After seeing a picture of it on bleau.info long time ago, I knew that I wanted to go and try this one day. Another one of the nice 6's of La Ségognole.
Everything was humid this evening, so I finally decided to have a look for it.
It was quickly obvious to me that it was going to be hard to find. Knowing the main area more or less by heart, I couldn't recall seeing the boulder or shape of it anywhere near it. I would have to divert from the main area and scout around in the forest that luckily isn't so dense this time of the year.
It took me about 20 minutes to find it, and those who know the area, know that this a long time for this small area.
I had to look up the description of where it was, thank you 4G!!
"Eliminating dyno to a jug right hand". That's what it says on bleau.info, but what hold was the jug and what was eliminated? It wasn't really clear to me, but I tried to take a logical approach.
The left pocket looks like a jug, but it really isn't. It is more a sloper, and only when going really deep, it starts to become a hold, but not a jug, and not the one that you would go for right hand.
The big right pocket isn't used by Philippe Jaubert on the 3 picture sequence found on bleau.info so there is one eliminate.
The middle pocket was the closest match of being a jug that you would logically go for right handed.
The big right sidepull at the start turns the dyno into no dyno anymore, so I eliminated that too.
A jumpstart from the ground up to the middle pocket turned out to be a real dyno move. A pretty nasty one even.
It laughed at me in my face, even humiliated me. It was a coordinated dyno in its purest form. Slightly too much left, right, up or down made it impossible for me to stick the hold.
There was time pressure, and after a while I was close to giving up on it as it started to get dark, it was humid and I sometimes thought that maybe I made it too difficult for the grade it supposedly is, but this is Bleau and you have to stay humble.
I am glad I kept on trying because I made it after all, making sure I don't have to look for this one again.
Despite the swearing, I had fun with it and was glad when I was standing on top.
Oh yeah, when standing in front of 18 red, you have to go 60m West and 30m South. Good luck!
Fontainebleau - La Ségognole - Emission en Direct 6C
The company I work for cares a lot about a good work-life balance for its employees.
I work in IT, so mostly we know when to begin, but we never really know when our day will end, what will happen, how it will go.
A lot of the work I can't get done during the day, I can do in the evening from home too, and it happens a lot. Quickly taking the laptop wanting to finish just this small thing, an email that just came in on the phone, ... It happens daily, and mostly I don't stop at doing just this small thing, simply reading the email, or whatever.
A couple of weeks ago, we were asked by our manager to come up with a work-life balance initiative for ourselves.
Trying to work less from home in the evening is an initiative that will simply fade after time in my case. In the end the work will just pile up anyway, leaving you with more to be done the next day.
Today was a day where work got done and the workload was finally a little less. On top it was a clear sky after several days of rain and I felt that I needed to get out. Even if it would be just for half an hour, to feel some rock and standing on top of a boulder.
So today, I took an initiative, a work-life balance initiative.
I left half an hour earlier to get the advantage of the clear sky that will give these couple of minutes of extra precious daylight and went for a very short climb on the way home.
The easiest and quickest stop was Bas Cuvier, and I wanted to repeat something I did before, but now for the video, for the "archives", and decided that it would be "L'Hélicoptère".
Easy walk in the park beginning with a scary dynamic move at the end at considerable height.
On days like this, I like Bas Cuvier, as even the "Grand Place" of Cuvier was deserted. How's that for a change ?
21 November 2009 was the first time I did "L'Hélicoptère", and I was impressed when I was standing underneath it today, looking up to the hold where you have to jump to. In my mind I was doing the move and I could see my feet and legs taking the huge helicopter-like swing. We know how the problem got its name.
The beginning is easy and I could feel my feet shaking with adrenalin and fear when preparing for the jump.
I grabbed the hold with one hand, starting swinging heavily, chickened out and let go, swinging my arms and legs around when going down, to keep my body balanced.
I was glad I dropped fine on my feet, and I knew now that it was going to be OK. Any try from now on could be a successful one. I think it took me about 5 more tries before I stood on top. I felt relieved. I suddenly felt in balance.
Here's the video, I'll do some more work from home. It's 22h15.
Fontainebleau - Bas Cuvier - L'Hélicoptère 7A(7A+)
I had to scratch the ice off the car windows this morning when I left. It was a good sign!
I left pretty early again. The parking of Le Vaudoué was still empty when I drove onto it.
