When I woke up due to heavy wind and rain last night, I didn't expect to be able to climb today, but the sky cleared up this morning and it looked it was drying fast thanks to the sun and an ongoing quite heavy wind. As I had to bring my oldest son to a friend near Buthiers in the early afternoon, I was patient and gave it enough time to dry before heading to Buthiers.My idea was to try "Mac'Arel" and I was delighted to find it in very good conditions despite the problem facing North and being in the shade. The wind had done an excellent job. "Mac'Arel" shares the same topout as "Paie ton Mac Do" and as I remembered the latter giving me quite a hard time in 2020, I didn't really expect too much of it, but it turned out I didn't need a lot of time to work out the crux again. It was as if my body still remembered what to do, even after more than three years. Loaded with good confidence, I began trying "Mac'Arel" from the start, but soon realized that it added some difficulty to the crux move when coming from way left. I remained calm and confident though, and sent "Mac'Arel" sooner than expected after all. It was a great and beautiful problem to end the year with. I was satisfied.
When arriving at the small, but long, area of Cassepot Roches Roses, you immediately realize where it got its name when looking at the boulders. A lot of the boulders there have these pink/red -ish spots, which makes it almost unique on its own. Even though I have been there only a few times, I always liked this quiet peaceful spot. The surroundings are just beautiful. There are not many boulders, and I walked straight to the very last one of the area, also one of the most attractive. Kind of with the intention to work on one of weaknesses, being bad heelhooks, I started with "Les Trois Talons", for which you need to place a heelhook three times, without the possibility to use a toehook; something that I always look for when a problem involves heelhooks. I first worked out the last part, with the hardest heelhook, something that took many adjustments in details, learning a lot in the process. As soon I did the move, I surprisingly finished "Les Trois Talons" on my second attempt from the start, only to discover that somehow the memory card of my camera had gone into recovery mode at some point when it was recording. After quickly watching the footage, the ascent wasn't recorded, so I had to do it again if I wanted it on video. As it happens often to me, when I want to repeat a problem, I climb with too much confidence and forget to pay attention to the small details that contributed to the ascent. I needed quite a few more attempts to finally get on video. At least, now I had practiced my heelhooks quite well.
Fontainebleau - Cassepot Roches Roses - Les Trois Talons 7A+
I wanted to try "La Solution", one of the other problems on that boulder, as well, but the second, and hardest, part of the problem was in really bad conditions, so I was only able to work in the first and easier part. Slightly disappointed, I walked away, and decided to stop and try "Pink Power (assis)" on my way back. I couldn't remember ever seeing that problem dry, but somehow, even after all the rain we had during the past few weeks, today it was dry. Starting deep in a pit and quite dirty, the problem doesn't look appealing at first, but as soon as I tried out some of the moves, I quickly realized that it was much nicer than it looks. After working out the crux, which again involved a heelhook, I only needed a handful of attempts to top it out.
Fontainebleau - Cassepot Roches Roses - Pink Power (assis) 7A+
This morning I was greeted by very nice weather at last and this time I wasn't forced by rain to drive back home when I went to Mont Aiveu. I had a long walk ahead, but knowing that "Peinture Rupestre?" was probably in good condition, thanks to Laurent (Darlot) who did the sitstart a few days ago, made it all bearable. Add to that the beautiful surroundings and the sun being out and sucking the humidity out of the air, making it all a perfect mix. Last time I was in Mont Aiveu, I couldn't try the sitstart due to wet starting holds, but today it was good and dry. I vaguely remember the moves from the crouching start, so I basically only had two or three moves to still work out. After changing details in beta a couple of times, I finally found a method that suited me and decided to setup the camera and give it some real attempts without trying the second part again. Being there had made me remember exactly what to do. After a handful of attempts, I suddenly had that flow and cruised up the boulder. I still had a long walk back, but wasn't bothered by it, because I felt that it was all totally worth it. This problem from the sitstart is a true gem, a real beauty. I loved it!
Fontainebleau - Mont Aiveu - Peinture Rupestre? (assis) 7B
Climbing "La Gaule (assis)" yesterday was in a good flow, but despite that, I could feel it on my body when I woke up this morning. After having some breakfast, I was driving to Mont Aiveu when it started drizzling. It wasn't much at first, but as I continued, the drizzle got harder, to the point that it didn't make sense to drive on, so I turned around, back home. When it looked dry again in the afternoon, I played safe and went to the nearby J.A. Martin area to try the relatively new "L'Homme en Feu". With all the rain and humidity the last few weeks, the chance for forest fires is extremely low, but the boulder of "Couleur de Feu" always looks like it's on fire due to the it's orange yellowish color. I flashed "L'Homme en Feu", but was really to falling off near the top when I discovered that there was barely anything to hold on to, which I didn't expect. My fingers were still very cold and I could barely feel what I was holding on to, but managed to stick and work my way up. Unfortunately, the bottom part under the roof was dripping wet, so I wasn't able to try the sitstart. It will be an excuse to come back to this very nice boulder some other day.
I had tried "La Gaule (assis)" several sessions in a row, when the conditions allowed for it, but bad weather forced me to take a short break from it. As I had kept an eye on the weather forecast, I determined that one of the best chances where time and conditions sort of came together, was today, Christmas Day. Trying to make sure to avoid any unpleasant surprises, I avoided over eating yesterday, on Christmas Eve. A mistake that happened to me a few times already. Arriving at Cuvier around 11h this morning, the boulders looked all dry, and it was weird to see only three cars on the parking, a very unusual sight at Cuvier on a public holiday and dry boulders. It only was to my advantage. The boulder of "La Gaule" is a bit deeper in the forest though, but my last fears crumbled when I arrived at the boulder. It was dry! The last session, I made from the sitstart into the standing start nearly every time, and it was only near the end of my previous session that I turned my focus on better dialing the details for the standing part. This time, I decided to climb the standing start as a warmup and get the muscle memory going. I didn't want to allow any room for error in minor details that could potentially prevent me from topping out. The standing start went very quick and I repeated it once again before taking a short break and attack from the sitstart. Only a handful attempts after the break, I worked my way to the top and was somewhat speechless when I stood up there again. It was one of those times where my mind was completely clear and everything flowed as if I was on auto pilot. Couldn't have gotten myself a better Christmas present than this.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Ouest - La Gaule (assis) 7C(7C+)
Even though we had a huge amount of rain yesterday, the sky was clear during the night and a heavy wind helped gave hope to be able to climb something today. I left the house secretly hoping to try "La Gaule (assis)", but I kind of knew that this hope was in vain given the closed in place where the boulder is. Arriving at Cuvier, that was confirmed by wet boulders all over, but despite that, I had a look anyway, thinking I could still continue my way higher up the hill to Cuvier Ouest. At the boulder, which was of course too wet, I stopped and imagined the moves before continuing my way uphill and found most of the boulders in Cuvier Ouest dry, as I expected. For a moment, I hesitated to try "Imothep", but walked on towards the small roof of "Le Toit du Gollum". "Le Précieux" had always seemed morpho to me, but I gave it a chance and after working out the moves, I found a way, even though it was on the limit of being too mropho.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Ouest - Le Précieux 7A+(7B)
I felt connected with the environment I was in and with the boulder, stayed where I was, and started working out the moves of "Gollum Connection". After figuring out a method, it went down quicker than "Le Précieux", mainly because I knew what to do at the end. I was lucky that it hadn't taken longer, because not long after, it started raining again.
