doubt it.
A few years ago when we were quarantined at home for several months due to Corona, there were some locals who were lucky enough to live near (pieces of) the forest with boulders. It gave the mandatory opportunity to scout around, discover and brush new boulders and sometimes even open new small sectors. I, for example, had the Bois d'Auvers where I brushed tens of boulders and opened over fifty problems. Greg (Gars des Bois on bleau.info) had the forest around Moigny-sur-Ecole, the village that he lives in. He had already talked about the new sectors that he discovered, but it's only recently that most of them were published. Some of them drew my attention and I was eager to go and check them out. As I had to go to the green waste disposal in Moigny-sur-Ecole this morning, I asked Greg about some more details yesterday and he was kind enough to share them with me. The new "Tartibois" sector in the area, is a dense jungle, hard at times to walk through, and unfortunately has a lot of ticks. I'm not sure how many of them that I had to slap off my pants, but I for sure would have needed more than two hands if I wanted to count them. Thanks to Greg's indications, I was able to find the boulders rather quick and made a first stop at the boulder of "Pif" and "Paf". It had rained yesterday evening though and "Pif" was the only problem that was dry. After a short tick inspection, I was able to tick off "Pif" on my second attempt. The 7C sitstart, opened by Guillaume Joubert, felt a bit too hard for today, so I packed up and went on to look for "Revue de Presse", aslo opened by Guillaume and one of the problems that was high on my list, going off the picture that I saw of it. It was a good thing that Greg called me just before I packed up, because it was only thanks to the additional details that he gave me, that I was able to find it quickly. It would have taken me much longer for sure otherwise. I spent several hours trying "Revue de Presse", and I still couldn't do all the separate moves yet, but I'm sure that they are all possible when the conditions would be better and the body fresh. I will likely come back when the tick season is over, the conditions better and either still before or right after the hunting season.
I decided to go to Petit Bois today with two things on my mind to try. The newly opened by Theo Konstantakopoulos "Le Sac Sauvage" and "Big Dragon". I was early though and the conditions in Petit Bois weren't good yet. A lot of the boulders felt damp and so was "Le Sac Sauvage", the boulder I wanted to start with. Despite the rising sun improving the conditions quickly, the three finger pocket far left stayed damp and even felt humid. As if the sun was pulling the moisture out to the surface. I needed some time to work out the delicate first moves, did them all separately and even though also the very nice almost 360° move like Theo showed on his Instagram video, I didn't feel confident doing that move when coming from the start. The damp three finger pocket just before the pinch made my fingers a bit slippery, making the 360° move very uncertain. Before giving it some real attempts from the start, I decided to work out a failsafe in case my fingers would be too slippery to go for the 360° move. The alternative move that I ended up finding, a toehook into a kneedrop and then crossing over my left hand, felt more certain, but still there were a few times when I still slipped off the pinch when coming from the damp three finger pocket. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a go. Very unexpectedly, I was able to do it right away, but slippery fingers forced me to use the failsafe and even there I almost slipped off. A very nice addition from Theo. See his method with the 360° move here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrILKwNgzf7/
Fontainebleau - Petit Bois - Le Sac Sauvage 7B
I had never tried "Big Dragon" before, but after more than an hour of trying, I ended up being able to do all the moves until the high spiky sloper high up. Unfortunately, that's where it gets really morpho and I am so stretched out that I can barely move. Anyway, I was happy with my high point there and "Big Dragon" will definitely stay on my list.
I desperately felt like climbing after work and as my wife was out this evening to do Yoga, I took my youngest son, Noah, with me. A boy and his child's evening out in the forest. There were a couple of boulders that I wanted to try, but as "Rage Dedans" was dry and it was the first time that I saw in climbable condition, I decided to go for that one. Pretty powerful moves at the start, quite morpho in the middle and a sketchy topout on slopers. It was a good one to climb off the slight stress from the past two working days. Sometimes I wish I still had the energy of a ten year old child.
Fontainebleau - Canche aux Merciers - Rage Dedans 7B+
Noah wanted to have a boulder of him on video and even though he can do much harder problems, he chose the number 18 of the white children's circuit.
Fontainebleau - Canche aux Merciers - Blanc Enfants n°18 (Noah)
I tried "Piece of Mind" in Apremont Ouest only briefly over four years ago, but I soon figured out that there was physically no way that I could reach both aretes with my height and arm span. I gave up on it very quickly, but maybe if I had stayed longer, using a toehook would have come to mind, but instead, it was Jan (Gorrebeeck) who told me about a toehook method for shorter climbers. Toehooks being my thing, I was eager to try that method and went to Apremont Ouest yesterday late afternoon when there was a dry window. Unfortunately it started raining heavily just when I arrived at the area, and I had to let it pass. I comforted myself with today, the 8th of May being a public holiday in France and no rain forecasted. This morning it was dry and the friction on the boulder was even very good. Ideal to boost my motivation. I had it all figured out pretty quickly and after some tweaking the last moves, I was able to get away with the ascent. A very nice problem that completely fits my style with that toehook and using a full body span in compression.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Ouest - Piece of Mind 7C(7C+)
After some rain yesterday during the day and still a heavy rain shower late in the evening, I expected everything to be wet this morning, but my terrace was dry and so was the street, so I had mild hope to find dry boulders before noon. I had my son drive me to Rocher Saint-Germain and after warming up my fingers and some practice attempts on the dynamic move of "Spirale de Violence (assis)", I ticked it off relatively quick.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Saint-Germain - Spirale de Violence (assis) 7A+
It was already quite warm but the shady enclosed spot remained quite cool, so I stayed where I was to give "L'Intelligence du Sot (assis)" a shot. This one also didn't take very long. A quite nice and fun problem, quite atypical with the swing into the toehook. Almost like the current style of boulders that they set for championships.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Saint-Germain - L'Intelligence du Sot (assis) 7B
I was gladly surprised yesterday evening when Pieter proposed to go try "Tonnerre de Brest", in Coquibus Longs Vaux, today. The only time we tried it, was about six years ago and we were chased away by rain after barely trying twenty minutes. Even before the rain, the conditions were not good and we weren't even able to get into the wall from under the roof. No rain this morning and the conditions were quite good, but our bodies felt soar from the days of climbing before. I could still feel that I went deep when doing "Get on Up" two days ago so I started trying "Tonnerre de Brest" without too much expectations. It was only when I finally managed to come from under the roof and stand up in the wall, that I started imagining a possible ascent. Once getting in the wall, there is time to breathe, but as the whole body is under constant tension, there is no time to rest and barely a chance for topping out when you make a mistake. After falling off the last hard move to a high crimp right hand, I could feel the boulder sucking the energy out of me, but after I told Pieter that I would give one more try before taking a longer rest, I suddenly managed to really crimp the high crimp and continue my way up to the high top. The boulder had sucked everything out me, but I was relieved and delighted.
Fontainebleau - Coquibus Longs Vaux - Tonnerre de Brest 7B
