October 26, 2022 - Keep it clean!

My last session trying "Gengis Khan" in Rocher de la Reine was on the 6th of November 2021, almost exactly one year ago, give or take a few days. Thanks to some tips that I got from Christophe Laumone the week before, I had a method that got me really close, always falling off the last hard move, the one to the pinch left hand. I could do the move separately and climb on to the top, except not when coming from the start. I decided back then to step away from it for a while, a while that apparently almost lasted a whole year.
The weather promised to be very good today, maybe a bit warm for the bad slopers right hand of "Gengis Khan", but I had made up my mind and decided to give it another chance. I had kept some recordings of my best attempts from last year, so I watched them before leaving, to make sure that I wouldn't lose too much time searching for the important small details in the method that suited me quite well last year.
Arriving the boulder, I warmed up doing the blue problem next to "Gengis Khan" a few times and started cleaning the crimps and slopers. Obviously, the person who tried it before me, probably yesterday, didn't clean the holds before he or she left, leaving me with the task to do it for him or her. I even had to clean more and longer than when I left later today. Please clean the holds of any problem you tried before leaving, and for your own benefit, try to clean every time as well in between attempts.
It only took a couple attempts before I came at the same point I fell almost every attempt last year. It all comes down to the small details, and after an hour of fine-tuning tiny details, I felt that it could down any moment now. I wisely decided to take a longer break and sent "Gengis Khan" on my second attempt after the break, filled with joy.

Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Reine - Gengis Khan 7C

October 23, 2022 - Belgian bunch.

My body and the skin on my fingers felt sore when I got out of bed this morning. It was probably a good thing to meet a Belgian bunch for some climbing together in Marion des Roches. With Pieter, Jan (Gorrebeeck), Stijn and later also Jan (de Smit), Nataleigh and Dario, we were indeed a bunch at the big boulder of "PMH". 
We decided to start with "La Fissure du Clodo (assis)" to wake up the body, which apparently took some time. Once warmed up and the moves worked out, I was the first to grab the ascent.

Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - La Fissure du Clodo (assis) 7A(7A+)

Almost immediately after, I also got away with "PMH (assis)" on my second attempt.

Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - PMH (assis) 7A+(7A)

The remainder of the session was spent playing around some of the other many lines on the boulder, but my main interest went to repeating "Pierrot", which I was able to climb in a clean controlled fashion. It is already seven years ago, back in 2015, that I first climbed "Pierrot", and when I looked up my video from then, I almost bursted out laughing. The way I climbed "Pierrot" that time, is in no way comparable with the way I did it today. There was no way in my mind that even came close to doing "Pierrot" the way I did in 2015. I wish I would have recorded my ascent from today, just to be able to show the difference. Now I only have the 'what the hell did I do' method.

Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - Pierrot 7B (2015)

October 22, 2022 - Free donuts.

As Pieter has spent a few weeks in Japan with his wife, visiting her family, it was a while ago since we last climbed together, so I was delighted to see him back and spend a good climbing session. We met in Rocher Brûlé, with the intention to try some of the problems on the "Donuts" boulder. "Donuts" being the easiest problem, it was obvious to start with and warm up in that one. Surprisingly, it took a while before we figured out a method to get into the second part of the problem, but once we did, I managed to top out immediately after turning on the camera.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts 6C+(7A)

While Pieter was tweaking the method to suite his morphology and flexibility, I sent "Donuts (assis)" on my first attempt.
Pieter did the standing start soon after.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts (assis) 7A+(7A)

Pieter wanted to skip the sitstart, so the next logical step was to try "Donuts à la Crème" as it would give us an idea about the tiny crimps used for the exit of "Crème Brûlée" as well. Starting from the low boulder underneath, we spent quite some time finding a method for the upper part. When we both finally did the upper part, it still took quite some attempts before I was able to send "Donuts à la Crème" from the start.
Pieter was still struggling a bit, but after a longer break, during which I had turned off the camera, he sent it immediately after it, executing every move perfectly and without hesitation. I wish I had turned on the camera again immediately after the break.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts à la Crème 7B

Eager to try "Crème Brûlée", we skipped the sitstart of "Donuts à la Crème" but working out the moves of "Crème Brûlée" took a lot of time and energy. When I finally had all the moves dialed, I didn't have energy or skin left to make any good attempts from the start. Nevertheless, "Crème Brûlée" should definitely be possible when coming back with a fresh body and skin.

October 21, 2022 - Be quick.