The last couple of days of the work week, I had been looking forward to go and try "Gaïa" in Rocher Brûlé this weekend, and the conditions yesterday were great. Despite that, when I left home yesterday morning, I completely lacked motivation and when I started trying "Gaïa", I just couldn't give myself for a 100%. I have absolutely no idea why or how come, but the motivation stayed gone and trying to force it to return didn't seem to work. Disappointed with myself, I decided to pack up and stop at Mont Pivot on my way home. Unfortunately, also in Mont Pivot, my motivation was still lost and no matter what I tried, it just didn't get better, so even more disappointed, I went back home. This morning though, I could immediately feel that the motivation was back, but decided to go to Cuvier Nord to try "Rencontre Plus-Tonique". The conditions were less than yesterday, but still good and after doing the topout of "Rencontre Plus-Tonique" as a warmup, I was able to finish the whole problem on my second attempt. It was a good morale boost and I felt very motivated again.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Nord - Rencontre Plus-Tonique 7B
With the motivation found back, I walked to the boulder of "La Gaule" and was pleasantly surprised to see that the tree that fell on the boulder, had been moved out of the way, making it possible to try it again. I had done the standing start of "La Gaule" in August 2016 and tried the sitstart briefly, but couldn't even get my butt off the ground and concluded that it must be too morpho. A few years ago though, I returned and was able to get up and almost reach the right arete. When I wanted to back and dedicate some time in it about a year ago, it was the day that I noticed that a tree had fallen on the boulder and I didn't want to spend time and energy trying to move it, so I left it, until today. It was a productive session and this time, I was able to climb from the sit up to one move into the standing start several times, but my skin was quite bad and I kept on slipping off at that point. No disappointment when I left, because I had found a new project that I want to spend some time on and more importantly, also found my motivation back.
It was below freezing this morning, and the conditions promised to be good. I didn't have much time, so I went to the nearby Roche aux Sabots Sud to try "Neurosciences", a boulder that I had always kept aside for some other day, which turned out to be today. The boulder was dry, but the top required some cleaning, and multiple attempts for the slopers to be rid of sandy grains that covered them. Once cleared out, it didn't take me very long to finish it off.
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots Sud - Neurosciences 7B+(7B)
The left exit required even more cleaning and seemed to be not possible at first, but persistence paid off and the slopers gained in friction, making the left version possible. Given the mediocre conditions on the left side, it felt almost as hard as the original version, but as I already knew the first part, it went down much faster after all.
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots Sud - Neurosciences (gauche) 7B(7A+)
I was gone abroad for work this week, which kind of wore me out, so I didn't expect too much of climbing today. It has been seven years since I did "Game One" in Apremont Butte aux Dames, and I decided to go and try the sitstart. While warming up, I was surprised to repeat the standing start much quicker than I anticipated, which allowed me more time to work on the sitstart. Just like seven years ago when I briefly tried the sitstart, there is morphologically no way for me to reach the starting holds when sitting down on my butt, so I worked from the lowest start possible. It adds a few quite difficult moves to get into the standing start and makes one lose some friction, but it was very cold and the conditions were great. It was a nice feeling when I finally managed to top it out.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Butte aux Dames - Game One (assis) 7C
With the amount of rain and we had last yesterday evening, I didn't count on good conditions nor trying anything too hard. Instead I chose to go for some silence at some remote still quite unknown small area, featuring only a handful of boulders and only of them that had my interest. The small area of Mont Aiveu is quite a walk from the small parking, but I enjoyed it whilst admiring the beauty of the forest in Autumn. The boulders of the area have nice atypical colors and seem to fit in with the season. The only boulder that I was interested in, the one with "Peinture Rupestre?", is located on top of a small hill, offering a stunning view. Unfortunately, the bottom part under the small roof was wet, so I immediately had to rule out trying the sitstart. The standing start was dry, but the left part of the boulder is marbled and without any friction, which I hadn't expected. Even for the left heelhook it is extremely slippery. It took ma a handful of attempts to the standing start.
Fontainebleau - Mont Aiveu - Peinture Rupestre? 7A
As the sitstart was out of the question with the wet starting holds, I did work out the lowest start possible and started from the lowest dry holds I could use. Basically, a crouching start, two moves in from the sitstart. This on itself already felt like 7B in my opinion.
Fontainebleau - Mont Aiveu - Peinture Rupestre? (accroupi) 7A+(7B)
On the way back to the car, I made a small detour to find the couple of boulders of another small area called Rocher des Ventes Héron. I was able to find the boulder with "La Dernière du Matin" quickly and it looked like this problem was the only one still possible to climb. The other lines need some rebrushing. I warmed up my fingers again by doing the standing start, about 6C+ on its own.
Fontainebleau - Rocher des Ventes Héron - La Dernière du Matin (debout) 6C+
The (original) sitstart followed soon after.
Fontainebleau - Rocher des Ventes Héron - La Dernière du Matin 7A+
We had a lot of rain the past few days, but there was a strong wind coming from the South-West, which led me to believe that at least some boulders had to be dry on the South face of the hill of Apremont. While browsing bleau.info for inspiration, I noticed "Tropicaux", a boulder that I hadn't seen before, but going by its location description, I had a rough idea where it had to be and figured it probably had a good chance to be dry already. On my way up the hill, I stopped at the classic "Clin d'Oeil" to warm up and try the sitstart as well. I repeated the standing start on my first attempt and after figuring out how the first two moves of the sitstart went, also did that one on my second go.
Not far from there uphill, I found the boulder of "Tropicaux", which was more or less where I expected it to be, and it was dry as well. After a few attempts though, I just couldn't see myself reaching the high slopers, and it was only after I briefly tried "Trop de Piquette" just left of it, that I noticed that I might be able to use the nice small 'colonette' as a toehook and use compression between the arete and the toehook to reach the high sloper. To my surprise it turned out very well and after perfecting my right foot placement, I was able to get to it. The next struggle apparently was letting go of the toehook without swinging too hard and slipping off the sloper. I persisted, and made it count about half an hour later. Quite physical, slightly morpho, but a really nice problem that I enjoyed a lot.
