September 28, 2018 - Mission accomplished.

Already on Tuesday night, I had accumulated enough overtime hours to be able to take a day off, which I did today.
Although very cold in the morning, the weather had been beautiful this week and today was luckily no different.
Because of the cold early this morning, the long walk to Rocher Fin didn't bother me, I considered it as a wake up call and warm up for my body.
I had already noticed that when I plan for too much problems to try, I tend to not spend enough time in them, leaving me with quite some unfinished business. So this morning, I was on a mission and walked with only goal in mind. Finally finishing "Bull Dog (assis)". Hopefully.

I had done the standing start of "Bull Dog" two years ago already and ever since then, I had tried the sitstart at least once on each visit to Rocher Fin afterwards. Every session I could get from the sit into the stand, but always got knocked down by the last move.
The determination I had in me to today helped because finally, finally I was able to top out "Bull Dog (assis)". Mission accomplished.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Fin - Bull Dog (assis) 7B(7B+)

As I had left with only goal in mind and having done that now, I couldn't seem to find enough motivation in the few problems that I tried afterwards, until I remembered that I still had "Sous-Dur", the extended version of "L'Oreille en Coin (assis)" as a project. On my last visit here, I thought I had it worked out, but lacked the energy to finish it off.
By the way, it was getting quite warm in the sun and moving to the shady sector in the forest a bit down the hill seemed like a perfect plan.

I remembered that I almost had it last time, but somehow couldn't remember the moves so I had to work them out again.
The short traverse to the right has some quite powerful moves and when I ended up on top of "Sous-Dur", the energy was gone.
I didn't mind though, as I had some great fun and felt completely relieved and disconnected from work.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Fin - Sous-Dur 7B

September 25, 2018 - Time to work.

At 10h30 this morning, I already arrived back home from a short climbing session in Bois Rond Auberge. It still felt crisp outside, but it was already warmer than the barely 3°C when I left the house earlier. I even had to scrape a layer of ice from my windshield.

Due to some planned video conference until midnight (CET) with work colleagues in the USA, my work days yesterday and today are somewhat shifted to start later and go on until the meeting is over around midnight.
As I'm a morning person, there was no way that I would stay longer in bed, so I used the free morning time to go for a quick climb in Bois Rond Auberge. Knowing that I would have to sit inside for the rest of a day afterwards, I enjoyed the fresh cold air and filled up my lungs to get the most out of it.

I had already a few short sessions on "Incassable" in an isolated part of the area, but again today, I seem to lack length for getting from the sitstart into the stand. It still feels too morpho or at least much harder than the 7A+ that's given for it.
Looking at the list of registered repeaters, they are all tall climbers.

I contented myself with finally doing the standstart. Finally, because all the previous sessions, I hadn't even managed to that one. For this also, I can imagine that it will also be harder for the smaller climbers among us.
In any case, at least I had my small dose of climbing, my breath of fresh air and a stroll in the forest.
Now it's time to work.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Incassable (debout) 7A(6C+)

September 22, 2018 - Watch out for boars!

It put a smile on my face when I read the description of Rocher du Mont Morillon on bleau.info this morning. Beware of wild boars..., it says. I thought it was kind of funny, because from all the boars that I have seen in the forest over the years, none of them was there. Okay, I admit that I had visited the area only once before, but still I didn't see any boars. Traces of them, however, a lot, but these can be seen everywhere.

My plan was indeed to go back to Rocher du Mont Morillon, and it was still early and quite cold when I walking towards "Karma Gai", the first boulder that I wanted to try.
I was quiet, looked around, but couldn't see a boar around.
Unfortunately, I was quickly reminded of why "Karma Gai" felt impossible when I was there over two years ago. There was a move in there that really didn't suit me, and today, it didn't seem much different.

On the other side of one the few small valleys that Rocher du Mont Morillon has, I could see the nice overhang on which I did "Liaison Fer-Os" last time, and I remembered about a hard sitstart variation with moves that seemed to fit my style. At least according to the video, because I wasn't and didn't feel strong enough to try it back then.
"Lésion Prés-Causses" indeed fits my style perfectly. Some nice swinging dynamic moves into a toehook on which everything depends from then on. I loved it!

Fontainebleau - Rocher du Mont Morillon - Lésion Prés-Causses 7B(7B+)

I took a break and slowly made my way back towards the boulder of "Le Maître est Talon". I couldn't resist taking a small panorama picture of the beautiful valley, hoping that I could spot a boar upon close inspection at home. Unless you have better luck, I couldn't find any.

