Even though it sometimes goes unnoticed these past few weeks, Spring has started more than a month ago, and the days are slowly getting longer with daylight. It allows for some short sessions after dinner, just like today when I decided at the very last moment to go Franchard Isatis and try "Le Lot de Boudins", a classic problem that I never really gave a chance or even tried because it looks so much my anti-style. Small crimps and depending a lot on heelhooks. Nevertheless, I took my youngest son, Noah, with me and set off. The beginning of the oh so popular area was quite crowded for an evening, but as I walked on we soon found ourselves alone, until we arrived at the boulder itself. Someone was trying "Le Lot de Boudins". Luckily (for me) they were about to leave, but I used the occasion to ask them for some valuable beta and what the hardest part was. After they informed me, I worked for about five minutes trying the moves of the crux, which went surprisingly well, I decided immediately to attempt from the start before splitting my fingers open on the tiny crimps. My first attempt was quite good, but as I forgot to move my left heelhook closer, I had to step off. The other climbers were leaving and them packing up allowed, or forced, me to take a short break. As soon as they were gone, I started my second attempt, thought of moving my left heel closer, was able to grab the good pocket, almost came off when releasing my left foot, but was able to hang on and work my way to the end. I had never expected to send "Le Lot de Boudins" so fast, but my fingertips of which two had started to split, were happy with that. So was I, to be honest.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Isatis - Le Lot de Boudins 7C(7B+)
I was very pleasantly surprised when I got a message from Jan (Gorrebeeck) this morning, asking where I planned to go climbing. It meant that he was nearby, so I invited him for a coffee, after which we both went to the boulder of "Crabe d'Or" in Moigny-sur-Ecole. Just like me, he likes to be in quiet spots and I knew that he would enjoy that boulder. After a short warmup, I repeated "L'Oreille Cassée" on my first attempt, showing him how to climb this nice line, which he also did, even though requiring a couple attempts more. No surprise since he hadn't built up the muscle memory for it yet and it had been a long time since he climbed in the forest. The key holds of "Crabe d'Or" were finally dry, the main reason why I had decided to come back to this boulder. We helped each other out, sharing beta possibilities and after some tweaking my method, I was able to top this beauty out.
Fontainebleau - Moigny-sur-Ecole - Crabe d'Or 7B
While Jan was still trying "Crabe d'Or", I worked in and ended up doing the slightly harder version "Crabe d'Or (droite)". It had become quite hot in the meantime though, but the vibes were good. Jan came really close to doing "Crabe d'Or", but had to throw in the towel when he pulled a bad flapper on one of his fingers.
It was a great session in a great spot on a great boulder and with great company. If Pieter would have been there as well, it would have been complete.
The first time I went looking for the boulder of "Muramasa" in Noisy-sur-Ecole, the village where I live, was back in September 2016. When I had finally found it, I was slapped in the face by it and couldn't even let go of my left hand when hanging on the tiny crimp under the roof and an extremely bad left heelhook. I was only able to the part right after a series of three cruxes. That part on its own was already worth 7A or even 7A+. Over the years, I went back two times, but still was never able to the first crux move. This was really hard! I believe it was the need to avoid crowds, that made me decide to go back to "Muramasa" today, and I left home without any expectation to send the problem, but I was only hoping to be able to progress and hopefully do the first crux. My first attempts were no different than the other times, but I was more motivated than ever and gave it all I had, trying to ignore the pain on my right fingertips and the split that had started to form on my middle fingertip. Suddenly, I was did the first crux, only to get into trouble with the second and third ones that follow immediately after. After a while, I suddenly had done the first two in a row and decided to focus on the last part. It's not possible to work out the second and third cruxes separately, so I was forced to repeat the first one each time, but had started to become persistent with it. If I could do the last part again, I knew that I could have a chance when I would finally stick the third, and apparently the hardest, crux. As soon as I did the last part again, I turned on the camera and started with some real tries, hoping for that tiny bit of luck and finally sticking the third crux. If I would, then I was quite confident to top out. If only I would remain calm enough. Many attempts later, I was forced to tape one of my fingertips, where a painful split was keeping from trying hard enough. Thinking that the tape would be in my disadvantage, I started my next attempt without any expectation, but I noticed that now that the pain was muffled, I was able to crimp harder than before, did the first crux, immediately followed by the second. Now I was at the third crux again, where letting go of the right hand always made me swing out. On the spot, I found something under the roof to keep myself from swinging immediately by stopping the swing with a small right toehook and suddenly had my hand on the slopey knob. I let go of my right foot, took a hard swing, somehow didn't swing off, and threw my feet over the lip of the roof. I knew at that moment that I could top out, and did. I couldn't stop smiling for at least ten minutes after the topout. A great problem with beautiful moves, definitely worth five stars in my humble opinion.