Knowing that today is a public holiday here in France, I had been keeping an eye on the weather forecast and saw potential for going back to "Mojo Rising (assis)" and spend a fourth session on it, secretly hoping it would be the last despite enjoying that quiet isolated spot where the boulder is. My first session trying "Mojo Rising (assis)", was eleven days ago, right after I easily did the standing start. I was able to work out all the moves and even do the whole problem in two overlapping parts. A process that did take more than two hours though. I came back for my second session last Saturday and reached a new high point, falling off the first move in from the standing start. I was so close, but that almost three hours session had taken its toll, so I left again empty handed, but very pleased with the big progress. I knew it was only a matter of time. The day after, last Sunday, I went back for a third session, knowing I would probably be too tired from the day before, but I didn't want to loose any muscle memory. I wasn't able to reach my high point again, but the first and hardest part of the problem was becoming more and more consistent. It gave me a lot of confidence for my next session after a few days of rest. While having breakfast this morning, I was looking at the rain forecast and noticed that it was forecasted to start raining from about 11h until early afternoon. As I didn't want to take the risk to go in the afternoon and finding the boulder wet, I decided to leave immediately. I arrived at the boulder just before 10h, and it was perfectly dry and with near perfect conditions. I did the standing start on my first attempt as a warmup and the friction was amazingly good. Unfortunately, drops started falling, meaning the rain started much earlier than predicted, but as it only felt like some drops, I didn't worry about it too much. After a few attempts, I managed to reach my high point again, didn't slip off the right hand crimp and calmly prepared for the far move to the high sloper. I had done the top part easily barely fifteen minutes ago and expected it to be only a formality. I went for the sloper and slid off! Having stayed under the overhang, I didn't realize how much of rain drops had already fallen out of the sky and had made the slopers of the top part of the boulder soaking wet. I had two choices; go home and come back later in the afternoon, or wait it out and try to keep the holds of the first part dry using two towels I had with me. I chose the second option and decided to be patient, knowing that the rain shouldn't last too long. more than an hour and a half later, it seemed liked the rain had finally stopped and I went up the other side of the boulder to dry the top part. Both towels were soaking wet when I was finished, but at least the top part was climbable again and somehow, the friction on the very bad sloper left hand at the first part, felt better than before. Seventeen minutes later, I topped it out! (I know it was seventeen minutes, because my Sony camera creates a new file on the memory card every seventeen minutes or every 2GB).
"Mojo Rising (assis)" definitely felt like one of the hardest problems that I ever did in the forest up to now. It took me 4 sessions and maybe 50 attempts or more. Personally, I would say this is rather 8A, but as usual, every boulder feels different for everyone.
Fontainebleau - Petit Rempart - Mojo Rising (assis) 7C(7C+)
If anyone knows how to prevent a Sony camera from creating a new .MTS video file on the memory card every 2 GB or about every 17 minutes (which causes a glitch each time), please let me know. It's a Sony HDR-CX405. It sucks when it happens right into a successful ascent.
I was hoping to go back to Petit Rempart today to continue with "Mojo Rising (assis)", but that hope dissipated as soon as I woke and noticed how sore my body felt. The three hours of working it yesterday had taken its toll and it didn't make any sense to back today already. Still eager to climb though, I wanted to go somewhere close to home, like the quick drying Justice de Noisy, which kind of limited my choice in boulders. Having done most medium hard problems in the close vicinity, I started looking for some short traverses and ended up at "Mnémotechnique". Bad slopers that required some rebrushing, but not too long and seemingly positive for the fingers. Against my expectations, it felt like quite a nice problem, with two tricky parts on very bad slopers, separated by a good jug, allowing for a short rest.
Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Mnémotechnique 7B
Another traverse that looked quite nice on bleau.info, was "Geppetto par Pinocchio", but when I arrived at the boulder, it just looked too long and I didn't feel like wearing myself down after having done "Mnémotechnique" moments before. The much shorter version though, "Pinocchio (assis droite)" looked really nice and didn't even look a traverse at all. It just follows a very logical crack with underclings for about a meter to then top out at the prow. Definitely worth four stars in my opinion.
Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Pinocchio (assis droite) 6C+(7A)
It rained quite a lot yesterday and even though it lasted until deep in the night, there was a lot of wind, so I was quite confident this morning that "Mojo Rising" in Petit Rempart would be dry already. The boulder was indeed completely dry when I arrived, and the friction even felt really good; so good that I topped "Mojo Rising" with relative ease on my second warmup attempt. It gave me confidence for the much harder sitstart, which was the main reason for my visit to the area. I worked hard on it for about three hours, short breaks included, am able to do all the moves and even did the boulder in two overlapping halfs, so I knew it would just a matter of time and having a lucky shot. After three hours though, I ran out of 'mojo' and had to let it go for the day. I will go back soon, hoping to finish it then.
I am not broken, nor did I break anything, but I am not keen on crowds or people around me, so I guess I do am a bit a-social. "Fracture Asocial" in Coquibus Rumont has both in its name though. Every time I passed that big boulder, I had a look at it and told myself that I should come back for this especially, but that moment never came, until this morning when went to Coquibus Rumont with only "Fracture Asociale" as a plan. When I felt the holds and started working the moves separately, my first impression was that this might take a while. I started with trying the topout, which went pretty well, the first move went as well, but the moves in between the start and the lip of the overhang felt hard and made me doubt about a an ascent happening today. It was mainly the move to the flat undercling that gave trouble and it didn't feel like I could stick it, until I decided to take a small intermediary in the crack instead of making a big move directly, completely out of balance. To my big surprise, it worked out and I decided to give it real attempt from the start. I didn't expect to stick the flat undercling again, but when I did, I carried on, trying to not slip out of it as it felt like that could happen any moment, even more when I stuck the move to the lip. I knew that if I could stay on until my right foot was locked, that I should be able to finish. I stayed on, locked my right foot and executed the final moves with regained confidence. A true beauty this one!
Helen (Dudley) reminded me yesterday that "Wolverine" in Apremon Désert was on my radar. I had only tried a few times, very briefly, because I could never remember any beta videos and no possibility to view any when being there as I have no phone reception. It was actually only yesterday evening when I was looking at some videos, that I noticed the kneebar that everyone was using, a method that never came to me when I was at the boulder. I watched the videos again this morning right before I left home, and tried to remember as much as I could. It was still early when I arrived at Apremont Désert and as expected, I was the only on there, just how I like it. Unfortunately, I could only remember little parts of the different betas that I watched, but I knew that the kneebar was key and started working around it. Not being sure which knee, left or right, was used, I switched the kneepad from one knee to the other a few times, only to conclude that I needed both knees on different parts of the problem. The beta that I figured out around it, made me arrive at the edge with my wrong hand, but luckily I remembered a video from Nathaleigh, who went feet first to be able to switch hands. Which is what I ended up doing. I only have one kneepad, and on my attempt to determine on which knee it would be most useful, I suddenly found myself at the edge, my fingers felt slippery, but I went for it, switched hands and topped out with mild despair.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Désert - Wolverine 7C
In the meantime, a big group of about 30 to 40 people had gathered around the big boulder of "Le Pilier du Désert" in the center of the area. Obviously it was a club of some kind and to avoid climbing with a crowd, I decided to leave, but stopped at the boulder of "Obélix" and flashed "Obélix (gauche)" to finish up my session. Call it superstition or whatever you want, but maybe, just maybe, having my towel back gave me luck ?