One of the few beautiful small valleys of Rocher du Mont Morillon. Not a boar in sight.

There are quite some lines on the beautiful boulder of "Le Maître est Talon", but I could only get away with "Le Mètre à Droite", which felt quite hard for the grade in my opinion. It took me a while to find a good method.
Nevertheless, a very nice line that climbs much nicer than it initially looks.

Fontainebleau - Rocher du Mont Morillon - Le Mètre à Droite 7A

Jokes aside, there are a lot of wild boars in the forest, and not only there, but in most places. 

Most of the time they are already gone before you can see them, but that doesn't mean that they can't be spooked when being silent and coming from around a boulder. It happened to me before and I wouldn't want one to react aggressively and attack me out of defense.

September 21, 2018 - Biocoop.

Hectic times at work with long days and now that school and after school activities have restarted, it means a lot of driving from here to there, leaving me with barely any time to climb.
Also, I was struck with a bad cold during the weekend, which had worn me down the first part of the week.
Finally this evening after work, I was able to stop at Rocher de la Salamandre Est and go for a quick climb to disconnect and destress.

It had rained quite a bit this morning, so I wandered around a bit looking for the boulder in the best conditions.
I hadn't even reached the centre of the area yet, when I stumbled upon "Biocoop". As the boulder was in good conditions, I took my chance and unfolded the pad.
I hadn't climbed for a week and chalking up my hands felt like a relief. The moment I actually touched the sandstone I immediately disconnected from work, which had to make place for the boulder and its surroundings.
I was motivated, felt strong and ready to go.

On my third attempt, I sent "Biocoop", a fun little problem that fits my style and didn't feel too hard.
It would be nice if that could be the trend this weekend.

Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Salamandre Est - Biocoop 7B+

September 14, 2018 - Bad harvest.

I went to Cuisinière this morning, with quite some problems in mind that I wanted to try.
The walking felt heavy though and without really having a headache, I was aware of the presence of my forehead, which was quite annoying and distracting. At least that's the way I can describe it.
My youngest son Noah started his last year in kindergarten and of course already brought some bacterias and microbes with him. He, and my wife as well, were already coughing for a couple of days, so it's not easy to avoid catching something.

My warmup in "Le Mouton à 6 Pattes" started promising though.
The crimp in the right face had always scared for some reason and was why that I had never tried that line before.
If I would have checked beforehand where to put my left heel after the first move, I most likely would have flashed it, but contented myself with sending it on my second attempt.
It was the first, but also the last problem on my list that I could finish today. I felt wrecked soon after.

Fontainebleau - Cuisinière - Le Mouton à 6 Pattes 7A

September 13, 2018 - That time of the year.

It's that time of the year again, the day the number that presents my age goes up with one again.
To celebrate that day, I had offered myself a two days of holiday. Today and tomorrow.
This morning, after being congratulated by my family, I took my time before leaving to Beauvais Nainville with one goal in mind, trying and hopefully doing "L'Épée de Sable".
This beautiful line can be found all the way in the back of the area, and I can still remember the day I tried it for the first time. It was on the 22nd of May 2009, the day I did "L'Anthracite".
As I don't come often to Beauvais Nainville, I had only tried it again maybe one or two times, but the line had never left my desire to finish it.

It had rained a bit when I left and the streets were wet, but Beauvais is not that close by, and I hoped that it would be dryer there. Indeed, the closer I got, the more dry it was, even though I could see that it had rained too.
I arrived on the big parking, but after seeing that besides mine, the only other car was a quite freshly burnt down one. Most likely used for something illegal and then left behind and set ablaze to cover any tracks. Somehow, it didn't really surprise me, and it is one of the reasons why I don't go there often.
I decided to park a bit further down the road. A slightly longer walk, but at least my car was clearly visible from the road.

To be sure not to drag the crashpad for nothing, I had a look without it first to see if it was going to be dry enough to climb.
Thanks yesterday's heat, the boulders were still warm and the few drops that still fell now and then, almost dried out instantly upon contact with the warm sandstone.
"L'Épée de Sable" was perfectly dry!
I went back to the car for my gear, prepared and fell off the mantle on my first attempt, whereas on previous sessions, I had never done the dynamic move.
It motivated me, and I finished it two tries later.

Fontainebleau - Beauvais Nainville - L'Épée de Sable 7B(7B+)

Everything else was bonus from then on, but after strolling around for a while, I decided to come back some other day with Pieter. There are still some things there that we agreed to try together.