I was eager to try "Voluptueuses" in Long Boyau Ouest today, but was greatly disappointed to discover the lower slopey ledge for the first moves of the original sitstart to be wet. There was some wind and the ledge was about to get some sun, but I knew that this wouldn't dry any time soon, if at all still today. I was able to work out the moves of the upper part though and link them all from a standing start, but the lower ledge was so wet that I couldn't even try the first moves of the sitstart. I decided to publish a video of the quite logical standing start anyway, but will have to go back some day for the sit.
Fontainebleau - Long Boyau Ouest - Voluptueuses (debout) 7B+(7B)
I had to move somewhere else, but decided to stay on the ridge of the hill and try some other problems along the blue path. "Cadeau de Noël" was one of them and was done quite quickly.
Fontainebleau - Long Boyau Ouest - Cadeau de Noël 7A+
Afterwards, I stopped at "OK Duck", a very high arete being completely my anti style. I always have a hard time keeping my balance on such aretes with as good as nothing for the feet. I saw it as a good occasion to work on my weakness, and after a lot of persistence, was glad to finish it off. A very nice problem.
Fontainebleau - Long Boyau Ouest - OK Duck (assis) 7A+
Looking for some other quite hidden boulders more down the hill, I bumped into a den of about five or six newly born boars. Cute as they were, I quickly took a picture and left as quickly as I good before their mom was back.
It hadn't rained anymore since yesterday, but new rain was expected for this afternoon. Still avoiding crowds, I went back to the boulder of "Oreille Cassée" in Moigny-sur-Ecole, hoping that the boulder had dried more than yesterday, allowing me to try at least one of the other lines on it. The right part of the boulder had dried more, just enough to allow me to try "L'Oreille Cassée (droite)", which I did on my first attempt. Still having the moves in my muscle memory definitely helped.
I was hoping the most for the key holds of "Crabe d'Or" to be dry, but it seems that those sucked up the moisture like a sponge and require a long dry period for them to dry. Instead though, I was able to do "L'Oreille Cassée (prolongé)" on my second attempt. I will have to come back in Summer for "Crabe d'Or" and "Crabe d'Or (droite)".
Despite it had been raining a lot yesterday evening and last night, my main goal was to avoid the crowds, so I went to one of the most interesting boulders in the relatively unknown area of Moigny-sur-Ecole, the one with "Oreille Cassée". I had scouted this sector two weeks ago to be prepared, so luckily I knew where to go and get to the boulder quite easily. I didn't really expect it to be dry, but I was hoping for at least the holds under the roof to be dry, so I could try some of those moves. Obviously, most of the boulder was soaking wet, but just as I had hoped, the holds under the roof were perfectly dry. On top of that, it looked like the only line, and mainly its topout, looked to be drying. Using a small ventilator, I gave the top slopers some wind while I started working out the moves under the roof, which only took me maybe five minutes. I had to be patient for the slopers on the top to feel dry. Nothing that can break off that part of the boulder, so as soon as I saw fit, I gave it a real go, only to slide off the last move. I had to be a bit more patient. About ten minutes later, I tried again and topped out.
There quite a few more lines on this boulder that I wanted to try, but the rest of the boulder doesn't seem to dry very quick, so I contented myself by doing the lower moves of "Crabe d'Or". At least I already know those now, and as I'm able to do the whole first part, sending it should be almost a formality next time, when it's completely dry.