I wanted to go to Rocher Fin again and had to be early because I knew that it would be a popular destination after yesterday's rain, so I wanted to try some stuff before the groups of climbers would arrive.
It was cold and crisp while walking there, and most of the boulders I could see through the trees were perfectly dry, except for some northernly directed faces here and there, but that wouldn't be enough to spoil the fun! It felt and smelled like a "sending day"!
My message to Jean-Pierre R. on the way read: "0°C, un ciel bleu avec un peu de vent et un soleil levant. Rochers en top condition sur la route au Rocher Fin. Monte. Je crois que ça vaut la peine!"
When I arrived at the boulder I wanted to warm up in, it was just past 9 am. The whole area was still deserted and it was peaceful. Just me and a lot of boulders under a clear blue sky with a raising sun. Exactly the way I like it!!
My choice for warming up was "L'Envol du Martinet". A nice 7A dyno and not too hard for the grade.
I always like dyno's to warm up in, as it wakes up my body and builds up some adrenalin, making it ready for action.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Fin - L'Envol du Martinet 7A
Video repeat and warm up. It always works for me to warm up in a dyno. It wakes up the body when it's still early like it was today and it does indeed warm me up. Especially when it's still early and 0°C.
I was warmed up now and wanted to quickly try "Mrs du Plus" before the groups of climbers would arrive. It's one of the most popular boulders of the area, and I don't like to stand in line for my turn, so it had to be now.
Prepared the crashpad, tried to figure out as best as I could where the start would be, set off and found myself on top of it after my first try! Ok, it was a struggle, as at a certain point I didn't know what to do anymore so kind of had to improvise on the spot where to grab, while I felt the power fading in my arms. I didn't want to let go anymore, so I fought my way to the top. I was happy, but I lost a lot of energy in that struggle.
Technically I cannot call it a flash go, because I did do "Mémoire d'Outre-Tombe" 3 years ago, and "Mrs du Plus" only adds 2 or 3 moves up to the start of "Mémoire ..." and finishes in it too.
Therefore, because of the "rules" the "flash" is now "just" a "first go".
I dare you to all to start a discussion about those "rules" with Jens from 8a.nu. LOL!!
Fontainebleau - Rocher Fin - Mrs du Plus 7B
First attempt! Technically I can't call it a flash anymore, because I did "Mémoire d'Outre-Tombe" 3 years ago, and it adds actually 2 or 3 moves into that one and finishes in it. I just checked and apparently I did "Mémoire d'Outre-Tombe" exactly (to the day) 3 years ago, 22-11-2012. Funny coincidence!
After that I felt should let my arms rest a bit, as attempts in "Le Nain Vert Sait" and "Bull Dog" didn't turn out well. I sat in the sitstart of "El Kift", but more than sitting in the sitstart it didn't become.
Moreover, groups of climbers had arrived in the area, and it started to look crowded. That's a sign for me to pack up and move on.
Still made a quick stop at "L'Oreille en Coin assis" for a video repeat and did 2 tries in "Sous-Dur", but I couldn't do the move into the vertical hold anymore.
Fontainebleau - Rocher Fin - L'Oreille en Coin assis 7A
Quick repeat for the video. Far last move for this one.
I needed a short rest, and as I don't like to sit around (such a waste of time), I decided that the 15 minute walk to Rocher du Général would serve as a rest.
I wanted to try "Un Ouvreur Peut en Cacher un Autre" again. Last time the conditions were miserable and I was curious how it would be now.
The roof (north bound) was moist as expected, but the holds to come out of the roof looked dry. I was able to make some nice progress, but after a couple of tries, the holds started "sweating" and became greasy. The moist that was still in the rock started coming out. Maybe it's a summer problem ?
The tries that I did though were pretty good and I can see how it goes now, but my feeling is that this is harder than 7A. Up to now I would even guess hard 7A+.
Time to brush off and move on.
"Boule et Bill" was also on my to-do list, but the starting hold was moist, almost wet. Even though it's a jug, the rest of the holds are not. Slopers! Last thing you want is to climb and topout a sloper problem with wet fingertips.
I didn't immediately knew what else to do there, but I didn't want to leave the area empty handed, so I did a video repeat of "Mal de l'Air".
When I did this in 2011, I was with a group of friends and even then, with some spotters underneath me, I was scared at the topout, so you can imagine how I felt trying it all alone.
The topout is high, mantle on (mossy) slopers that feel uncertain even in the best conditions. Last thing you want is to fall out of that mantle in an uncontrolled fashion. I was glad I made it, even though I did chicken out on my first attempt.
