Today was supposed to be an active rest day in the company of Olaf, Lars and his girlfriend Simi. I met Olaf at the parking of Justice de Chambergeot, and we walked straight to the boulder of "Zigzag". Many lines on this boulder, so enough choice. After a short warmup trying some of the moves of "Zigzag", I sat down and sent it on my first attempt from the start. Olaf followed me quickly, but going through "Incognito (droite assis)".
Fontainebleau - Justice de Chambergeot - Zigzag 7A
Despite feeling tired and it being a kind of rest day, I started trying some of the moves of "La Traversée d'Incognito". At that moment, Lars and Simi also arrived, and I got motivated to try the whole line. To my surprise, I got through almost the whole boulder, falling off the last hard move, feeling exhausted and with sweaty fingers. I felt too tired to try it again, but I'm sure that this should go down soon when I have better skin and feel fresh. Below, the video of my attempt in "La Traversée d'Incognito", and my story about flashing "An 8A+" in Rocher Canon. Sound on if you want to hear about it.
I met with Olaf and Brian on the parking of Pierre le Sault, just outside of Nemours. A small quite unknown area where I had never gone before, and neither had the others. We waited a while for Victor, but when he wrote that he was still in doubt of what to do, we headed for the boulder of "L'Arche". the boulder looked quite small from far, but as we got closer, it only looked better and better, especially when walking around it. There are a few lines that go through the long roof, each taking a different exit. We started warming with trying the exit of the least hard, "L'Arche (droite)". We figured it out quite quickly and after inspecting some of the other moves under the roof itself, I decided to go for it and was able to send it immediately from the start, which was not a luxury, because even though the holds are quite good, the amount of them can quickly wear one out. When Olaf also managed to climb the whole line, it looked like it was going to be sending train on this one.
Fontainebleau - Pierre le Sault - L'Arche (droite) 7A+
While Brian was still working some of the moves under the roof and trying to perfect his sequence for the right topout, I quickly found the way to finish the slightly harder left exit. I didn't let any time pass and sent the left exit also from my first attempt when coming from the start. This was definitely harder than the other, but I didn't hesitate and topped it out, albeit being completely out of breathe. I filmed both exits again separately to give an idea of how these look.
Fontainebleau - Pierre le Sault - L'Arche (gauche) 7B
Meanwhile, the sending train was delayed, because due to very bad, or the lack of, skin on his fingertips, Brian fell at least three times on the sloper at the very last move of the right exit. When he finally decided to give it one last go before giving up, it turned out to be the good one and he was still able to hop on the sending train, just in time. Great session with good and chill company on a very cool boulder. Nothing but good vibes.
I met Olaf this morning on the parking in Le Vaudoué, as we decided to go the small and quite unpopular area of Le 111. It being unpopular was one of the reasons why we chose that area, as it is again a long weekend with Monday being a public holiday in many European countries. The weather wasn't as good as last week, and it had even rained a bit this morning, but there was a nice wind, and everything was dry again quickly. It's quite a long walk to Le 111, but as usual, Olaf's company made it feel shorter than expected. We immediately started trying "Chaud Latin", the other reason why we chose that area. The conditions felt mediocre at first, but got better with every attempt. It was quite fast that I suddenly got high enough to be in a good position for the final jump, but I hadn't turned on the camera yet, so I decided to jump off instead. I felt quite confident that I would be able to that last far dynamic move, even though it's a somewhat scary one. Unfortunately, a thicker grey cloud passed over and there was a short light rain shower. Not enough to make the rock wet, but just enough to make the slopey hold far right loose the good friction that I felt when getting there the first time. On top of that, I was climbing too confident and didn't pay enough attention to important details, which made fall off a few times. When I finally ended u in the good position again, and the friction was back, I set off for the jump and stuck the high sloper from the first time. A truly beautiful problem with great moves from start to end.
Fontainebleau - Le 111 - Chaud Latin 7B
Olaf usually needs some more time to get into it, but he was making quite progress this time. When he suddenly cruised through the first part and got to the far right slopey hold, he started to amaze me. He got the left hold just barely, but hung in there and slowly got into a much better position. He was in position to do the jump, but he looked down and I could feel and see his doubt. I encouraged him, even though I somehow expected him to bail out and jump off, but he stayed there, positioned his feet to prepare for the jump. I watched in awe and saw him make the big jump, but he just didn't make it far enough. Despite not having made it, we were both extremely excited. Knowing Olaf, doing such jumps is not his cup of tea, so I really admired his great effort. I could see on his face that he had surpassed himself in a way and I felt proudness and true excitement for him. He made handful of other great attempts at the jump, but he had to throw the towel in the end. He will be back for it again at another day, and I would love to be there for him when he does. I would love to another such session of shared excitement.
On the way back, we stopped at the nearby Rocher de la Tortue, where we were advised by Markus (Neher) to the sitstart of "Opus Marron". Markus had opened the standing start not very long ago, but hadn't been able to do the sitstart. I'm not entirely sure if Markus meant a sistart slightly left with an obvious undercling, but it seemed like the most logical place to start. Olaf wasn't very interested in it, so I got away with the first ascent of "Opus Marron (assis gauche)". Hard to grade, but I would estimate it be about 6C+, maybe 6C, depending on how tall you are.
Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Tortue - Opus Marron (assis gauche) 6C+ (First Ascent)
Friday was the first very, very hot with temperatures going above 30°C at the hottest moment of day. We, Olaf, Markus and myself had therefor decided to go to the shady boulder of "Le Crabe d'Or" in Moigny-sur-Ecole. Also, because we would make sure to avoid the huge crowds that had taken over the popular sectors of the forest. Some of the holds under the roof weren't dry, so we had to limit ourselves to the few lines that were dry enough to be climbed. It was a fun session nonetheless, during which we were all able to climb a few lines. I had already climbed most of them last year, but it was fun repeating them together, and on top of that, I was able to grab one that I hadn't done before, "Object Lunule (gauche)". This boulder seems to keep giving new lines and variations.
The day after, yesterday, we met in Recloses to hopefully climb some nice problems right outside of the village. Hopefully, because it was cloudy and some light rain showers popped up now and then. On top of that, the air humidity was very high and felt heavy. The kind of air that makes you sweat and feel sticky with the slightest effort. We were able to climb some easier and new problems while warming up, but right when we wanted to try some nice classics, a longer rain shower made sure that we couldn't. We searched for some other boulders that might have remained dry, but our hope was in vain. When another rain shower popped up, I decided to call it a day and go home.
Today, was still hot and the air felt slightly less heavy, but the conditions in Long Boyau were shitty. We didn't let it get to us though and cared more about having a fun time. Brian had joined us this time, and we all got to have our little send on the boulder of "Circulez, y'a Rien à Boire". We tried a few more problems, but shitty conditions shut us down. Anyway, we were all in good company and had a fun+ time.
Fontainebleau - Long Boyau - Circulez, y'a Rien à Boire 7A(6C+)
Being the start of the Ascension weekend, the forest promised to be crowded in a lot of places, especially the most popular ones. I therefor met with Olaf with whom I went to Rocher de la Petite Reine. Last weekend, when it was a wet day, we went for a walk around there, and we decided to now go for a climb. Olaf wanted to try "Suspension de Séance" and my main goal was to try "Skeleton". I had seen a video from "Skeleton" a few weeks ago, and I figured that the technical dyno was something for me. Not a far jump, but one where body awareness and catching the hold in the right place and the correct way, are key. While warming up, I was quickly able to do the first part and soon realized that most of the difficulty was about the dyno. Luckily, it allows to practice that move separately, which I started doing. I got closer slowly, but steadily and when I finally stuck it, I turned on the camera. Doing that move again when coming from the start proved to be a challenge. It turns out that keeping the friction on the pinch right hand was of extreme importance. As you have to take that pinch from the first move, and hang on to it until the dyno, it wasn't a giveaway. When the moment where everything clicked finally came, I was glad to top it out. All in all, it went much quicker than expected.
Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Petite Reine - Skeleton 7C
Olaf, needed time to get acquainted with the body positioning in "Suspension de Séance", but was making good progress. Meanwhile, I was able to repeat it after a few tries. Markus (Neher) joined us some time later, but not long after his arrival, I had to leave. It was a bit unfortunate, because I do like their company.
Later in the afternoon, I took my kids to Eléphant, where we went halfway around the hill playing 'the floor is lava'. The whole place was extremely crowded, but I didn't mind. I wasn't there for climbing, and if I would have, then I would have most likely left immediately to go and climb somewhere else. On our way back, close to the parking of Roche aux Sabots, the gendarmerie was there to hold up traffic while they were once again towing away a lot of cars. Multiple huge tow trucks were present and were picking up one car after another, all illegally parked along the departementale. Several people were standing and sitting next to the road, realizing that their cars weren't there anymore. Some were arguing with the gendarmerie, but they didn't give in. Let this be a reminder to many, to not park illegally. When the designated parkings are full, just go to another area of the forest. L
The sun was out when I woke up this morning, and I decided to go to Beauregard in Nemours. I had visited this small area with Victor (Burger) at the end of the Winter this year, but we weren't able to climb there due to wet or too humid boulders. As we had a longer dry period, I estimated that the boulder with "Seuls les Vrais le Savent" had to be dry this time. After a long walk uphill, I finally arrived at the nice roof boulder and it was indeed dry. I warmed up trying the topout of "Seuls les Vrais le Savent" and as soon as I had done that, I was surprisingly able to cruise through the roof on my first attempt from the start and topped it out. This is a really nice isolated roof and still have a few more lines to offer. I briefly tried the much harder "C'est Toujours pour Ceux qui Savent", but the crux shoulder move required full tension on the left heelhook and I didn't dare to commit, afraid I would injure my left hamstring that still felt sore after "Day of Tentacle". As this is a perfect boulder for hot Summer days, I will gladly go back for it.
Fontainebleau - Beauregard - Seuls les Vrais le Savent 7B
After having been so close to doing "Day of Tentacle" last week in Apremont Sanglier, it was my main goal for today's climbing session. It was substantially colder than last week, so I hoped for good friction on the extremely bad slopers at the end. Last week, on Saturday, I had figured out al the moves and could do the boulder in two overlapping parts, but couldn't do the topout when coming from the start. That was my first session on it. The day after, on Sunday, I went back, with Olaf this time, for my second session. I was able to cruise through the first part every time, but again kept falling off at the end. I did get a new highpoint though, and even couldn't have been closer to topping out, but still fell off. My left hamstring had started hurting though because of the constant pressure with the heelhook trying to top out. It got bad enough for me to throw in the towel and give my hamstring a break. This morning, my third session on it, I could still feel my hamstring and for a moment I feared that I would have to stop again in order not to get injured, but I stayed and tried to come up with some minor tweaks to relieve some of the pressure on my hamstring for the topout. A little detail made that work and keeping that in mind, I was finally able to finish it. A very cool problem that felt very hard for the grade. My hamstring can confirm.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Sanglier - Day of Tentacle 7B