Being so close to doing "Nouvelle Vague" in Cul de Chien last weekend, I was annoyed that the upcoming weekend will be the infamous crowded Easter weekend, and Cul de Chien will be a must avoid area for me. I felt annoyed not being to return quickly, but when I looked at my work calendar this morning, it looked like I could take the afternoon off. Only a meeting at 17h30 this evening, but I would be back by then. The parking was already very full, and it looked like the first new wave of Easter visitors had already arrived, but I didn't let it get to me and while walking towards the boulder, I prepared mentally for meeting a crowd. I wasn't wrong about the crowd, the area looked like a climbing hall and the roof with "Nouvelle Vague" was obviously crowded, but luckily not packed. The only advantage was that there were more than enough crashpads and some climbers who were willing to spot without me asking. It wasn't hot or really warm, but the slopers didn't feel as good as last weekend and I didn't expect any success. But when my youngest son, Noah, who came with me, told me that I could do it, it must have given me a boost. Not much later, I was able to do the far move to the right and, keeping calm, I was able to struggle my way up. One can still fall off the boulder until the very end, something that I witnessed someone else doing not long after. Anyway, taking the afternoon off turned out to have been the good choice. Thanks to my boss for letting me go on such a short notice.
My youngest son Noah came with me for climbing today, so I chose something nearby where we could each find something to climb for our own. We went to 91.1, where I wanted to try "l'Arbitre (assis)", an old (open) project of mine of which Antoine Maire got the first ascent a few weeks ago and graded it 7C. As I my right arm felt quite painful already when trying the standing start again, I decided to not loose time on this one and we moved to the nice overhanging boulder of "Pleine Prouesse". The last problem on that boulder that I still had to do. "Pleine Prousse" was proposed 7C(7B+), but after doing it on my second attempt, I concluded that it more felt like 7A+, soft 7B at most. Nevertheless, a nice problem.
Having done this so quickly, I decided to do it again, but without the good hold far right, for neither the hands, nor the feet and only using the crimp. It does make the move to the higher sloper dynamic, at least for my height, and it made it much more interesting. It took me quite a few attempts to control the move and finally top it out. I named this game "Pleine Prousse (sans la bonne de droite)", and doing it this way could be low end 7B+, or maybe 7B for taller climbers.
Fontainebleau - 91.1 - Pleine Prouesse (droite sans la bonne de droite) 7B+
Being Noah's turn to climb now, we went back to main area to find some boulders more suitable for him, where he made quick work work of "Le Ti'Bloc" (yellow 17) and repeated it for a video.
Fontainebleau - 91.1 - Le Ti'Bloc (yellow 17) 2 (Noah)
At the end of his session, he worked a very long time in the very nice "Le D.A." (orange 12). Easy for my height, but much harder for him, as he has to make a big dyno to the edge. He got close to doing it a few times, but had to throw in the towel when he was getting too tired. Definitely his project now and he's eager to come and finish it off.
Yesterday, after I hit my head, I sent a picture via Whatsapp message into our family group with the comment "My turn ...", upon which my youngest son, Noah, responded with "Why do you copy me ?". Reason for that is because about three weeks ago, during a heavy wind storm, a branch broke off a tree and fell on his head, resulting in a heavy bleeding head wound, going to the hospital emergency and him being stitched up with six stitches, right about the same spot where my head was wounded. After my wife cleaned the wound at home, I decided a few hours later, when the bleeding still hadn't stopped, to go to the hospital as well, resulting in the wound requiring three stitches to close it up. If Noah and I were to have a stitches contest, he won by far. Despite my head wound, I still felt motivated to go climbing, but when I woke up this morning, it was raining and it didn't look like any climbing would be possible today. Instead, I went for a walk to an isolated unpopular area to locate some boulders that I could try during the upcoming and always crowded Easter weekend, assuring that I will avoid the crowds and be climbing alone. After having done that, I drove to Beauvais to locate the boulder of "Le Percuteur" again. I had already done a couple of problems on that boulder almost three years ago, and I remembered that it took a while before I found it. That time, I wasn't parked at the Télégraphe tavern, but I remember that I had the impression that this parking was closer than the one I was parked on in 2021. I wanted to prepare myself to find it more easily when the weather would be better another day. I was able to find the boulder after some detours and looking around, and by the time I found it again, the rain had stopped some time ago and the sky had cleared up once in a while. To my surprise, thanks to a slight breeze, the holds of "Le Percuteur" were dry and the problem even looked very climbable. On top of that, the friction on the slopers on the right was close to perfect. I was determined to go and get my crashpad from the car and come back to try it. Somehow, and luckily, the Maps app on my phone always remembers where my car is parked, so I used to app to walk straight to my car without detours and come back the same way. I did try "Le Percuteur" three years ago, but I remember that I wasn't able to reach the better crimp, not even using Youp's method, using another small and sharp crimp on the left first. Somehow, this didn't give me any problems now. The main problem now was that I due to my short legs, I wasn't able to reach the low hold under the roof statically, so I was forced to jump to it and catch it in compression. A move that usually suits me pretty well. Even though it felt nearly impossible at first, I was able to stick that move after persisting for a while. Using that method, I topped out "Le Percuteur" after a handful of attempts when coming from the start, making sure that I started recording as soon as I was doing attempts from the start. Not 7C, but in my opinion definitely 7B+ when you don't have the length to reach the far right hold statically. Beautiful problem!