I was disappointed this morning in Franchard Meyer when I opened my crashpad; my dirty towel/cloth was missing and the only place where I could have left it was last Wednesday at "Chocolat" in Justice de Noisy. Jason (Kester) and his wife Helen (Dudley) were there too though and as they left after me, I sent them a text message asking if they had seen it by any chance. The whole thing got me kind of out of my focus and I had a really bad session. On the way back to the car, I consolidated myself with a flash of "Wu-Tang (gauche)" in Cuisinière Crête Sud. Around the same time, I got answer from Helen who confirmed that Jason had noticed my towel and had taken it. As I had to pass through Arbonne on my way back, I stopped by and was reunited with my cloth and Helen got me an idea for something to try tomorrow. Thanks again to Jason and Helen!
Fontainebleau - Cuisinière Crête Sud - Wu-Tang (gauche) 7A
Due to other important matters, I couldn't find the time to write a a blog post yesterday, so here it goes today. Last week, after I did "Hobby (accroupi)", I tried the isolated "Aragorn" and was able to do all the moves except for the second one. The first few moves require constant body tension and even though I knew that I would be able to do it, I didn't have enough energy left then. "Aragorn" kept spinning in my mind the whole week and I was determined to go back on Saturday, yesterday. I was early, so it was still nice and fresh when I started warming up and I immediately felt the difference in friction on the bad slopers. My main focus after warming up went of course to the second move, but I was struggling and became frustrated with the small ledge used for the heels. After a while though, I decided to put on a pair of older shoes that I always carry with me and surprisingly, I stuck the second move with them. Somehow, I was able to keep the heelhooks much better with the old pair. I knew that I had a chance now and was able to send it immediately after. The boulder of "Aragorn" doesn't look like much, but the problem is so much nicer than the initial impression.
Bouldering is my hobby, and that's exactly what I went to do in Apremont Brûlis where I wanted to try "Hobby (assis)", or rather "Hobby (accroupi)", the crouching start. After I had done the standing start in March 2018, I did briefly try the sitstart, but as it is physically impossible for me or my arm span to start the way as was described, I gave up after at most ten minutes, realizing that it was just too morpho. Obviously I am not the only one with that problem and it was after I saw a video of Manuel (Marquès) doing a semi-sit/crouching start, that I decided to go back for it. I warmed up by repeating the standing start, which didn't go as quick as I thought, but at least it served as a good warmup and it gave me back the muscle memory for in case I would come from the crouching start. The crouching start is still only just within my reach, so I can imagine that for smaller climbers, unfortunately even that one will be nearly impossible. I love my hobby and I really liked this problem a lot.
Sometimes it's difficult to choose where to go for a climb, so I browsed bleau.info and stumbled upon "Caresseur de Pierre" in Apremont Butte aux Peintres, a problem that I never tried, because I didn't understand it. This time, I decided to give it some time and try to figure it out. When I arrived at the area though, the boulders still felt damp-ish and I feared that I had made the wrong choice. As "Caresseur de Pierre" is located on the other side of the hill, I still had hope for it to be in better conditions. To my luck, it was, but the very bad slopers slopers at the end had to be cleaned again. When I was done cleaning, I soon discovered that the move to slopers was morpho and I didn't seem to get even close to best part of it, so I focused on starting with the sloper and worked out the topout, which was way harder than I had imagined and it took quite a while before I had it figured out and done it separately. It gave me confidence for doing the actual problem when I would miraculously get the sloper when coming from below. I did make progress and finetuned my body position until it suddenly stuck and I was able to top out, albeit not without a struggle on the mantle. This felt more like 7B+ to me in these mediocre conditions.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Butte aux Peintres - Caresseur de Pierre 7B(7B+)
Next up, even though my right elbow was hurting pretty bad due to last week's injury, I moved to the "Psykokwak" boulder, where I wanted to try "Hervé Gourdel".
Hervé Gourdel apparently was a 55 year old French mountain guide when he was kidnapped on September 21, 2014 by the Jund al-Khilafa group in Algeria, which had pledged allegiance to IS. His death was made public by a video three days later, he was beheaded.
The problem "Hervé Gourdel" sitstarts all the way on the right and traverses on very bad slopers to the left to finish in "Psykokwak". While working out the moves, I did a logical standing start with bad slopers, a couple of moves in from the original sitstart, and topped out. As it is a logical standing start, 7B-ish on itself, I decided to keep the video.
Coming from the sitstart adds a couple of moves, not very hard, but enough to already loose quite some chalk off my hands, making the next moves on the slopers much more difficult. After a few attempts, I climbed past the crux, and still fell off the very last move as I was too pumped. I took a longer break and finished it right after it.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Butte aux Peintres - Hervé Gourdel 7C(7B+)
I did "COP 21" back in 2015, just before it was made public and only went back for the right exit once soon after. Somehow I had forgotten about it for a few years and only recently thought about going back to this beautiful overhang. Despite it being almost eight years ago, I remembered the overhang sequence quickly and focused on practicing the hard morpho topout. Yesterday however, I injured my right elbow, presumably a tendon, while trying "Le Bon Sens" in Rocher Cailleau, but I decided to ignore the pain, which I was able to do while climbing, but paid for it between attempts and even more after having done "COP 21 (droite)". I should probably listen to my body now and hope for a quick elbow/tendon recovery.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts Sud - COP 21 (droite) 7B+(7C)
Trying to stay ahead of the upcoming heat again today, I left quite early to Apremont Envers. It didn't cool down a lot during the night and it was clear that even in the morning it wasn't going to be a session trying too hard problems. Staying in the shade as much as possible, I warmed up in "Striés Guidés" which I did on my first attempt, but noticed that my camera's auto focus had decided to go out of focus and focus on the dust particles that were on the lens. Not knowing when exactly it got out of focus that much, I decided to do "Striés Guidés" again. I didn't mind it too much, because it's a fun problem and I was nicely in the shade for most part. Nevertheless, trying the much harder "C'est Chouette" wasn't an option in this heat.
Moving to another part of the area, I found "Paul's Boutique" to be shady enough and gave the conventional start, with both hands in the undercling, a go. It took me two attempts and I wasn't mad about it because it was starting to get way too hot again, even in the shade.
Despite the heat, I felt like climbing after dinner and while thinking about where to go nearby, "Ventri Lock" in Roche aux Sabots came to mind. I had briefly tried it in 2018 after doing the easier right exit, but couldn't figure out a working method and I had forgotten about it since. This evening, with nothing else in mind, I took my time to work out the second part and found a way. Doing the whole thing from the start was still a battle due to the intense heat and the absence of even the slightest breeze. It was hot and it felt hard when I managed to finish it, but "Ventri Lock" might as well be 7B with mild temperature and better conditions. Hard to say, but a very fun climb after all.
Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots - Ventri Lock 7B+
Yesterday, Pieter and I projected "La Main Bleue" in Rocher du Télégraphe and even though I had worked out the moves and even did the problem in two overlapping parts, by the time I wanted to give it some real send attempts, the sun was shining full on the side of the boulder where you have to use a couple of bad slopers and warmed up my hands way too much to the point that they felt swollen and I fell two times off the last hard move. We had to leave it behind and keep it as an Autumn or Winter project when the temperature is much lower. This morning, we met up in Boissy aux Cailles with the intention to try "Mini Chelem", in the big roof of Boissy Le Plaid. We arrived early and the temperature was nice and cool under that big roof. The holds were dry and we warmed up with the topout of "Mini Chelem" to avoid any surprises that might pop up when coming from the start. We took our time to work out the moves and as soon as I had done them separately, I was able to send it straight away. I didn't expect it to go down that soon, but had a nice time executing those beautiful moves. Pieter needed much more time to work out the moves, especially for the first one, but somwhat unlike him, he persisted and kept on trying until he stuck it and continued his way to the top. I think I was more happy for him than I was for me when I topped out. It was nice shared moment of joy.
Fontainebleau - Boissy Le Plaid - Mini Chelem 7B
We then briefly tried "Epuration Technique", but no longer being in the cool shade of the roof, the temperature was too high for us both to fully commit and we called it a day. When we then noticed "Balle Perdue" right next to it, we unpacked again and decided to go for a small bonus. I got the bonus quickly, but Pieter had trouble reaching the sloper and gave up after a few attempts. After all, we got what we came for with "Mini Chelem".
I had planned to go and try "Alien" again on Wednesday evening, but when an unexpected opportunity turned up to go back this evening and try "Alien" without having to keep an eye on time, I decided to take it. As I hadn't eaten anything yet today and didn't want to climb with a full belly neither, I ate a handful of dried raisins for some quick sugar, and set off. The conditions appeared better than two days ago, so I setup the camera and immediately went for it. My warmup attempt went smooth and just when I had the last hold, I somehow came off, but I didn't let it get to me. Fully aware that the sugar level would go down pretty fast, I took a five minute break, breathed deep in and out through my nose, like my older sister advised and went for it again. It went smooth until I got into "Vandale", where I almost fell off, but I kept it together, regained my focus and topped out. I needed a few minutes to let it sink in. Really happy to have done this beauty that long ago seemed impossible to me!
Falling off the last move of "Alien" in Rocher Cailleau several times yesterday, I thought it would it be good idea to work on my endurance, so it was a good thing that I was meeting up with Olaf (Deppe) again at the "Bicarburation" roof. There were still a few lines going to the right that I still had to do, and all of them require some endurance, especially with the worst slopers being at the end. The warmup in "A l'Endroit" went fast, and gave me confidence for the few other lines taking the same exit.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - A l'Endroit (retour) 7A+
I tried "Le Bi se Marque (droite)" a few times last time we were there, but always fell off the last move where the slopers are the worst. Now that the conditions were much better and as I knew what to do, it went down on my first attempt today.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi se Marque (droite) 7B
"Le Bi Yo Masse" only needed one attempt as well.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi Yo Masse 7B(7B+)
Finally, "Le Bi Haut (droite)" went on my third attempt, only because I missed the slopey hold that you can't see, but have to dyno to, on the first two attempts. This session definitely counted as a good endurance training.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi Haut (droite) 7B+
Olaf again made huge progress in "Bicarburation" and at least two times it looked like he was going to stick the crux. The second good attempt was unfortunately interrupted by a slip of the finger. If that wouldn't have happened, he would have surely finished it. He's got this.
It was a very hot day yesterday and according my weather app, it looked like the same for today, with temperature not dropping below 20°C during the night. Trying to avoid the most heat, I left early this morning to Apremont Bizon and more particularly the far end of the sector, Bout de Bizons. It was a long time ago since I was there last and after walking detours through dense fern fields with ferns up to almost 3m high, I finally found the boulder of "Silver Héraut" again. My intention was to spend some time trying to figure out the start of "Le Pan d'Or", something that I hadn't succeeded in last time. Unable to immediately figure it out again, I warmed up starting what seemed the most logical way under the roof and topped out in "Silver Héraut". For all I care, this could also be named "Le Pan d'Or (raccourci)".
Finally, after spending quite some time rebrushing the pillar of the start of "Le Pan d'Or", I ended up finding a way to start. In the meantime, I had felt some drops of rain, but it didn't look like it was going to be anything bad. A couple of attempts later, I topped "Le Pan d'Or", taking my brush stick and small ventilator with me, unwillingly.
Fontainebleau - Apremont Bizons - Le Pan d'Or 7B+
Only a few minutes later, the occasional drops turned into proper rain to the point I had to take shelter under the roof. About half an hour later, it still hadn't stopped raining and I realized that waiting to try "Electrum" was no longer an option. I remained under my shelter until I thought I saw a window. Thinking I would have enough time to get back to the car, I packed up and left, only to find myself soaking wet after 30m wading back through those high wet ferns. To make things even worse, the window closed and made way for really heavy rain when I was halfway without any place to shelter nearby.
Public holiday today, so some time for climbing. I had the impression that my body was worn out, so I left to Buthiers Nord with a couple of options to try, but without any expectations. My first option was the "Matrix Revolution - La Matrice" combination, the last line on that boulder that I still had left to do. Starting as for "Matrix Revolution" and traversing to the right to exit in "La Matrice" seemed like a physical challenge, especially after the hard physical crux of "Matrix Revolution". Even though quite some ago already, I did still remember haw hard and physical the crux of "Matrix Revolution" was. Working out the second part first, proved that this was still quite physical as well until arriving in "La Matrice". I didn't have very high hopes. Another climber, Matthieu, had joined me at the boulder for trying "Matrix", which was quite welcome as it forced me to take regular breaks and preserving enough energy and power. The starting holds of the sitstart were damp and by the time I had to do the crux, my hands were already dirty and slippery, so I first focused on doing it from the standing start, just at the crux. I knew what to do at the second part very well by now, so when I stuck the crux using the friction of my forearms to limit the swing, when coming from the standing start, I decided to continue and top it out. This on itself is only a tiny bit less hard then when coming from the sit, if at all.
Fontainebleau - Buthiers Nord - Matrix Revolution - La Matrice (debout) 7C(7B+)
It did bother me not having the problem from the sitstart, so after a short break, I covered the low starting holds with a piece of cloth and gave it an attempt. The cloth helped a lot and my hands were dry and clean when I got into the standing start. I stayed focused, stuck the crux again, again while using forearm friction, climbed on to the end and topped out again, this time it was from the sit.
