December 22, 2025 - I can't breathe.

After a rainy night, on Saturday I went to Rocher Saint-Germain for a walk in the wet forest and to have a look at the relatively new boulder "Les Fossoyeurs Insoumis". Even though the forest was soaking wet, it wasn't raining at that moment, and I decided to take my climbing bag and my thin Black Diamond gapstopper pad, just in case.
I didn't carry it in vain, because to my pleasant surprise, the lower holds were perfectly dry and even in very good conditions. The top was soaking wet, but at least I could start trying the moves from the start up to the last harder move of "Les Fossoyeurs Insoumis (gauche)". I spent about two hours of climbing, trying the lower section and made very good progress. I fell off the last harder move a couple of times, but that was okay, because with a soaking wet top, I didn't see myself finishing it anyway. At least I had been able to climb and I was determined to come back as soon it was less wet.
Yesterday, Sunday, it rained all day long, only to stop at around 22h. It gave me at least a bit of hope for today.

This morning, it looked pretty dry compared to yesterday and after some house chores, I went back to try "Les Fossoyeurs Insoumis (gauche)". The top was dry enough now, but unfortunately the lower holds were not in as good conditions as Saturday. Still remembering the moves from two days ago, I progressed quickly again and started getting close quickly. Unfortunately after an unexpected slip on one my better attempts, I fell hard, with my ribcage right onto my bigger wooden brush that was standing up straight in one of my shoes. I could feel the brush go in between my ribs and screamed out from the pain I was struck with. It hurt like crazy and I had a hard time breathing, making me fear that I might have broken a rib. Being so close to sending, I wasn't ready to give up though and kept on trying. Despite the pain, climbing went okay, but after each attempt, in need for air, I wasn't able to breathe deeply because of the pain. After a short break, I went for it again and somehow executed everything perfectly and stuck the last hard move. I struggled my way through to the top, and couldn't even feel happy. Instead, being out of breath made me want to breathe deeply, which I couldn't due to the pain. The joy came later.
Still now it's hurting a lot when I breathe, I'm surely in for a rough night.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Saint-Germain Centre - Les Fossoyeurs Insoumis (gauche) 7C+(7C)

December 14, 2025 - Take what I can.

The fog this morning was much more dense than yesterday and the air humidity was higher than ever. I realized it wouldn't make sense today to go try "Tempête Solaire" as there was no point in trying something hard again today. Instead, I chose for a safer option and went to Bois Rond Le Moine for something easier, less condition dependent.
Quite easily flashing both problems (on the same small boulder), the session was short, but I enjoyed the time in the forest nonetheless.
The first one that I flashed was "Rester de Marbre".

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Le Moine - Rester de Marbre 7A(6C+)

Immediately followed by "Regard Froid".
Both problems not hard for the grade, but I took what I could.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Le Moine - Regard Froid 7A

December 13, 2025 - Bleau is where my heart is.

The weather and climbing conditions have been very bad for at least a month, and the only few days that were climbable, happened to e during weekdays when I had to work. Even though it's part of the game, especially in this season, it had started to weigh down on my morale. I even went climbing indoors, something that I hadn't done for about five years, not counting the times when I climbed on my 35 degree home boulder wall in my barn. To keep busy and prepare myself for the first day where it would be possible to go try "Bleau's Heart (direct)" again, I had set the low crux of it as best as I could remember, on my home wall and had come to quite consistently doing the move.
This morning when I woke up, there was a dense fog, but my sandstone terrace was dry, and it looked like there might be a possibility to climb. Not expecting much, except for bad conditions, I decide to go to "Bleau's Heart", hoping to at least practice parts of the problem. I only took one crashpad as it didn't seem to make sense to carry a second one without knowing how the rock would feel. 
To my pleasant surprise, the boulder was dry and the fog was much less dense near the bottom of the hill, where the boulder is. I figured that doing some moves would at least be possible. I warmed up a bit and was able to repeat the second part of "Bleau's Heart" quickly. Strangely enough, the friction even felt very good. Looking at the crux move I realized that the 'copy' that I had set in my barn was much less hard than the real thing, but after only a few attempts, I was able to stick it after all. The whole problem suddenly was a real possibility and I decided to take a short rest while walking back to the car to get a second crashpad. I wanted to be able to climb without distractions or worrying about falling when I wanted to start doing real attempts again. Having the experience from a few months ago, I knew that missing the low crux move had a high potential of falling straight on the back, and even the last part, when the friction is less still has chance to fall off.
Back at the boulder with the second crashpad, I felt quite relaxed, I didn't have any so-called 'sending stress'. To make to keep as much friction as possible for the last part, I put on a base layer of liquid chalk from Chalk Rebels. I didn't want to fall off the very last move like last time. Still relaxed, without any real expectations for my first attempt of the day, I started climbing, stuck the crux move perfectly and kept calm while I executed the next moves, I knew that I could this part as long as I didn't loose the friction. I was flowing through the problem, had a minor fear of slipping off the last move, but it stuck and I was able to top out "Bleau's Heart (direct)". A true morale boost!