Fontainebleau - Beauvais Hameau - Le Percuteur 7B+(7C)
Last weekend, after almost 5 years, I went back to "Freestyle" in Coquibus Rumont with my oldest son helping me to carry an second crashpad.
Came really close, but after almost 2 hours, it had sucked all the energy out of me and I was forced to leave it behind undone.
I was determined to go back today, alone this time and carrying both crashpads myself. Highly motivated, I warmed up doing the very last move of "Freestyle", and when I wanted to try the start again, I passed the first crux, then very unexpectedly the second and hardest crux where I had expected to fall, but I stuck it. Realizing that I hadn't even turned on the camera yet, in a fraction of a second, I thought of Pieter who would have told me to continue. Instead of jumping off, I took a deep breath and somewhat unexpectedly, stuck the very last move as well, which is also the last crux of this gem.
Mixed feelings of joy disappointment came over me because of not having it on video, but as I cruised through it on my first attempt today, I wasn't even tired yet and was pretty confident to be able to repeat it for the video after a short break.
As it happens, I always tend to have less drive and motivation when wanting to repeat a problem immediately after doing it, but I cruised through the first crux start again, felt confident for the second crux, but maybe too confident and probably too carelessly as well, slipped off and hit the back of head very hard against the boulder behind me. I had a small cut that started bleeding, but adrenalin kept me going and I gave it another few tries with my hat on, but for obvious reasons, I had a hard time keeping my focus. Barely 5 minutes later, the adrenalin faded, I got a slight headache and when I noticed that the bleeding didn't stop, decided to go back home.
Only a video with some attempts from last week and from after my injury, but honestly, at this point, I don't care, and even feel that topping out "Freestyle" on my first attempt today, was all worth it. No regrets. I decided to publish a video anyway, containing some of my best attempts from last week and the attempt (moment) where I had hit my head after the send today. Be safe y'all!!
Fontainebleau - Coquibus Rumont - Freestyle 7C (attempts last week and post warmup send of today)
After a lot of rain yesterday and last night, everything was soaking wet outside this morning. It made no sense to leave early, so I took my time and left later than usual. It was still mostly wet outside and even though it wasn't forecasted to rain today, it was cloudy and there wasn't a lot of wind to speed up the drying process. It was going to be a matter of luck to find something dry enough to climb, but taking a calculated guess, I intended to try and get the luck on my side by going to Apremont. My intention was to start my search in Apremont Vallon de la Solitude, and from there work my way back through some other Apremont areas as needed. No luck in Apremont Vallon de la Solitude, but working my way back through Apremont Est, I did find some boulders dry here and there, but nothing that I had in my mind to try. Still working my way back, tried my chances at the boulder of "Tropicaux", knowing that this one gave me luck a few months ago. Low and behold, even though it looked bad at first, the holds of "Trop de Piquette" were dry and the low pinch was even in very good conditions friction wise. I had briefly tried "Trop de Piquette" last time after I did "Tropicaux", but I only get mu butt of the ground, after which I found mself completely stuck and couldn't move out of the position I was in. With a fresh mind today, I let my body guide on what it felt like doing next and came up with a possible solution. It turned out to be a very awkward and difficult move, but after pushing through, I was able to stick it and top out.
Fontainebleau - Apremont - Trop de Piquette 7B+
On my way back, I passed by "Egoïste" and realized that it was dry as well. I had only tried once or twice, but only briefly because the balanced moving didn't suit me well and I figured it was not in my style. That was maybe ten years ago though, so I decided to stop and give it a few goes. Surprisingly, I was able to find my balance and was moving quite well through it. After a handful of attempts, and some minor tweaks, I topped out this ultra classic and had a hard time understanding why I never did this sooner.
