I must admit that my search for it came with the necessary amount of cursing and swearing, but when I finally found it, I was amazed. I immediately knew that I would come back for it this weekend, but needed to find a better way to get there, preferably with two crashpads.
The easiest and quickest is to park on the parking of Croix St. Jérôme, walk North until the Chemin de la Charme and follow that one to the right for a few hundred metres. Take the obvious path of Chemin de Marchais until it crosses with a small blue marked path. Take that one again to the right and follow it up a small valley where the boulder can be seen at about 30m on the right of the path, near the top of the small valley. It's mostly slightly uphill and packed with two crashpads, it took me about twenty minutes. The boulder is totally worth it.
The problems are opened by David Evrard and Olivier Lebreton and that is very noticeable on the grading. Especially "Goal Post (direct assis)", the problem I started with, opened as 7A is extremely tight.
At first, when I sat under the boulder, it felt like there was no way that would ever be able to get my butt off the ground, and from that position you still have to make a big sideward dynamic move and then catch a huge swing.
I persisted, found my position and made in the end, but still, the start alone felt like 7B on itself. Very nice problem though.
Fontainebleau - Roche au Four - Goal Post (direct assis) 7A
Now that I could do the start, I knew that the original version with the arete on the left had to work out too.
Even though that I found a way to make the second crux slightly easier, this could still have passed for a 7B+ if you ask me. Yet another high class problem, as usual from David and Olivier.
Even though that I found a way to make the second crux slightly easier, this could still have passed for a 7B+ if you ask me. Yet another high class problem, as usual from David and Olivier.
Fontainebleau - Roche au Four - Goal Post (assis) 7B
Walking back to the car, I knew that I was going to pass very near the boulder of the beautiful "Le Sacre du Printemps" and decided to make the small detour and have a look how the conditions were on it.
To my pleasant surprise it felt great, so I unpacked with the idea of checking out if some of the moves would work out. The other few times that I was here and tried it briefly, I remember that I had to give up on it quickly, but for some reason I moved through it pretty well up to the point that I decided to setup the camera, just in case.
I had worked out all the moves, except for the topout and got punished for it as it was exactly there that I came out, trying the wrong thing.
After that lesson in humbleness, I worked out the end, which didn't take long, went for it again and against all my expectations, sent this beautiful gem. I was exhausted, but delighted.
To my pleasant surprise it felt great, so I unpacked with the idea of checking out if some of the moves would work out. The other few times that I was here and tried it briefly, I remember that I had to give up on it quickly, but for some reason I moved through it pretty well up to the point that I decided to setup the camera, just in case.
I had worked out all the moves, except for the topout and got punished for it as it was exactly there that I came out, trying the wrong thing.
After that lesson in humbleness, I worked out the end, which didn't take long, went for it again and against all my expectations, sent this beautiful gem. I was exhausted, but delighted.
Fontainebleau - Châteauveau - Le Sacre du Printemps 7C(7C+)
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