Fontainebleau - Petit Rempart - Bleau's Heart (direct) 7C

November 22, 2025 - Numbed out.

The temperature dropped significantly the past week, and we even had the first bit of snow but it melted quickly, making everything wet. Yesterday morning it was very foggy, but it looked dry and I met with Olaf to go for a climb. It was freezing cold, but the air was humid and without any sun, the cold just felt harsh. We had agreed to go the boulder of "Ecaille de Lune" in Gorges du Houx, but it was so cold that the rubber of our climbing shoes felt hard and didn't stick at all and our toes going numb in no time certainly didn't help, despite the conditions of the rock being quite okay.
We quickly gave up on "Ecaille de Lune" and turned our attention to "La Boîte Cachée" on the same boulder. We both had never tried it before and even though it doesn't look very attractive at first, it turned out to be a fun problem with some nice moves. The first part seemed quite difficult at first, trying to avoid touching the boulder in the back, but I quite quickly found a good working method, requiring constant body tension during the whole first half of the problem. I was glad to finish it, albeit with completely numbed out fingers by the time I got to the second, but easier part. Olaf was able to do all the moves, but will have to come back for it.

Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx - La Boîte Cachée 7A+

Today was wet and rainy all day.

November 16, 2025 - The ancient time.

It was extremely foggy this morning, but somehow there were some small sections without fog at all when I driving towards Nemours to meet Olaf for hopefully some climbing in Les Mammouths. The forest was wet, but the conditions of the boulders were very good. It's strange sometimes how good the conditions can be when you would think that it's a day without any potential for climbing. We apparently made a good choice for today. Olaf had decided to not climb a lot because he wanted to keep his skin and energy for the next two upcoming days. Monday and Tuesday look like days with good weather, cold and a high potential for very good conditions. He has been waiting for good conditions to go try his current big project, "Le Dolmen du Divin" in Rocher de Milly.
After almost cutting through my skin while trying "Gloire", we decided to move to the other side of the area to try a new very nice looking boulder, "La Prouhistoire", close to the Museum of the Prehistoric Time. The conditions on that side of the area were a bit less good, but still very climbable. The standing start gave some trouble for Olaf, mostly because of his mindset being fixed on the next days, but I got away with it on my second attempt. It could have been my first attempt, but I bumped into Olaf while taking the swing after the dynamic move.

Fontainebleau - Les Mammouths - La Prouhistoire 7A

The sitstart felt way harder than I thought it would, going off by the grade, but after slightly changing my method, I could move better and felt quite comfortable. Not long after, I also managed to top out from the sitstart. All nice moves that seemed to fit me quite well.
Olaf unfortunately didn't finish neither, but I appreciate how he was mainly there to keep me company. Much appreciated, as always.

Fontainebleau - Les Mammouths - La Prouhistoire (assis) 7A+

November 15, 2025 - Limestone playground in Bleau.

Nobody goes to Bleau to climb on limestone and even less when it's in a dirty cave with only drop offs. When you're already there though and everything is wet with even more rain to come during the day but eager to climb outside, the limestone cave of Grotte de Seine-Port offers a fun alternative to staying home or climbing inside. Olaf joined me and it was our first time there. In a way, it reminded of when I still lived in Belgium and I would drive around the Belgian Ardennes, looking to climb anything or anywhere that resembled bouldering. Often in small caves or small patches of rock, all mostly limestone, a rock type that isn't very suitable for bouldering.
The already opened lines in Grotte de Seine-Port all have drop offs, meaning that you have starting point, follow an imaginary line up to a jug that is considered as the final hold and then you drop off. No topping out onto the rock.

We wanted to start warming up with the easiest published line, "Jour de Pluie", but besides a few pictures that didn't tell a lot about the line, no video, and only a vague description, it was difficult to determine where it exactly started, how it went and even harder to determine where it ended. Based on this, we climbed what seemed logical and close to the proposed grade, but afterwards found out that what we did was not exactly "Jour de Pluie". We started like "Lendemain de Grêle", followed that line up to an obvious big hold and then sort of came back a bit more to the right, to end at a jug. Soft 7A, and for the time I named it "Jour de Pluie (droite)". Not claiming any first ascent, because the line is so logical that it's hard to imagine that it hasn't been done before.

Fontainebleau - Grotte de Seine-Port - Jour de Pluie (droite) 7A(6C+)

"Lendemain de Grêle" does have a picture with a drawn line on bleau.info, so it wasn't very hard to follow what we could see on the picture. After I did it on my first attempt, Olaf followed in my footsteps.

Fontainebleau - Grotte de Seine-Port - Lendemain de Grêle 7A+

The most obvious line, and probably also the nicest one that we tried, was "Le Plafond de Nandy". After I tried some of the moves separately, I quickly found a sequence, but remembering it was difficult with holds that are hard to see on this type of rock. We barely put any tickmarks, because with so many white spots in the limestone, we could hardly make out the difference between a tickmark and a white spot on the limestone. Nevertheless, I was able to climb it on my first attempt from the start, albeit with a bit of improvising near the end as I had already forgotten the sequence. Very fun to climb that line.