Fontainebleau - Apremont - Egoïste 7A(6C+)
The sitstart, "Egoïste (assis)", followed immediately after.
Last year when the weather was not good enough to climb, I went for a walk around Apremont with Pieter and Jan (Gorrebeeck). When we passed through Apremont Mare aux Biches, we stopped at some boulders, out of which the low roof of "Un Ch'ti Délire", just below the North side of the ridge. It looked impossible to Jan and Pieter, but I remember that I kind of saw a way. Last Sunday, I finally went to the boulder to give it a try and, to be honest, the far move to the crimp under the roof did really look impossible. Even after I tried it a few times, it still looked impossible. Nevertheless, I didn't give up and after a while I started to change my mind and a while later, I was able to stick it. After that move, your body is under a constant tension and it's still a couple of moves in that position to go to the end. Due to rain, I had to let it go, but I was determined to go back. After a short warmup this morning, I focused on the move under the roof, and immediately after I was able to do it, I turned on the camera and started giving attempts from the start. Much faster than expected, I was able to finish it.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Mare aux Biches - Un Ch'ti Délire 7C(7B+)
I didn't have much time left anymore, but still got away with a flash of "Déserteur (prolongé)".
Fontainebleau - Apremont Mare aux Biches - Déserteur (prolongé) 7A
Last weekend I was in Belgium for the bachelor weekend of one of my best friends who is getting married in April. Even though I don't drink alcohol, it was a very exhausting weekend and I had taken the day off on Monday so I could go for a climb. I was still very tired, but nevertheless had a good session working in "Paie ton Mac DO (assis)" and even fell off after the crux of the problem on my fourth attempt. After that, it only got worse and I had to leave it behind, but I knew I could do it if I was more fresh and decided to go back today. The weather was great, the birds were chirping and there was a nice blue sky and quite warm in the sun. It felt like Spring was there already. Even though I had a feeling that there was a big chance of sending "Paie ton Mac Do (assis)" quite quick, I didn't expect sending it immediately on my first attempt after a short warmup. I executed the moves almost perfect and stayed calm and focused when I passed the crux. Pure joy!
Fontainebleau - Buthiers Canard - Paie to Mac Do (assis) 7C(7B+)
Having arrived barely fifteen minutes ago, I felt like staying in the area and walked around to look for something else. Not having planned for it, I decided to try "L'Esprit du Knee Bar", of which I had done the standing start back in October 2019. That day, I witnessed Pieter doing the full line, but I had failed finishing it. To my big surprise, this one as well went on my first attempt of today. Pure joy!
Fontainebleau - Buthiers Canard - L'Esprit du Knee Bar 7B
I felt in shape, but couldn't try "Maison de la Presse" due to humid slopers on the shady side of the boulder. For "Astromech" and "Astrolab" I definitely prefer to have a spotter and being the shade, they were humid anyway. After looking on bleau.info, I decided to go and try the new "Kayzen" in the Western part of the sector. After watching the video of the first ascensionist, I soon discovered that his method was way too morpho for me. There was no way for me to reach the edge of the overhang the way he did, so I had to come up with something else and tried it with a right heelhook which felt really hard. I wasn't sure I would be able to do it that way, but I stuck around because I had so much fun trying to unlock this sequence. My persistence was rewarded with an ascent a while and quite a few attempts later. Pure joy!
Fontainebleau - Buthiers Canard - Kayzen 7A+(7A)
Back at home I was in a real Spring mood and decided to prune our olive tree. Three hours later it was done and the feeling of Spring coming up felt like pure joy!
I had planned to try several problems in Cuvier Sorcières and Cuvier Est, but my initial goal was to work in "Le Proueptologue (assis)". After some stretching, I warmed up with the easy "Presse-toi", about 20m above "Le Proueptologue". The sitstart of "Presse-toi" followed immediately after the standing start. A hard first move, but everything after, didn't real feel hard enough for the proposed 7B. Nevertheless, it was good as a warmup.