Fontainebleau - Buthiers Nord - Matrix Revolution - La Matrice 7C
Another fun session in the roof of "Bicarburation" today with Olaf (Deppe). This long low roof has so many lines on it that it could almost an aera on itself, featuring a hard circuit. The only problem with it is that you need to make sure to remember which problem you are trying and that you don't get lost, as this is exactly what happened today when I went for "Le Bi Haut Woman". After the crux, I seemingly forgot what I was doing and near the end of "A l'Envers", I realized that I was too far passed the part where I should have gone left and topout there. I tried to go back, but it took too long and I was out of power. It was fun, regardless. On my second attempt, I did take the correct turn and finished "Le Bi Haut Woman".
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi Haut Woman 7B+(7C)
The next one that I wanted to try was "Le Bi se Marque (droite)", and even though I could easily get through the first part, I fell off the one before last move a couple of times. The slopers way left weren't completely dry and the conditions on them were not good enough for me. It seemed pointless to continue trying it in those conditions, so I ended my session with a repeat of "Le Bi se Marque" itself, just because it's such a fun problem. Olaf reached a milestone as he was able to climb the "Bicarburation" crux and on to the topout, meaning that he has now "Bicarburation" in two overlapping parts. It's only a matter of time and a bit of luck now for him to climb the whole line. It's definitely within his reach now and it has been great to see him making progress over the days we climbed together in the roof.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi se Marque 7A+ (repeat)
It was raining when I got out of bed this morning and it didn't look like there would be any climbing today, but I was patient and worked in the garden until around noon when the rain had stopped and the sun came through. The heat of the sun made it dry quickly and I decided to go to Mare aux Joncs in the Coquibus area, hoping to try "Le Tri-Phasé", knowing that most of the boulder was facing South. It all still looked very wet and when I felt that also the pockets under the roof were wet, I realized that those would not be dry today and didn't bother waiting for it. Instead, I continued on to look "La Flèche Rouge", which, according to its description, is facing South-East. Unfortunately, the boulder was shaded by the trees and it looked still very wet, but when I noticed that the parts that did get sun were drying fast, I helped a hand with a small and silent ventilator that I had taken with me. I was patient and about half an hour later, I could start working out the first couple of moves while the top continued the drying process. The first few moves turned out to quite morpho and I couldn't do the same moves as the opener, Jarno Zwiebel, without hitting my face against the rock, so I had to come up with some intermediary moves to be able to reach the middle of the boulder. By the time I had the lower part worked out, the upper one was dry and I decided to give it a real attempt. Surprisingly, I only needed two attempts to top out. This problem is totally my style and a true beauty. My patience was rewarded generously.
Fontainebleau - Mare aux Joncs - La Flèche Rouge 7B(7B+)
Eager for a short climb after work, I went to Rocher des Potets, walked straight to the boulder of "Block Down" in a remote part of the small area and flashed it without much effort. Quite soft for the grade, but fun to have done.
Fontainebleau - Rocher des Potets - Block Down 7A
"Hack Value" just right of it, on the same boulder, needed a second attempt, due to a stupid foot slip on the first. Another quick win.
Fontainebleau - Rocher des Potets - Hack Value 7A+
Two quick wins, but the one-mover of "Le Grand Vide" slammed the lid on m nose. Not sure if I will keep this on my list.
It's the last weekend of my three weeks vacation, also known as staying at home without work obligations, and I could feel my body being really tired yesterday when me and Pieter got our asses whipped by the boulders that we chose in Cassepot Roches Grises. We left the area without any topout, but fun nevertheless. This morning, I felt more rested, but to be on the safe side for the morale, we went to Gorges du Houx Parjure so I could show Pieter some really nice less hard problems and hopefully do some repetitions of problems that I had done back in 2016. We started with the very nice overhang of "Tribune", back in 2016 still graded 7B, but now 7A+. Even though I repeated it quickly, it could have stayed 7B in my opinion. Pieter needed more time to work out the moves, and when it was all done, executed every move from the start with style and topped out "Tribune" as well. The morale scale was back into 'good'.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Parjure - Tribune 7A+(7B) (repeat)
I really wanted Pieter to try "La Diagonale du Fou", and even though I slipped off the last hold after the dyno, we had to throw in the towel after more than an hour of working in it. It didn't let the morale go down though. To finish today's session, we made a small detour to find the isolated small roof of "Première Vague Caniculaire". I almost flashed it, made it on my second attempt, followed by Pieter.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Parjure - Première Vague Caniculaire 7A
The slightly extended version went down on our first attempt, and while very fun to do, it didn't feel like it added enough to give it the extra '+' in the grade. In any case, it was nice and good for our morale to end the session as such.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Parjure - Première Vague Caniculaire (rallongé) 7A+(7A)
The past few days it had been raining a lot, not just a lot, but really a lot, like a monsoon. At least it's good for the forest, even though I doubt that it still wasn't enough. After all this rain, I didn't expect a lot from climbing today, so I didn't really set any expectations besides a few problems that I wanted to try in Franchard Hautes Plaines, I know, not the most ideal area after rain. I especially wanted to try "Deux Faux Plis en Plats Réels" but warmed up on the nearby boulder of "Pulpfriction". The original way, as done by convention by the opener, turned out to be a true wake-up call for my body. A hard first move, followed by a very hard second move where you almost have to plank sideways to be able to reach toehooks on the right, and ending with a delicate finish in a small slab. Fun problem nevertheless, and definitely worth 7B if you ask me.
Even though I couldn't even get my butt off the ground when I very briefly tried "Deux Faux Plis en Plats Réels", and I expected it to be not much better this time, I did manage to do the first few moves into position for the awkward dyno. The dyno itself seems to be the real crux here and I gave up on it quite quickly. This classic problem has made it back on to my list though. To finish the session, I moved over to the boulder of "Coup d'Ignorance", only to find it with wet starting holds of the original sitstart. As it didn't look like they would be dry any time soon, I worked the last part of "Coup d'Ignorance (gauche)" and discovered that the standing start with the arete felt like a good 7A+ on itself. I'm quite sure that the original sitstart must be a hard 7B. Anyway, the standing start with the arete was definitely worth it, very fun to do on its own.
I arranged with Olaf (Deppe) to meet again at the "Bicarbuartion" roof so I could join him with finally trying the full line. Yesterday I was shut down by "Equilibrium", always falling off the last and hardest move, so my fingers were wrecked and I didn't feel in good shape when I arrived at the roof. Nevertheless, I didn't set any expectations for sending "Bicarburation", but rather was there with a mindset seeing where I will end up. After having done "A l'Envers" a couple of days ago, I still remembered the moves of the crux, but took some time to work it out again, so there would be less room for doubt when getting there from the start. When an English couple arrived with their kid and dog, Olaf's dog and theirs got into a short fight, hard enough for the English dog to be wounded on its paw and while they were all taking care of it, I used the occasion of the quietness at the roof itself to do a first try in "Bicarburation" from the start. I climbed through the first part quickly and was still feeling better than expected when I arrived at the bat hang rest, so I decided to not stay there too long, chalked up one hand and continued on. To my pleasant surprise, I stuck the crux, stayed calm and focused, and without seemingly too much effort worked my way to the end and topped out. It took several minutes to realize and sink in that I had just done "Bicarburation".