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Général - Mal de l'Air 6C+(7A)
First time I did this was in 2011 and it was with a bunch of people. It was quite scary back then already with a couple of spotters, so I think you can imagine that it was really scary now alone. You just don't want to come out of that (mossy) mantle with uncontrolled fall. 6C+(7A), but including the fear factor, it comes closer to 7A for me.
Next stop was Roche aux Oiseaux where I wanted to try the newly opened "Le Flop".
At first sight it doesn't look that nice, at second neither, and after trying it a couple of times, it was even worse.
Anyway, I went there and wanted to do it, so I gave it some more goes until I had succeeded.
It's not a complete flop, but it will never become a popular problem. I will, however, go back to try the sitstart. That looks like having some nice moves up to the stand.
I just don't like the idea of climbing out of a pit in between 2 small boulders that you don't want to hit with your head when falling.
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - Le Flop 7A+
Just recently opened and they called it "Le Flop" and they're right about it. OK, it's not a total flop, but let's say that this will never become popular. I will go back one day to try the sitstart, and I truly hope it will be more interesting than the stand! Just don't like the idea of climbing out of a pit and topping out with 2 small boulders lying on each side.
I started getting pretty tired but the force was still in me, so I went to the main area where it looked empty. I had my mind set on doing some tries in "Le Mandarin", but of course, the only people in the area were doing tries in it too.
A quick change of plans brought me to "Morphine gauche" that I did first go. First time I did it was in 2011 with Brecht who was there with our good friend Ivan.
We needed some more tries, as it was warmer then and the holds you get are slopers.
Good one for a video repeat.
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - Morphine gauche 7A
Video repeat. Did this the first time in 2011, together with Brecht and for the both of us it didn't go down without a fight. Our good friend Ivan was there too. Now it went first go, probably because of the advantage of the good conditions. Topout is not a give away and a bit scary!
I was getting out of juice now, but "Uruguay was just around the corner and it's a nice one!
With the powder I still had left, I had to repeat this for the video. It has really nice moves.
Also done in 2012, but I completely forgot about the sequence, so I had to rework this out.
After 16 minutes of non-stop attempts, changing the method here and there, I was glad to bag this in, pack up and go home and call it a day. It was a good one!!
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - Uruguay 7A
Video repeat. First done in 2012, with a small bunch of friends. Completely forgot about the method, so it took me some tries today. One of the nicer climbs of the area.
It had been pouring rain yesterday and the first part of the night, but there was a lot of wind that dried most of the boulders good and quickly. On top of that, the temperature went down to a mere 6°C. That meant perfect conditions for the boulders that were dry enough.
I was limited in time today, due to circumstances, but tried to make the best of it before the rain came back.
And the rain is back, yes, and how!! It's raining cats and dogs again since 3 pm, but it will start clearing up again during the night and should stay clear sky all day tomorrow, with about 5°C and a lot of wind. Looking forward to tomorrow!!!
Started off in Rocher du Potala where I repeated "Icare" and was able to do "Samarkand rallongé".
Both in supreme conditions with a cold wind to keep the rock cool.
After that it started drizzling a bit and I went to J.A. Martin to check out "Contact", but I must have been dreaming while walking because I ended up way further in Rocher Cailleau at the "Vandale" block.
The rain had stopped again by that time and the wind had blown the boulder dry, so I did some tries in "C'est à Sept B" to the left of "Vandale". It used to be a nameless 7A that apparently got a name now and has (rightfully) been upgraded to 7A+.
It proved to be too hard for me today and it started raining again. This time more heavily, looking like it was not going to stop untill this night so I had to leave.
Still found and checked out "Contact" on my way back.
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Potala - Icare 7A+
They might as well call this one "I Don't Care (about the pain when that sharp left marbled crimp cuts through the skin of your fingers)".
Tried it last week too but then the conditions were too bad to stick the top. I could make the dynamic move every time, but always slid off the top sloper. With today's conditions (where it was dry) it stuck easily!!
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Potala - Samarkand (rallongé par le bas) 7B(7B+)
This is a beauty!! Really nice movements on slopers in supreme conditions! Once you have figured out the sequence and know it enough to be able to execute the moves without too much thinking, this becomes not that hard anymore, but still worth the grade!