Working in "Le Proueptologue (assis)" went quite well, and even though I can do the problem in two overlapping parts, stitching it all together requires more consistency in the moves and I sort of quickly lost motivation for it. Somehow, I had the feeling that it would be more fun with someone else trying it too, allowing me to rest and enjoy the process more than being alone. I decided to stop and try "Lune de Miel" on my way back, a problem that has been on my list since I tried it a few years ago. Today, for my second session, I had to rethink about how I did the first part. The only thing that I really remembered was that I used a toehook left to be able to grab the tiny pinch statically left hand. I soon realized that even though the moves are beautiful, they are very delicate and there is absolutely no room for error on each of them. It was good thing that another climber, Fabien, gave me a couple of tips for the last part. After many tries, even though I didn't expect it all, I was able to top out this beauty, just on that one time that Fabien decided to film it too.
I went for a walk with my youngest son, Noah, and decided to have a quick climb while being in J.A. Martin. We put our Minecraft sword and pickaxe aside for a moment, allowing me focus for a moment on "L'Homme en Feu (assis)", a problem I was sure about doing it quickly now that the top was in good conditions and not like an other time when I tried it and chickened out at the slippery top. The big slopey undercling has a tendency to be wet a lot and it seems like it's contantly dripping water, but at least the slopey parts for the hands were dry. I only had to watch out to use them at the right spot, if not, my hands would be soaked, making the rest of the problem nearly impossible. Being there with Noah, I didn't want to let him wait for too long, so with some added pressure, I was able to make quick work of it.
Fontainebleau - J.A. Martin - L'Homme en Feu (assis) 7B
Theo (Konstantakopoulos) suggested me try a couple problems that he has opened, and "Banzaï (assis)" in Cassepot Roches Grises definitely took my attention. It was -7°C when I got out of bed this morning, but the sun was shining, so I expected enjoyable weather with good conditions today. As I had drive my youngest son, Noah, to one of his friends, it was already around noon when I arrived at the boulder, but it was still below 0°C and the boulder itself felt freezing cold. I took my time to warm up and stretch a bit and could feel the warmth of the sun peaking through the trees. The difference with last week, when it was also freezing but cloudy, was amazing and I really enjoyed the warmth of the sun. It's amazing how even a low Winter sun can make the freezing cold so much more bearable. For some reason, I felt tired and already after a few attempts in "Banzaï (assis)", my arms felt slightly pumped. Even putting power in the left toehook was a struggle at times. I didn't give my arms the chance to get too pumped by taking a longer break, during which I watched my own video of when I did the low start of "Banzaï", which reminded of small details that I was doing wrong. Thanks to those details, I was able to finish "Banzaï (assis)" immediately after my break. I really enjoyed the fight on this problem of which the sitstart adds some really nice moves. Thanks to Theo for the vision and the suggestion.
Even though, I had been able to warm up my toes in the sun from time to time, the sun was getting lower, which made it cool down again substantially. I knew that going to try another harder problem wouldn't be feasible anymore, so I finished the session by doing the easier and nearby "Crampe in the Ghetto (assis droite)" on my first attempt.
Fontainebleau - Cassepot Roches Grises - Crampe in the Ghetto (assis droite) 7A
It's a well known fact that cold temperatures enhance the friction of the sandstone boulders a lot, and therefor, I always embrace them. When they stay below freezing during the day however, I like it a bit less. I am not very good in coping with freezing temperatures because despite clothing myself accordingly, my toes quickly feel numb from the cold and once that happens, there's no way I can get them warm again. This was one of those weekends. As I had to work again, I seem to have missed out on the most ideal conditions, cold and dry with a shining sun. It was quite frustrating looking through the window from my desk, but the weekend looked quite promising, so I was patient. Yesterday and today, the temperatures remained below freezing though and I had a hard time keeping my toes warm. I didn't top out anything yesterday and even though I got really close to sending "Rudiments (direct)", fell of the mantle at least ten times, I had to give up due to totally numb toes and unable to feel anything anymore. This morning, it was even colder than yesterday, but I went back to Apremont Portes du Désert anyway, not with the intention to try "Rudiments (direct)" again, but rather to try the very slopey "Le Combat de Trop", a problem that requires sticky conditions, the main reason why I had never tried it before. It didn't take me extremely long, but long enough for my toes to feel numb, making the the topout feel quite sketchy as I couldn't feel anything beneath my toes.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Portes du Désert - Le Combat de Trop 7B
My skin felt better than yesterday and with that perception, I decided to make another stop at "Rudiments (direct)". Just before leaving yesterday, I had noticed a small shallow mono pocket to use at the mantle, but as my feet were completely numb, I couldn't even get there anymore. Using the mono, I was able to finish it on my first attempt of today.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Portes du Désert - Rudiments (direct) 7B
As I will leave for Belgium tomorrow morning to visit family for the weekend, I only had today left for climbing before starting work again on Monday. There was still a lot of wind after yesterday's rain, so I was pretty confident that "Serval" would be dry. I had worked out all but of the moves yesterday and with them still being fresh in my head and body, I wanted to finish it off. Apart from first two moves, "Serval" is very friction dependent and amazingly the slopers were in excellent condition. The friction was exactly what it had to be. I must have been quite tired already when I worked in it yesterday, because this morning I had the missing immediately figured out and I was ready for attempts from the start. Barely fifteen minutes later, I was able to work my way to the top. It felt a bit soft for the grade, but I realize that this was mainly thanks to the excellent friction.