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Bicarburation 8A
Somehow, the feeling of not being in good shape had dissipated and thanks to adrenalin, my fingers didn't hurt anymore. There are stil so many variations on that roof and I chose to try "A l'Endroit", which I was able to flash.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - A l'Endroit 7A+(7A)
In between a few short rain showers, I finished my session with a flash of "Le Bi Yo Back". Unfortunately, the rain showers followed closer and closer to each other and the boulder became too wet to attempt another line. Still more than enough to come back for.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi Yo Back 7A+
After a lot of rain yesterday, I didn't expect much when drove to Beauvais Nainville. Especially when I was walking up to the South slope of the hill, as good as all hope perished by the sight of only wet boulders. On top of the hill it was dry, but there wasn't much that I felt like trying. I left my stuff near the boulder with "Anthracite" and almost convinced that it would be in vain, I walked down the North slope towards "L'Epée de Sable". Oriented North, I was certain to find it wet, but against all odds, found it to be dry from bottom to top. I decided to get my stuff and try the right sitstart of "L'Epée de Sable". Working out the moves of the bottom didn't take very much time and as I had already done the upper part before, I didn't bother spending energy on it. I turned on the camera, and unexpectedly executed all the moves and topped out, even though I had the feeling to fall off any moment at the last very far move. That one was much more reachy than I remembered.
Last week, I had agreed with Olaf (Deppe) to meet him again at "Bicarburation" roof, in Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie, when he would work the line again. My goal before trying that long line, was to first try the slightly shorter "A l'Envers", which has the same crux. At least, if I would be able to that one, it would be a step closer to "Bicarburation" itself in the future. We both worked in the same crux with the two finger pockets, which helped in defining and redefining beta and learning from each other and to take needed rests in between attempts. After some time, and after progressing slowly but steadily, I decided to always start from the start of "A l'Envers" instead of two moves in. I was confident about the first two moves, and knew that if I would get passed the crux, I shouldn't fall off anymore as long as I stayed focused. I just didn't want to do the crux and then come off to try from the actual start, risking to not being able to repeat the crux again. This turned out to be the right decision, because during one of those attempts, I suddenly managed to stick the crux, losing a lot of power and energy, but I stayed calm and continued on to the end. It was a great feeling to achieve this goal, it was in the pocket. A short break later, I still quite easily managed to do the first part of "Bicarburation" until the bat hang rest, the point that is two moves in from "A l'Envers". It means that doing the whole line should be within reach, even though I will have to learn how to rest properly and actually regain energy instead of losing some. Olaf had a good session with again good progress. "Bicarburation" might be in his pocket not very long from now.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - A l'Envers 7C+(7C)
There are a few problems that have always been a mystery to me. One of them being "Katagena" in Gorge aux Châts, or at least the original sitstart as done my Manuel Marquès at the time. Starting with the crimps under the overhang and both feet deep always seemed impossible. It seems that there one or two broken holds under the overhang and possibly made it way more difficult to start as Manuel originally did, at least for the grade that it was supposed to be. Bart (Van Raaij) noticed that too, and has done a logic standing start at the lip of the overhang, giving it 7A+. For me personally, this felt closer to 7A than 7A+ as I was able to flash it starting that way.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Katagena 7A+
When I decided to use the left part of the pedestal for the feet, it made the moves towards the lip possible, but for some reason, I found the second part that I flashed minutes before, suddenly much harder and it made me rethink my first impression of the standing start being 7A. Coming from the sitstart and using the left part of the pedestal for the feet seemed like soft 7B or hard 7A+.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Katagena (assis avec le socle gauche) 7B(7A+)
Another one of those mystery problems, "Piège à Loup", happens to be down the hill near "Katagena", and for Bart it turned out to be a similar mystery. Starting with both hands on the low horizontal crimp in the overhang feels totally impossible, especially for the given grade. No matter what I ever tried, even starting with one hand on the crimp and the other on the arete on the right, there was no way to get away from there. Bart did another start with the arete for the right hand and a high sloper for the left. Trying it this way, I did it on my second attempt and can't say that it was harder than soft 7B this time. It feels however, more like doing a static start of "L'Evasion du Loup", hence I decided to name it as such as in my humble opinion, it differs too much from the "Piège à Loup", if it was actually ever done in the way it is described. I have my serious doubts about that.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - L'Evasion du Loup (départ statique) 7B(7A+)
Being right above the boulder of "Chien Errant", and still eager to climb some more, I decided to try that one, despite it being a long traverse. It was a good occasion to work a bit on my poor endurance and anti-style. The only time that I tried this traverse many years ago, I always fell already just after the first corner. This time, I could easily get to the last part where the hardest two moves are, basically the crux of this whole traverse. After falling at the same spot four times in a row, I was pumped, but decided to give a last attempt, really focusing on my breathing time. It seemed to have helped, because it was the attempt that I made it to the end and topped out.
Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Chien Errant 7A+
Pieter and I wanted to do something different and decided to go try "Pure Line" in Rocher du Télégraphe. What attracted us the most about this seven meters long crack, was the fact that it would definitely be less hot in the shady cave where the crack runs through from start to finish. "Pure Line" being a crack that can only be climbed using proper hand jams, makes it a very atypical for Bleau, an otherwise almost non existent style of climbing in the wider region. Unlike Pieter, I had never tried such style of climbing and he had to show me how to tape the hands for protection. I have to be honest and admit that I totally underestimated this style of climbing. It was way harder than I had anticipated and we only managed to do half moves, in other words, we could lift our asses from the ground in some places, let go of one hand, but not even lock it back in the crack. Even after an hour of trying, there was barely any progress. I must say that I have gained huge respect for those that are to climb in this way. Big up to the few who can climb this whole seven meters long crack, I am definitely not one of them.
Trying one of the last moves of "Pure Line", pictured by Pieter.
After a while, we both agreed that this wasn't our thing and walked back along the blue path on the top of the hill, knowing that we would pass by the dangerously exposed boulder of "Rascar Capac". Due to the scary aspect of the uncertain topout and the scare factor, we had a little doubt about trying "Rascar Capac", but as we were there now, I decided to give it a go and was able to flash it with relative ease. Pieter didn't feel certain enough about the last and most scary move, so gave it a pass. I still tried the harder "Bachibouzouk", and even though I'm sure that I can do it easily, I also chickened out on that one. Maybe another time, with better skin and a fresher body, and maybe a second spotter.