Driving back, I noticed the clouds becoming lighter and the it had stopped dripping rain.
I tried my chances and was lucky to find "La Résilience" dry, on the "Symbiose" boulder in 95.2 Ouest.
Last time I couldn't find a way to reach the crack far enough, but after slightly changing my method, I found a way that worked and was happy tick this one off as a bonus.

Fontainebleau - 95.2 Ouest - La Résilience 7B(7A+)

In between all of the above, I enjoyed the beauty and the smell of the forest.

With the humid touch in the air, the lower temperature and the already changing colours of the trees, I could sense Autumn preparing itself.

Soon it will also be that time of the year again!

September 09, 2018 - Small detour.

My son Anthony wanted to go to some soap kart race festival in Boulancourt and needed to be dropped off in the morning.
As Boulancourt is just behind Buthiers, I decided to make a small detour on the way back and went to try "Formication" in Buthiers Canard.
I got really close to sending "Formication" this time, but just like every other, the sharp hold on the left arete had cut a chunk of skin off my pinky finger. I had to do something else.
It didn't bother that much, because part of the plan was to stop at Buthiers Nord also, which wasn't even a detour, but right next to the road from Malesherbes to La Chapelle la Reine.
I had seen this shady area only once, but the North faced roofs were soaked and dry very slowly. This time however, with this long dry period, I expected at least some problems to be dry.

When I saw the boulders appearing after the short 100m walk, I was surprised with how beautiful this small sector really is now that literally everything was completely dry. Most of the problems looked stunning! The only downside was that some moss had taken over here and there and that some parts of the boulders tend to be a bit sandy.
Most of attention went to "Freedom (direct)" though, the first line that I wanted to try, and also one the most appealing.
It was a clean flash.

Fontainebleau - Buthiers Nord - Freedom (direct) 7A(7A+)

One of the other easier lines on the other side of the small sector, is "Matrix". Starting with a sharp jug and making a big dynamic move to another more friendly jug.
The starting jug was so sharp however, that I couldn't pull hard enough on it with the already torn skin on my left hand. I really wanted to do it though, so I looked for and found another, but harder way.
Starting at the same sharp jug, but making a small detour with some nice moves towards a crescent shaped crimp right hand. What follows is also a slightly dynamic move, but the crimp feels uncertain. Felt definitely more like a 7A+ this way, however is considered a different method for "Matrix".

Fontainebleau - Buthiers Nord - Matrix 6C+(7A)

I still had quite some fun on some other harder, but beautiful problems, but was too tired to still finish any of them off.

Now I still need to convince Pieter to come back here when the time stays dry. Something tells me that convincing him will not be the problem.

September 08, 2018 - Pinching wood.

Yesterday morning, they delivered the six cubicle metres of firewood that I had ordered a couple of days ago. Looking at the big pile when I arrived home after work, just meant more work, but after diner, I first went to Roche aux Sabots Sud for half an hour. I wanted to work practice "Zen mes Doigts" and find a way for doing the mantle at the end.
The first part of the problem went quite smooth, but the pocket pinch for the right hand wasn't in good condition due to the small amount of grizzle that morning.
I focussed on the last part though and finally found a way to mantle up. It didn't even feel that hard anymore. I still had to stack the firewood though, so I left the boulder and decided to come back for some real attempts the morning after.

Back at home, it took me a bit over two hours to work away the pile of wood, stack it nicely and cover it for potential rain.
I worked non stop but considered the constant pinching in those heavy logs as a good training for the pocket pinch of "Zen mes Doigts".

Started around 20h.

Finished at 22h15.

This morning, by back felt soar and my muscles were stiffened a bit, but the pocket pinch of "Zen mes Doigts" was in excellent condition.
After doing some of the moves however, my muscles loosened and I had the impression that my pinching power was way better than the day before. Or was it wishful thinking? Either way, it definitely helped, because it didn't take long before I finished the beauty off.

I really wonder why such a great, but hard line on a not unpopular boulder only has three registered repeats (mine included) on bleau.info.
From start to end, the moves are simply beautiful!

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots Sud - Zen mes Doigts 7B

Even though my muscles felt good, generally I felt quite tired from yesterday's heavy duty and my back still felt soar.
I didn't want to stop yet though, but wanted to do something easier and new to finish with, so I slowly made my way to the 91.1 area where Tony (Fouchereau) had opened "Flip Flop (assis)", and it looked like a nice problem to try.

"Flip Flop (assis)" is indeed a very nice problem, but probably a bit morpho for the smaller climbers.
I did it on my second attempt already, but still somehow it felt too hard for only 6C, but closer to soft 7A.