After some heavy rain yesterday evening and very early this morning, the sun had come out a few times so there was hope for a quick climb after work, if only would choose the right quick drying boulder. Manuel (Marquès) had opened a new variant on the boulder with "Entre Eaux Os" in Justice de Noisy, and knowing that this boulder, being exposed to the South and catching a lot of sun thanks to a gap in the trees, dries extremely quick, the choice was quickly made.
I came close to doing "Un Os en Eau" on my first attempt, but my skin wasn't in the best shape, and I slid off at a crucial point. The same happened a few times in a row, but each time closer to the top, so there was quick progress. Each attempt could be the successful one. On half an hour, I lost quite some skin on my right-hand fingertips, but then it all stuck and I topped out.

Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Un Os en Eau 7B+

October 19, 2022 - Love those Wednesdays.

Until the end of the year, I'm off work on Wednesdays again and by miracle, today was the only day of the work week with good weather, warm and most importantly, dry. Being off on Wednesday, gives me the chance and motivation to visit the otherwise so crowded areas, like Cuvier for example, one of the areas where I am rarely to be found during the weekend.
For today, I had set my mind on "Vert Clair" on the very popular boulder of "Holey Moley" and "Le Biceps Mou". Being Wednesday, and early, I arrived at the boulder, and I was alone. The side of "Holey Moley" was still wet, but the side with "Vert Clair" had already received some early morning sun and was dry.
I had tried "Vert Clair" once before, but when I couldn't figure out the right heel-toe jam, I had given up on it pretty quickly. Today however, I was going to spend some time on it. As expected, I did indeed need some time to figure out that heel-toe, but once I did, the other moves didn't feel like too much of a problem for me. When I then tried the first move separately and did it, I turned on the camera and sent "Vert Clair" without hesitation, much faster than I had imagined.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier - Vert Clair 7B+

I briefly spent some time trying "Vert Nulle Part", but when the surroundings started to become more populated and louder, I decided to leave the area and make a small detour via "Rocher Saint-Germain Ouest" on my way back home. I tried it a few times after I had done "Deus Ex Machina", and even though being really close, the heat that day was too much to bear.
The boulder was directly in the sun, but it was much less hot than last time, and I was able to send it quite fast. I love those Wednesdays being off work.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Saint-Germain Ouest - Si t'es Petit, Sois Technique (assis) 7B+(7B)

October 16, 2022 - Playing lines.

Similar scenario as yesterday, except that it cleared up a little earlier and with well over 20°C, it was a quite warm afternoon, even pretty hot in the sun. I had done a walk with my youngest son, Noah, around Coquibus Grandes Vallées in the morning, and as it was already starting to dry there high on top of the hill, I returned quickly for a climb in the well known roof of "En Dessous de Tout". With at least nine published problems on that boulder, there were still a few that I hadn't done yet.
I started with "L'Etroit Mousse, plus Bas que Tout", a very conventional problem, where it's mostly about endurance, one of my weaker points. I considered it as a good training.

Given the number of moves, I had to rest long enough between attempts if I wanted to succeed. After I ended up finishing, I was pumped, but relieved.

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - L'Etroit Mousse, plus Bas que Tout 7A+(7B)

Despite being pumped, I was still eager to climb and started trying "Plus de Mousse que de Tout". I wisely worked out the crux move after failing on my first attempt, but once I knew what to do, it was a pretty quick send.

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - Plus de Mousse que de Tout 7A+(7A)

My intention was to call it a day there, but after watching another climber, Julien, topping out "LEtroit Mousse, plus Bas que Terre", I decided to pick another line, but a slightly easier one this time. I quite easily topped "En Dessous de Terre" to finish the session.

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - En Dessous de Terre 7A(6C+)

October 15, 2022 - Sunset flashes.

Rain yesterday and this morning made the possibility for any climbing as good as non-existent, but when it cleared up in the afternoon, I got some hope. There was a nice breeze and I patiently waited until parts of the street started to dry. Greg (Gars des Bois on bleau.info), sent me a message earlier this week, mentioning that the new "Sunset Roof" in Bois Rond Auberge dries quickly and told me about a possible left exit version still to be opened. He hadn't done it yet, but notified me about it being a gift, one that gracefully accepted.
The first boulders of the area were soaking wet, but as I got closer to the "Le Grand Requin Blanc" sector, it started to look more and more dry. I found the small roof of "Sunset Roof" dry and was able to flash the original problem with ease. It felt like 6C+ at most, but nevertheless, a very nice climb.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof 7A

Not being sure about what kind of left exit Greg had envisioned, I did a somewhat first impression of it on my first attempt.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans convention) 7A

Greg joined me and explained how he saw it. Following his indications, I also managed to do this version, without the pocket and only the low part of the arete, on my first attempt as well.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans le trou) 7A+

Being there, and still eager for another climb, I did another version of the left exit, eliminating the right edge of the roof and the arete as a whole. Also on my first attempt.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans l'arête) 7A+

October 12, 2022 - Invasion of the ladybirds.

