I had the plan to go to Mont Blanc, where I wanted to try "Mégalodon". Back in May earlier this year, I came pretty close and I was hoping that the colder temperature would help with the friction that I needed. Even though the boulder felt dry, the key sloper crimp didn't feel good. The friction that I had hoped was nowhere near. When it still wasn't much better after about half an hour of attempts, I took a break and had a look at the beautiful boulder of "Mastodon".
It must be about five or six years ago, about a year or two before the area was made public, that Neil (Hart) showed me around there and I remember standing in awe when admiring the boulder of "Mastodon". Nevertheless, it always looked too hard and scary to give it a try. Even when I did "Stegodon" last Spring, I didn't dare to start with "Mastodon" despite the two crashpads that I had with me.
This morning was different somehow. I knew that I would have preferred someone having my back, but the today I just couldn't resist, especially knowing that I wasn't going to come close in "Mégalodon" anyway. I decided to move the crashpads under "Mastodon" and slowly build up some confidence.
It didn't go very smooth at first, and the high slopers on the top seemed way out of my reach, but the with each attempt, the confidence grew stronger and I dared doing more and more. Until finally, after tweaking my method a few times, I managed to get on.
It's always a special feeling doing something that has seemed close to impossible for such a long time.
By the time I had done "Mastodon", the weather had finally started to clear up, but the friction on "Mégalodon" just didn't want to get better. Anyway, I left the Mont Blanc area with a happy feeling.
Fontainebleau - Mont Blanc Est - Mastodon 7B+
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