The kneebar on the rough arete made a small rip at the knee of my all time favourite pant, my beloved Black Diamond Credo that my wife gave me some years ago.
It felt like a disaster, because I wore that pant everywhere and all the time in between washings and it suited for every occasion.
Okay, it was true that the rip got there due to extensive usage and the kneebar on the rough arete was simply the last drop it could take.
I still use it for climbing, it is in no way disturbing, but wearing it for work or special occasions that require a correct outfit is a bit sensitive now.
Being so attached to the pant, I had to get me a new one right away.
Some will say that any pant will do for bouldering, and they are right, but not any pant will make up for the comfortable climbing with the Black Diamond Credo.
It's a pant that is warm enough for cold Winter climbing days, but also not too hot on hot Summer climbing days due to its lightweight.
The stretchy aspect makes it extremely manoeuvrable and unlike most pants it doesn't stick to the knees when temperatures get high and you start sweating, making it ideal for doing sitstarts without having to adjust it to your bent knees.
I have lost some weight due to the heavy sweating in the heat these last weeks, but thanks to subtle built in adjustable waist belt, there's no need for an annoying extra belt to stop it from sagging.
I don't talk about clothing much, so maybe it's my female side speaking here, but for me the Black Diamond Credo is the number one bouldering pant out there and I can recommend it to everyone!
It doesn't make you climb harder and better, but it does make you climb in a comfortable fashion so it adds to less frustration that will turn into a positive experience, thus maybe indirectly to better climbing.
That said, I received my new one on Thursday and of course had to take it for a climb.
I was working from home on Friday, and during my lunch break I went to a remote solitary boulder in my village Noisy-sur-Ecole. The boulder with "Muramasa".
It's of course not in the village itself, but in one of the smaller remote parts of the forest on the territory of Noisy-sur-Ecole.
I know my village and its surroundings so finding the boulder was easy, but I can imagine that those who are not as familiar with the area will have some trouble.
Just use the small map on bleau.info with some common sense and you will get there.
I, for instance, parked at the water reservoir and walked the remaining distance by following the edge of the forest (do not cross the farmer's fields!). The walk from the reservoir to the boulder took me at most 15 minutes.
The boulder is small, but it's a beauty! A great find by David Evrard!
Those who like solitude and seeing some undisturbed parts of the forest should definitely go there, but please don't go in big groups. We shouldn't disturb the wildlife that resides there, and there is a lot of wildlife there.
Unfortunately it are also hunting grounds, so do avoid the area during hunting periods.
"Muramasa" is, just like most of the other solitary spread out boulders in the area, opened by David Evrard. It has also been graded by David, and it can be noticed.
I don't mean any offence to David, but I already noticed in the past that his gradings are mostly very tight and some of them have been or are on the course of being upgraded.
David gave it 7B(7B+), but to my first opinion, as far as I could tell and experience, this is closer to 7C, maybe even hard 7C. (See his video of the problem on bleau.info)
Placing the left heelhook is very hard, but the next move far towards the left that I use as a starting hold in the shortened version, was impossible for me. The right crimp in the roof is very small and extremely sharp. It gave ma a bleeding cut in the tip of my index finger.
Like I wrote before, it was my lunch break, and as I was there and no other boulder is in the direct vicinity, I pleased myself by doing a shortened version that starts off after the for me nearly impossible move.
It will not be published on bleau.info, so it's unofficial and more like a game, but I called it "Muramasa (raccourci)" and the grade will still be about 7A(7A+).
I will go back one day, but will need stronger fingers with better skin. All in all, it's an inCREDOble problem!
Fontainebleau - Noisy-sur-Ecole - Muramasa (raccourci) 7A(7A+)
This article is worthless without a photo album of the pants used on special occasions.
ReplyDeleteAt least pose in it wearing a shirt, tie and holding a Duvel.