The weather was forecasted to be like a nice after Summer day and I went to Cuvier with the intention to spend some time trying "La Gaule (assis)" and maybe also "Imothep". I was disappointed however, to notice a big tree that had fallen just in front and partly on the boulder, making it impossible to try it. The tree is way too big to be moved by hand, and will need a to be sawn in pieces. Completely obliterated, I moved on to "Imothep", but gave up after a few tries as I couldn't find enough motivation to try hard and really go for it. Markus (Neher) and his wife Cathy were going to join me soon and I wrote that I would be either at "Imothep" or "Démoniaque". On my way to "Démoniaque" though, I stopped at the boulder of "Evolution", realizing that I hadn't tried it before. It was with a bit of luck that I noticed Cathy walking about 50m down the hill, so I made myself aware of my presence, upon which they joined me at "Evolution".
Being an overhanging slopey arete, "Evolution" is quite my anti style, but I got away with the ascent relatively quick.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Ouest - Evolution 7A

At the "Démoniaque" boulder, I had a hard time trying to repeat it and when the sun came from behind the few clouds, it started to become too hot there to stick around. On top of that, a bunch of ladybirds seemed to enjoy the good weather as well and it was astonishing to see how many they were in numbers. We decided to move over to "La Grotte Geneviève", which was for the most part in the shade. 
It took a few tries, but in the end, I managed to get the send, I had to let the sharp crimp dig deep into the skin of my fingers, but at least it got me there.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Ouest - La Grotte Geneviève 7A

Back on top of the hill, the boulders that were in the sun were covered with ladybirds. I have to admit that I squished one of them when going for the edge of "Démoniaque". When I passed "Imothep" again on my way back, there so many of them on the boulder, that it would have been impossible doing one move without squishing more than of them.

October 09, 2022 - Where there is smoke, there is fire.

The weather started out bad last Sunday, but it cleared up and late in the afternoon there seemed a small window of opportunity. The sun came out from time to time and there was a good breeze. I figured to try my chance on "Karagena" just below the ridge of the hill behind the main area of Gorge aux Châts. 
When I was just below the top of the hill close at about hundred meters from "Katagena", I suddenly noticed smoke coming out of the ground in a small pit between some boulders. When I got closer, there was a clear smell of burning and noticed some glowing heat in the pit. I tried to move some of the soil and emptied the small amount of water that I had with me, on it. The hissing sound when I poured my water made it clear that it was very hot underground, at which point I decided to call the fire brigade. They geo-located me and said that they would be there soon, asking me to stay near so they try and get to my using my geo-location as I was not near any path. While waiting, the wind blowing on the heat even made it fire up from to time. I guess it was a good thing that it had rained the day before and earlier that morning, making the top layer of the pine needles less dry than the days before. Below ground though, it was still very dry.

Fire in the hole.

After about twenty minutes, I could hear a distinct siren and one of the firemen called me, asking if I could come down to the path and guide them as they weren't able to see any smoke.
After meeting them and having taken them to the location of the fire, they confirmed that I had done the right thing calling them. They are familiar with these kinds of underground fires and told me that if nothing would be done, the area around would have definitely caught fire. This one went for about half a meter deep and they needed to carry up several containers of water to be able to extinguish it. Asking them about the possible cause, the fire officer was convinced that it was due to some campers who probably used a gas stove causing the ground below to heat up and starting the underground fire. Most likely some campers caused it the day or evening before, he said. While they continued their work, I gave them my contact details and continued my way to "Katagena" and by coincidence ran into a small tent not even fifty meters from where the fire was. I warned the fire officer about it and together we went back to the tent. After a few attempts asking if anyone was in there, there was some movement and an English-speaking climber put his head out of the tent. The officer told him about camping being forbidden, upon which the camper, looking like he was on some drug or alcohol, showed some climbing shoes, thinking it would be okay for climbers to camp out there. He was made aware that the police would come over soon and give him a fine if he didn't pack up. Asking him about the fire, he claimed that he didn't have anything to do with it, but leftovers of food around the tent made us believe the contrary.
By that time, a light drizzle had made the boulders wet enough to not be able to climb anymore, so I went back home.

This morning, I decided to go back to "Katagena", but I still can't figure out how that problem actually starts and what is allowed to be used, that problem seems majorly hard the way I imagine it going. The camper had apparently left, and I noticed a possible line that looked attractive, exactly at the spot where he was staying. He had setup his tent right under the small roof at the spot where imagined a sitstart. 
It was done quickly, but not without some effort. As I couldn't find any pictures or description that completely matched the problem, I decided to conveniently name it "Camping Interdit" for the time being.

Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Camping Interdit 6C(7A)

On my way back down on the other, shady, side of the hill, I decided to stop at "Backdoor Man" and give it a try, now that it was dry. It was quick done deal, but I liked it, nevertheless.

Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Backdoor Man 6C+(7A)

The lesson I learned thanks to the whole fire story, is to never hesitate to call the fire brigade, even if what you see looks really small and practically nothing to worry about. What I saw, looked like something quite innocent, and I hesitated at first if I should call the fire brigade or not. Luckily, I did, because according to their feedback, it had prevented a potential disaster.

October 08, 2022 - Sneaking out.

I had preferred to go back to "La Faufilade" in Boissy Le Plaid last Wednesday, but there is hardly any cell phone reception and I had to be reachable that morning. It was my main goal for today, so this morning I went back to spend a third session on it. On my first session I had worked out all the moves, except for the topout, which turned out to be a second crux, and probably even the hardest. It was only on my second session that I had found a way for the topout, but it was still hard.
This morning, I warmed up trying only the topout, which again took some time before I was able to do it again. I repeated it a few times, each time starting lower until I felt confident enough to try from the start. On my previous two sessions, I had learned to not immediately start trying from the start, because falling on that topout, not knowing or remembering what to do sucked the energy out of me.
"La Faufilade" went quicker than I expected, but it was not without a hard struggle at the end. It felt like I could still fall out until the very end. Felt like a hard 7B+, and maybe even close to 7C.

I always thought it had something to with meat, mixing up "La Faufilade" with a faux filêt, but apparently it means something like sneaking out, which fits with the problem in a way.

Fontainebleau - Boissy Le Plaid - La Faufilade 7B+

October 07, 2022 - Fruity.

I had to start my workday early, but it allowed me to stop earlier as usual and go back to Roche aux Oiseaux for my fifth session trying "La Mandarine". Already on my first session more than a year ago, I could do the boulder in two overlapping times and had fallen off the last move more than once. I knew that it was possible, but it took a long time before I went back to spend another session where I fell off the last move a lot. As I knew that it was only a matter of time to send it, I decided to give it some real attention. I never felt any pressure and always went back with a free mind, a 'we'll see' attitude. 
When I arrived this evening, a Swiss climber by the name of Andreas was trying it and I politely asked if I could join him trying. Even I was a bit annoyed at first to not be there alone, I was glad that he didn't mind and it turned out to be a good session. Lots of falling off the last move again, but when I almost wanted to call it a day, it somehow all came together. The friction felt good from the start and when I reached the bad sloper, I somehow felt that it could go down, but still was surprised when I finally made my way to the top. I almost couldn't believe it. Funny enough, motivated by me having done "La Mandarine", Andreas topped out right after me. It was nice to share the joy.

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - La Mandarine 7C+(7C)

October 05, 2022 - How did he know?

It was my wife's birthday last Sunday and I gave her a floater plane flight as a present. Due to bad weather, it wasn't possible to fly on Sunday, so we had to move it to hopefully fly today. As all depended on the weather, the deal was that the pilot would send me a message or call me late in this morning to either confirm the flight or postponing it again. As I had to stay reachable by phone and the conditions looked pretty humid, I couldn't go for a climb where I wanted to, so I went to Rocher de la Reine, not feeling fully motivated. 
Still not finding the right motivation to climb hard, I quickly gave up on "La Vie il Perd" and decided to go for the much easier "Plato Knows", which I finished already on my second attempt.

Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Reine - Plato Knows 6C+(7A)

Also in the nearby area of Bois Rond, I couldn't find the motivation, so I decided it was best to call it a day and do something else.
Late in the afternoon, my wife took off on her flight from the aerodrome of Buno, only five minutes away from home.

I can see my house ...

October 01, 2022 - Climbing waves.

Given that it is was wet this morning and more rain forecasted, I didn't expect to climb today, so started the day working in my barn that needs to be emptied for the concrete floor that will be built soon. It didn't rain anymore though and when the sky cleared out later in the afternoon and the surroundings were drying, I decided to take my chance anyway. I stayed close to home and went to the small area of La Grotte aux Fées. Lots of traverses there and many games on only a few boulders, but there are some straight ups and it was "Peter Pend" that attracted me the most.
Arriving at the sector, I was amazed by the shapes of the boulders there which reminded me of a waves in an ocean. 
At first, I had some trouble getting past the first two moves traversing slightly to the left. When I finally found a method, I had more trouble in the roof as some of the small pockets were too humid to hold on to. I was forced to be creative and look for a method avoiding the pockets.
Just like last week, I found a way going feet first. Doing the moves this way felt great and made me enjoy this line in that beautiful roof even more.

Fontainebleau - La Grotte aux Fées - Peter Pend 7B(7A+)