The weather has been so unstable during the past weeks that it has been an almost constant search and wait for weather windows that allow climbing. Luckily, despite many and sometimes heavy rainshowers, a hard wind is helping a lot with drying the boulders. Unfortunately, another rain shower is always nearby, hence the search and wait for windows of opportunity. This morning was a good opportunity. It rained a lot yesterday, but there has been a lot of wind during the night, and the next period of rain was forecasted only shortly after noon. To take the most chance of the opportunity, I left earlier than usual to Apremont Bizons, back to "Border Lyme". There were only a handful of cars parked near the buvette and the sight of the low boulders it didn't look good, but the further and higher I walked up the hill, the more promising it started to look. The boulder of "Border Lyme" was completely dry and in near perfect conditions, much better even than two days ago when I had worked out the moves. Despite the better conditions, and even though I could do the last move separately, I couldn't get through it when coming from the start and the problem started sucking out my energy, until I suddenly felt drops, much sooner than expected, and I had to shortly stack my stuff under the roof. It luckily only lasted a few minutes and I had to wait for the boulder to dry out again. It luckily didn't become very wet, so the hard wind made it dry very quick again. In the meantime, I rethinked the last move and came up with a more secure way to do the last move. It was a bit harder pulling on the right crimp behind the tree, but it had a much higher percentage of success. Thanks to that change in beta, I was able to finish "Border Lyme" immediately after. Quite a hard problem, but very nice moves.
On my way to the boulder of "Serval", I stopped at "Corne de Bisonneau (direct)" and was able to flash it with relative ease. Not sure why I had never tried this nice line before. Later, I was able to work out the method for the crux of "Serval", but was forced to stop by the rain. It was about the time it was forecasted. At least, this window had been worth the wait.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Bizons - Corne de Bisonneau (direct) 7A
Of course, I used to love celebrating new year's eve. As a child it was an opportunity so see and play with my cousins and staying up until very late. Then, as a teenager, it was another to party with friends. Later, since many years ago, I started to no longer see the sense of celebrating that what is just and only a change of number in the way we write down the date. I started to think of it as a completely pointless reason to celebrate and stay up until after midnight, only to wake up the day after feeling tired and having not much of the day. I don't celebrate new year's eve anymore since a long time and often find myself alone at home while my wife and kids are off to celebrate at friends' houses. I do wish for them to have fun and enjoy, bus as far as myself concerned, I prefer to stay home and stay within my normal routine of going to bed between 22h and 22h30. It allows me to be in good shape the next day and actually do something without feeling tired and wanting to waste my time yawning on the couch. As expected, I was up as usual this morning and with the sun being out, I was more than ready to go for a climb. I went to Apremont Bizons and warmed up on the relatively new "La Longue Jeunesse", which I did on my second attempt.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Bizons - La Longue Jeunesse 7A
The conditions were very good and the rock was quite sticky, which was a big advantage on the slopey "Deep Grip", on the same boulder and starting the same as "La Longue Jeunesse", but exiting directly on slopers. It only took me five minutes to work out the top part and sent it on my second go from the start. A nice problem, but didn't feel harder than soft 7B in my opinion. Likely, the good conditions had something to do with it.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Bizons - Deep Grip 7B+
Finally, I had a good session on "Border Lyme", being able to work out a method, which was quite complicated. Unfortunately, the process had worn me out and I fell off the last move a few times when coming from the start. A short, but heavy rain shower then put an end to the session.
