May 29, 2023 - The real heroes.

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)