Fontainebleau - Rocher du Télégraphe - Rascar Capac 7A
I was supposed to take rest day from climbing today, to allow my skin to recover, but that thought only lasted until yesterday evening, when Pieter let me know that he would be today. He proposed to go to Gorges du Houx to climb in the shade of the cave where "Gargantoit" is located, coincidently the exact same idea that I had in mind after I realized that I would be climbing today anyway. Our plans were almost canceled due to rain during the night and this morning, but it started drying quickly as soon as the sky cleared up. When we arrived at the cave, we were delighted to notice that "Gargantoit" was completely dry, as if it hadn't rained at all. I had already done the regular standing start of "Gargantoit" in November 2016, but I wanted to try one of the sitstarts so it was obvious to try the standing start again as a warmup and to mentally prepare. It only took me three attempts to top it out again. As I had it already on video, I didn't film it, but added the one from back in 2016 below. Apparently it was freezing cold that day, which is a huge contrast with today.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx - Gargantoit 7A+(7A) (2016)
Being more attracted by the moves of the left sitstart of "Gargantoit", I worked out the moves quite fast and much sooner than expected, if at all, I worked my way all the way to the top. A magnificent problem that gets my five stars without a doubt. Almost immediately after, Pieter was able to finish the standing start as well.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx - Gargantoit (assis gauche) 7B+
Being there now and with still some juice left in me, we worked the start of the regular sitstart using the compression method. I was quite surprised to get back into the standing start quickly and decided to give it all I got for another top. Maybe a bit too soon, because I was completely pumped for the final move and couldn't hold it anymore. After a short break, I was able to take it down. Pieter made it into the standing start, but lacked the power and energy to go to the end. Both sitstarts totally fit my style. Good effort for a supposed rest day.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx - Gargantoit (assis) 7B+
Even though I had tried "Dissidence" in Buthiers Piscine a couple of times already, I never could give if the full attention and effort that it required due to humid holds under the roof, making it pointless to continue. But when Olaf told me that he had done it a few days ago and that the whole problem was perfectly dry, I decided to to head out there this morning and give it all I got. It was almost 10 o'clock when I arrived at the boulder this morning and the boulder was completely in the shade, which was a big advantage. Knowing the first part of the problem, I briefly worked out the second, hardest part and sooner than I expected, did all the moves, except for the actual topout. It didn't look like the latter should cause too much trouble, so I decided to give it some attempts from the start. The flapper that I pulled in my finger last week wasn't completely healed and when it opened up again and started bleeding after my second attempt, I was on the verge of giving up and coming back for it another day. Luckily, I took the decision to tape it up again and give it a few more go's. Two attempts later, I found myself on top of the boulder. It was barely half an hour after I had arrived. A very nice problem that can easily be done in the Summer.
I had a vague memory about the "Bicarbuartion" roof in Gorges du Hous Oiseau de Proie, being in the shade, but while walking towards it, I soon realized that it was a false memory somehow. As I hadn't planned on trying "Bicarburation" itself, but rather some of the shorter of the many lines, I didn't really bother too much about it being partly in the sun. I expected to be alone at the boulder, but it was a pleasant surprise that Olaf, a German friend that I met several years ago and occasionally bumped in to, was there too. He was working out separate parts of the very long "Bicarburation" and I was glad to join him for a climb in the roof, even though I had my mind set on other problems, starting with "Le Bi Haut". It took a while before I figured out how to get through the roof without swinging out, but once I did, the ascent followed fast. It was only when I looked on bleau.info for something else in the roof, that I discovered that I apparently already had done "Le Bi Haut" seven years ago, back in 2016, and even already a video of it. As it was in October of that year, it became clear why I remembered the roof being more in the shade.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi Haut 7B (repeat)
I apparently hadn't done "Le Bi Yo" yet, which has the same start, but with an exit in "Bicarbuartion", more to the left. It seemed like an obvious choice and after I quickly tried the last part, I sent "Le Bi Yo" immediately after it without it giving me any trouble or too much effort. I will go back to the roof soon to try some of the other harder and longer problems.
Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi Yo 7B
Bastille Day in France especially means public holiday, and it promised to be a hot one. I left early to Mont Simonet, but shortly after I started climbing, my skin wasn't really cooperative and I had to stop trying anything too hard. To make it even worse, I finally found a way to initiate the dynamic move of "Coïncident" but when I nearly stuck the sharp hold, I swung out and pulled a bad flapper on my right middle finger. I taped it up, but retrying "Coïncident" was out of the question. On the verge of despair, I strolled around until I found myself in front of "Aréopage", felt that the starting hold was okay for the flapper, and decided to give the direct version a try. I only had to try the first move twice to get the coordination and on my third attempt, stuck it and topped out. It felt like a consolation prize as I had hoped to get away with more, but at least it was better than nothing. The finger will need some time to heal, so I guess it's a good coincidence that I planned to visit family in Belgium this weekend.
Fontainebleau - Mont Simonet - L'Aréopage (direct) 7B
The intent of going to Le Calvaire and try some problems on the boulder of "Sombre", was to ensure climbing in the shade, but it turned out to have another very beneficial purpose. The thunderstorm that I only expected to arrive late this afternoon, was way early and around the time that I arrived at the boulder, the distant rumbling in the sky had come very close and the first rain drops had started to fall. Right after I put on my climbing shoes, the mild dripping turned into heavy rain and thunder and lightning had turned into a magnificent show of nature. I was lucky to stay dry in that small cave-like spot and was able to climb, but unfortunately not very long. When I managed to stick the crux move of "Morceau de Sable", the topout had become soaking wet. Luckily the last part climbs a quite easy blue on jugs, so didn't really have to worry about it. By then also, which was less fortunate, the rain on top of the boulder had accumulated enough for it start dripping through the roof and I had to move my stuff to better shelter. Climbing anything else had become pointless, so I waited for a window to head back to the car.
The temperature didn't drop below 22°C last night and when I left for climbing this morning, it already felt hot. My choice to try a few boulders on the North ridge of Cuvier Rempart turned out to be a bad one, so while looking for some shade, I ended up in Cuvier Nord where I was only able to do "Vibranium (placé)", an overhang that I had never seen completely dry during my many visits to the area a few years go. It was almost unfortunate that I flashed it, because after it, I was on the lookout for some doable problems in this heat. Finally, the heat took the upper hand and was tempted to go back home and dive our pool, which I did.
Fontainebleau - Cuvier Nord - Vibranium (placé) 7A
Last Saturday, I spent over two hours working "Trojan War" in Buthiers Tennis. It seemed out of my league for a long time, but I finally found the courage to spend some time on it. A steep overhang with pure compression on bad slopers does fit my style and after finishing my session on Saturday, I had worked out all the moves and fell off the last hard move a couple of times. I was close, but the energy and power was gone after that long session. I had been thinking about the whole week up to now and when the temperature dropped a yesterday and today, I couldn't resist going back to try and finish it off. It was again a long process where the hardest move, for me at least, was the right at the start, aiming for a good slopey hold in the crack left hand. I could finish the problem almost every time when started there, but failed many times sticking that move and when I did, I failed at the last move again several times. I was almost at the point to admitting defeat again and mentally prepared to let go of it again today, but then all of a sudden, it all went smooth and I could work my way to the top of this beautiful low problem. It was a long and hard battle, but I ended up winning the war.