Really nice one, this. It had been wet, but the wind quickly dried it just enough to be climbable. It comes down to 1 hard(er) move where you hope that your foot doesn't slip. The unexpected slipping of the foot, can result in a pretty nasty fall.
It was still a little bit wet up there and that black moss can get really slippery when it's moist!!
I had already given up on climbing today as a couple of rain showers made everything wet enough to make it all unclimbable. But, on the other hand, the wind had returned so everything was drying quickly again. I again had already taken a shower when I stumbled upon a video that featured a rediscovered problem in Rocher du Potala ... "Cocaine". When I saw that problem, I immediately knew that it was something for me and I was psyched to go try it. So I set off again, hoping that it would be dry. While walking to the area, I could hear the wind blowing through the trees and it sounded like music in my ears! It was a sound I hadn't heard for way too long! I knew that my chances that it would be dry were increasing! Low and behold when I got there, the boulder was dry enough to be climbed, moreover, the conditions were even really good! "Cocaine" went down fast!
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Potala - La Poussière qui Tue 6C+(7A)
After having done "Cocaine" so quickly, there was still some time left, and I didn't want to move too far away again. I realized I didn't have "La Poussière qui Tue" yet on video, so the decision was quickly made to repeat this for the video.
It has some really nice moves, but that sharp crimp right hand can cut right through the skin! So I took out the tape again, and it proved to have helped.
I found this nameless 7A in my topo, but cannot find it back on bleau.info.
It's located on the boulder of "La Grenouilliere", between the black 'W' and 'X'.
Funny little dyno this one! Took me a couple of tries to figure out the position to start the jump from. After that you just have to hold the "helicopter" turn and climb out.
Fontainebleau - Dame Jouanne - Usbek 7A(7A+)
I flashed it with so much ease, that I immediately gave it another try, but made a little bit less easy by avoiding some good holds in the beginning, to make sure I didn't use something not allowed. Even though in the topos there is no convention described and it's not eliminate either. Anyway, even the second "harder" version felt more like soft 7A.
Fontainebleau - Maunoury - Movement Activated (static version) 7A+
On bleau.info they talk about a "static" version of the original, with a hold on the right. I used the hold on the right, but can't really call this version static. It still involved a good jump from really bad footholds. I liked it though, this way! It involved some subtle foot movements into a nice jump. Deserves to be a problem on its own, if you ask me.
Fontainebleau - Maunoury - L'Oeîl de Boite dans l'Epaule 7A
Soft the grade, but I like the movements on it!!
I had never been to this part of Maunoury before. It was nice to see some stuff I never tried before.
Fontainebleau - Maunoury - Zygos 7A
This is one of those that gives me the feeling "been there, done that". Nothing really special to it, just glad to have done it, so you don't have to come back for this. No further comment.
It was 8 am when I left this morning, and 9 am when I did my first try in "Narine à Voile". By that time I had already done the long walk to there and scouted around a bit to plan my climbs. I actually left too early (being impatient) as there was still a thick fog covering the fields and the forest and boulders were still way too humid.
I could have flashed this one, but the conditions were not quite in my favor, and they didn't get much better than that during the rest of the day. Too bad, because I had planned to try so much but had to limit myself to the boulders that were "OK" to climb. Not good, but "OK". I should have called it a day but the hunger for climbing was there and I just couldn't resist.
Anyway, better luck tomorrow ?
Fontainebleau - Rocher Fin - Soleil Levant 7A
Tickmarks!! All the tickmarks that you can see on this problem were already there when I arrived. To be clear, I was alone out there as it was still very early, so the tickmarks were still from another day by someone unknown to me. That people sometimes need to tickmarks, I can completely understand. I use them too sometimes, but I always brush them off when I'm done! Today I took some time to clean some boulders while wandering around in the area, and I brushed off so much chalk and tickmarks that I probably could have filled my whole big chalkbag up for free. I was amazed about the amount of chalk that apparently a lot of people still leave behind after their climb. Some need no tickmarks, some need some, some a bit more, but it seems that there exist people who need a tickmark for every hold on a problem and leave them in place when done climbing. Do they want to be friendly and leave them on for the next people attempting the problem ? Please, you are not helping anybody!! Today I saw (again) a yellow (!!) problem that had long tickmarks for every handhold and foothold on the yellow (!!) problem. I mean, these holds are huge and you could see the tickmarks with your eyes closed. People who need those for every hold, should maybe limit their climbing for inside, where the holds have an obvious specific color that stands out for each route. Come on people, please leave the boulders and the areas behind in a clean state! So far for my rant, sorry, but I had to let it out.
