I had planned the afternoon off work, but I wasn't very worried. It was predicted to clear up early in the afternoon and there are enough places or certain boulders that dry quickly.
One of those surprisingly quick drying boulders is the "Makhno" boulder and I wanted to try "Phoenix" on it.
When I passed through Bas Cuvier on my way to Cuvier Nord, I bumped into Chris Schulte.
We met a couple of times about three years ago when I was assisting Neil (Hart) with his film "Out of Sight".
What I always liked about Chris is that, being a world top class boulderer, always has this honest humbleness in him.
It was a long time no see, had a nice chat and agreed to meet up again during his and Rachel's one month stay.
Another long time no see was Jean-Claude (Valluet) who joined the conversation.
It was a funny back and forth of English and French, but we all seemed to understand.
I continued my way to Cuvier Nord and despite most boulders being still wet in Bas Cuvier, the "Makhno" boulder was dry enough.
There are many (maybe too many) lines on this boulder and one of them is "Phoenix".
Even though there was a certain doubt on the state of the friction, I managed to send it on my third attempt.
It felt a little bit too easy for the grade, more like 7A+ at most, but my arm was long enough to reach the first crimp without intermediate.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Nord - Phoenix 7B(7B+)
Chris told me that "Manolo" looked dry so I headed to Cuvier Rempart.
"Manolo" was indeed completely dry, but I couldn't find the good friction and I had forgotten about the method I used last time when I was able to do all the separate moves.
I didn't feel like spending too much time on one problem, tried "Où Are You?" next to "Manolo" a couple of times, but the top was too humid for even thinking about mantling up that height.
The sky was completely cleared up by now and the sun felt warm and comfortable.
More climbers started to arrive so I looked for a solitary spot, which I found at "Immodium".
It was dry, I still wanted to do the sitstart, I was alone, the sun was and the sky looked blue.
It was only 11°C, but out there in the sun, covered from the wind by the surrounding boulders, it felt hot. It felt perfect.
To my surprise I was able to repeat the standing start on my first attempt. I became confident for the sit.
I knew the moves already and a handful of tries later I could tick "Immodium (assis)" off.
"Manolo" was indeed completely dry, but I couldn't find the good friction and I had forgotten about the method I used last time when I was able to do all the separate moves.
I didn't feel like spending too much time on one problem, tried "Où Are You?" next to "Manolo" a couple of times, but the top was too humid for even thinking about mantling up that height.
The sky was completely cleared up by now and the sun felt warm and comfortable.
More climbers started to arrive so I looked for a solitary spot, which I found at "Immodium".
It was dry, I still wanted to do the sitstart, I was alone, the sun was and the sky looked blue.
It was only 11°C, but out there in the sun, covered from the wind by the surrounding boulders, it felt hot. It felt perfect.
To my surprise I was able to repeat the standing start on my first attempt. I became confident for the sit.
I knew the moves already and a handful of tries later I could tick "Immodium (assis)" off.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Rempart - Immodium (assis) 7B
On my way back to the car, I wrote a text message to Ivan (Moreels) to wish him a happy day after birthday from Cuvier.
From the answer I received, I could make up that deep within he still wants to come back some day.
Hey, Ivan, long time to no see mate.
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