Fontainebleau - 91.1 - Flip Flop (assis) 6C(7A)

September 02, 2018 - Distant sound.

It was still quite chilly when I met Pieter on the parking of Roche aux Sabots again this morning, but it promised to another beautiful day.
The parking was already nearly full and small herds of climbers were on their way to one of the  many nearby areas.
This time though, we were there to stay but weren't bothered by the growing crowds, because we were going to Roche aux Sabots Sud and were quite convinced we would see barely anyone else around.

As a warmup, I showed Pieter the small fun sloper boulder of "La Soupe Cosmique". Hidden in plain sight, at twenty metres from the first big boulders of the main area. It lies directly on the border of the main area and the Sud, but is still catalogued under the main.
I quickly managed to do "La Soupe Cosmique (gauche-droite)", the only line that I hadn't yet done on the bouder, and managed to quite easily repeat "La Soupe  Cosmique (direct)" and "La Soupe Cosmique (droite-gauche)".
Pieter got away with the nice "La Soupe Cosmique (direct)" but was too pumped to make the last move when going for "La Soupe Cosmique (droite-gauche)".
A very fun and small boulder, but takes away a lot of energy.

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots - La Soupe Cosmique (gauche-droite) 7A

I definitely wanted to show Pieter "Ashtanga", that I managed to do last week and as I expected, he was more than interested.
We first tried "Cul Terreux (direct)" to the right of "Ashtanga", but as we couldn't find a way to mantle up, we turned to "Cul Terreux (direct droite)" that Pieter was able to flash very easily.
I needed an extra attempt, and finished thanks to having watched Pieter use his feet.

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots Sud - Cul Terreux (direct droite) 7A(7A+)

A short break later, I did find a way for doing the mantle of ""Cul Terreux (direct)" and sent it the attempt after.
Some really beautiful moves for the first part under the roof!

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots Sud - Cul Terreux (direct) 7A+(7A)

Pieter had set his mind on "Ashtanga" in the meantime and being shorter than I am, he needed to look for another method.

He found one that he worked out and I sat in awe watching what he was trying to do and almost got away with it too. It looks crazy and I would like to have his send on video, but it will be for a next time., it was time for me to go as I had planned to do some more climbing with the kids in Rocher du Télégraphe and Pieter had given the best of him.

It again struck me how crowded the parking was and was glad that where we were climbing, those crowds were only a distant sound.

September 01, 2018 - High contrast.

What a beautiful day it was today!

Pieter had left his house in Belgium late yesterday evening, so he wanted to sleep in and this morning it was already about 10h30 when we met on the parking of Roche aux Sabots before driving on to Rocher Gréau.
I had come up with the idea of going there after browsing on bleau.info and knowing that Pieter would join was a comforting feeling.
Even though I had visited the area a couple of times before, it struck me that I had never finished anything there before and a folder for Rocher Gréau was still missing on my computer's hard drive.

Pieter had strangely enough never been to Rocher Gréau before, but when walking between the high boulders, he quickly understood why I had never topped something out when being alone. Most of the boulders there are beautiful piece by piece, but huge!
To warm up, we started with two of the lower problems, "Le Pied de Nez (assis)" and "Faux Fuyant / Pentium", but got beaten down by both of them and lost a lot of skin.

One of the boulders that was high up on my want list there, was the beautiful, but very high "Supplément d'Armes".
I remembered standing in front of that huge boulder with open mouth on my previous visits, but there was no hair on my head that was thinking about trying that alone.
Finally, now with Pieter with me who was also eager to try, we unfolded the pads under it and set off.

It only took me a handful of tries. With each try the confidence built up and the moment I felt ready, I installed the camera and sent it immediately after.
The holds after the mantle into the wall are all good, but mentally it was a struggle at that height.
The contrast with the lowball from yesterday couldn't have been higher.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Gréau - Supplément d'Armes 7B

Pieter tried some more, but had to give up due to wrist problems when using the crimp under the overhang in compression, so we moved towards the high boulders with "Les Conquistadores", where we tried almost every line on it, but got beaten down again.

I still felt quite weak from the busy workweek, and Pieter was also getting tired, but with the last bits of energy we still had left, we started trying the high engaging "Jeu t'es Fou".
I was only one to finish it, and already on my third attempt, but again near the top, it was a mental battle at that height in a very uncomfortable position. Nevertheless a beautiful problem!

Fontainebleau - Rocher Gréau - Jeu t'es Fou 7A

We were both amazed with the beauty of the boulders and lines in the area, and will return soon with some better skin, more energy and hopefully more guts!