Ironic name for this nice little traverse, "Soleil Levant". I saw the sun for about 15 minutes today, and ironically enough it was at the exact same time that I was working this one out.
I'm not really a traverse type, but at least this was (seen the conditions) "OK" to climb. Still a bit humid though. But I had fun with it!
OK, it's not easy to do it first try, because you have to aim with the right hand almost perfect onto the hold. It took me some tries, because I always missed for a couple milimeters, but once you get it right, it is not even close to 7A+. According to me it's more like soft 7A.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Neige d'Automne 7A
Nice little (soft) 7A. The good conditions this evening helped to climb it so easily though!
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Le Ressort Titan direct 7B(7B+)
Perfect conditions this evening, the friction was just perfect!! This to prove it. I did the "direct" and the "super direct" in less than 20 minutes. Although I think it helped to know this boulder inside out by now.
If this one is 7B(7B+), than the original should be at least 7B+. It will, according to me, will probably still be downgraded in the future, but time will tell.
Definitely worth doing the small detour to find this nice little boulder. It's right around the corner actually. Four 7's on this one and now I did them all. Weird to say it like that, but I'm gonna miss this little fella!
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Le Ressort Titan super direct 7B
The last of the four. The only thing that differs from the "direct" is the first 2 to 3 moves, but the footwork requires some adapting when coming from the left side this time. Anyway, when you did the "direct" version, than the "super direct" (again, what's in a name) will follow really fast.
I remember trying this for the first time in October 2010. I think I managed to stick the crux 1 time back then and thought that maybe it was too hard for me. So I didn't go back to it until this year.
In a first short session this year, I couldn't even do the crux move anymore so I left it for what it was.
A couple of weeks ago I went back with some friends, more out of a coincidence, and suddenly could do the crux move again. I could even do the problem in 2 parts. Now I just needed to link them.
This morning I climbed past the crux move in my first try but wasn't able to add the dynamic move to the ledge. I knew then that it might happen today so I focused a couple of times on doing only the dynamic move until I stuck it 2 times in a row. I then did it from the beginning the first try after that. It all went like a charm. Sometimes it just has to "click" and BAM, there it goes!
Next time I'm there, it will be for the left variation.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Le Ressort Titan sans boucle 7A
I had already finished climbing, taken a shower and changed clothes, but a sudden drive made me go the forest again to repeat "Le Ressort Titan sans boucle" (what's in a name ?).
I tried this yesterday evening too, but quickly decided that the first move was going to be too morpho for me. However, after watching the video of it again late this afternoon, I saw another foot placement and decided to go out and give it another quick try with this new beta. 20 minutes and 2 tries later I was standing on top of the boulder. It was all about that foot!
Not sure honestly, if the "debout" exits like the original does, or straight up. If someone knows for sure, please let me know.
Fontainebleau - Coquibus Rumont - Sérénité 7B
I nearly saw every boulder of the Coquibus Rumont area today, and either they were too wet or too exposed (dangerous) to climb on my own. I knew it already early in the morning. It rained yesterday evening, there was a lot of fog, no wind and as soon as the sun would come through they predicted 20 degrees. Perfect recipe for condensation to keep everything wet. Conditions were miserable today and finally I ended up at the "Island" boulder, the first boulder you more or less pass when coming from the parking. By the time I arrived there (again), the step counter on my phone displayed already over 13000 steps for the day. I was already tired, but at least by now the boulder had dried up, except for under the roof, so doing "The Island" wasn't an option today (lol).
"Sérénité" is on the same boulder and even though it was in the sun, the conditions on it were perfect. Or perfect enough for a, by that time, desperate me to finally climb something. I was psyched and it went down fast!
Scary though, having just one crashpad, no spotter and this boulder underneath the crux move.
When driving from work to home, Bas Cuvier is not even a 5 minute detour, and when it's a more or less clear sky, then you know you will have about 15 minutes longer daylight. That was enough reason to do a quick repeat for the video.
A nice little dyno, Pif Paf, and you can hear where it got it's name. All about sticking the slopers just long enough until you finished the swing. Just a small remark. Sadly enough the slopers where you jump were just covered with a thick layer of magnesium. I use magnesium too, but please clean the holds after climbing. Keeping the precious boulders clean will help to preserve them for the next generations.
Fontainebleau - Bas Cuvier - Black Earth 7A+
This has one hold. The starting hold right hand. What remains is some slapping on the best spots and hope you will get just about enough friction to pull up a little and slap for the next sloper. Body positioning is the key here, and also having the luck that I suddenly felt something for the right foot when getting higher. The description on bleau.info says that it's morpho, but I think that's not too bad as long as you can find the good position to find your balance. Many people don't even notice this boulder as it is being overshadowed by the impressive "L'Aérodynamite" just across of it. A shame, because it is a typical Font style sloper problem!
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Le Ressort Titan 7B
Hard! This was physical!! Every time I tried this, it was at the end of the day where I was already tired from climbing before, but now it was a quick attempt (or some) before it got dark. Still it proved to be really physically hard. Unlike what I thought, me just being tired of the climbing earlier. Oh boy, was I wrong! My arms were properly pumped and I even had trouble holding the brush while cleaning the holds after the successful attempt.
Still 3 other variations to do on this small boulder, but these will be for another time. Few repeats as it's an isolated boulder on the other side of the path that leads to area. Not many people know about it and that's exactly one of the things that I like about it!
Fontainebleau - Justice de Chambergeot - Chemin de Traverse 7A
I like the quiet, peaceful area of Justice de Chambergeot a lot! It's one of those perfect hideouts on beautiful autumn weekends when it's crowded in the main areas!
Not much repeats for this sweet little traverse, quick win, although worth it! It's all about balance near the end as there are no holds.
Softer version than the originally opened one, but a nice one I believe. I just can't jump high enough or am maybe not tall enough to make it all the way to the end jug. No matter how hard I try. Then I saw this version on bleau.info and decided to try it that way. I immediately liked it but still had to do quite some tries to stick those slopers and start squeezing at the right moment.
Not bad for a first one of the day as a warm up when everyone on the Isatis "Campsite" was still asleep. Good way to avoid the crowds though.
Fontainebleau - Franchard Cuisinière - Le Mouton à 5 Pattes 7A
"Finally" was the first thing I said when topping this one. I can imagine that this a "first one of the grade" for many, but for some reason I always had trouble sticking that last move right hand. Wrong body position, slapping next to the hold, sliding off the slopers, ... Anyway, I'm glad that I can remove this one from my list, even though it climbs nicely.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Haut des Gorges - L'Eté en Pente Douce 7A
This recently developed area has a few nice boulders in it. This is one of them. Originally opened as 7A(7A+) but as always, when new areas haven't seen many repeaters yet, the grades still change over time. Did this second go, but could have flashed it if my foot wouldn't have slipped. This feels more like a soft 7A, if not a 6C+.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Haut des Gorges - La Râpe à Mollet 7A(7A+)
Normally I wouldn't easily start trying a boulder where it has "traverse and come back" in the description, but it's not really an "aller-retour". I could understand the logic in the way it climbs and it sure was fun to do. Opened as 7A(7A+) and in my humble opinion it's correct, as it felt like a harder than usual 7A to me (or maybe I was getting tired).
It's nice this new little area just above the main area. It certainly won't attract the big crowds, so it can be a good alternative when you are in Apremont and the crowds begin to form. Yeah well, for me 2 is a crowd, so I'm not a good reference ... Anyway, fun little area there!
Fontainebleau - Rocher des Souris - Fokechnikov 6C+
Cool little dyno, in a sort of hidden, forgotten part of Rocher des Souris, but right next to the parking though. Topout is not a give away on the other hand.
Finally I can tick this off!! Have tried this quite a lot and could do all the moves except keeping that heelhook on the right. Still today I have the impression that the whole boulder is graded just on that right heelhook! Oh my, many times I cursed that one!!
Feeling of relief came over me when standing there on top. Even today I was very close to giving up again on it as again that heel just wouldn't stick long enough and then suddenly ... BAM!
Truly a state of the art boulder this one, it didn't steal it's name!!
Fontainebleau - La Reconnaissance - Vision d'Escaflowne 7A
Quick repeat for the vidéo.
Fun jump to do, with a nice rounded jug on the top that fits perfectly in the palm of your hand!
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - Le Hérisson 7C
Originally opened as a 7C(7C+) but with this method it will probably not stay like that for long. Like this it will be more like 7B+ or very soft 7C. On the other hand, I had a real Bleausard explaining me the perfect beta. I didn't have to figure it out, I only had to execute the moves. Great moves by the way!!