Fontainebleau - Grotte de Seine-Port - Le Plafond de Nandy 7B

Finally, we think we found out how "Jour de Pluie" was supposed to go, but if this is indeed the line, it definitely didn't feel easier than "Lendemain de Grêle".

Fontainebleau - Grotte de Seine-Port - Jour de Pluie 7A(7A+)

Grotte de Seine-Port is not great for climbing, but it was definitely worth the visit on a rainy day like today. It wasn't raining yet when we arrived, but by the time we finished our session, it was pouring hard. All the time the whole cave stayed completely dry. So, when you happen to be in Bleau during a rainy period and you're still eager to climb outside, I can recommend it as a fun alternative. With so many possibilities that one can imagine, it's a nice little limestone playground. Olaf and I will surely go back one day during a rainy period.

November 10, 2025 - One of Theo's best.

After yesterday's humidity, it seemed like a good choice to go to the 91.1 area today, which Olaf and I both agreed upon. My goal was to try "Philion (assis)", while Olaf's interest went to "Le Krill", which I had already done way back in 2016.
After I had done the standing start of "Philion" two months ago, it was only logical to try the sitstart. I had briefly tried the moves of the sitstart a few weeks earlier, in Theo's company, and I immediately agreed with his suggestion that it was of his nicest first ascents. The moves of the first part are beautiful and great to execute. It's almost unbelievable that this very nice and logical was never done before.
When I tried the sitstart two months ago, I had to stop quite quickly because of having lost so much skin on the standing start. I felt that it was possible with better skin though, and hopefully today would be the day.
The conditions were not great today, and after a few attempts, the nice left hand crimp started to feel a bit slippery and on one attempt I even completely dry fired out of it, being protected by Olaf spotting. As you have to hold that left hand crimp for quite a long time, doing several other moves in between, I wanted to figure out a way to do the problem quicker and tried the dyno from the low sidepull right hand instead of doing a couple of additional moves to be able to get into the standing start. The dyno felt possible that way, but did feel slightly harder and it was more difficult to aim for the right on the edge of the boulder. Luckily I'm not very bad in learning such kind of moves, and I managed to do the dyno that way not long after I first tried it as such.
A couple of attempts from the start later, I managed to keep it all together and finished "Philion (assis)". Truly one of Theo's best lines indeed.

Olaf was struggling a bit in "Le Krill", and while he took a short break, I managed to repeat it on my first attempt. Almost ten years after I did it for the first time. Could that have been a so-called 'retro-flash' ? Honestly I don't care, but I just wanted to use that word.
Olaf had to put a big fight in "Le Krill", and I watched in awe and suspense when he was about to top it out, paying special attention to his left that looked like it slip any moment for over half of the climb. He stuck it though and I shared his contentment when he came back down. Always nice to see such a big fight come to a good end.

To finish off the session, we briefly tried "La Porte de Grange" and the direct version respectively, but it didn't take long before the rain chased us away. Despite the rain, we had both achieved our personal goals for today and walked back the parking, relieved.

Fontainebleau - 91.1 - Philion (assis) 7B

November 09, 2025 - Denecourt n°10.

It's Autumn, and despite the still sometimes quite high temperature, the season is well represented by rain, humidity, and fog. Not good ingredients for good climbing days at all, but I try to get the short climbing windows where I see them.
Yesterday, I was going to meet Olaf, Jan and Tom for another session on "Bleau's Heart", but the rain came earlier than expected and we ended up walking around Petit Rempart instead, after which Jan and Tom decided to drive back home as the forecast didn't look good for the next day neither.

This morning there was very dense fog and everything looked wet outside. I still met with Olaf, but with the idea to do the blue walk around Rocher d'Avon, following the Sentier Denecourt n°10, from start to end. 
Even though it there was still a dense fog and the forest looking soaking wet, it wasn't raining, so I decided to take my climbing shoes, chalk bag and my thin Black Diamond Gapstopper pad that I could carry by hand. Out of experience with this kind of weather, I know that chances are low, but still existent to find a dry boulder here and there.
Already quite soon, we could see some dry boulders, in even quite good conditions, while others almost next to them were soaking wet. We couldn't see any pattern as to why that would be, but hey, at least we knew that there was some potential. As we were there to walk the whole blue path, I waited long , but as Olaf insisted, I decided to go for it on "Mekkera", near the end of the walk.
I had tried "Mekkera" the first time around 2013, but wasn't able to do it. It never became a real project, but over the years, I did try it again briefly maybe two times or so while being in the area for other reasons. I didn't have any expectations, but I thought it was worth another shot.

The dyno of "Mekkera" is not very far, but the position to push off from is very awkward and requires to move your body in a strange way in order to reach the top of the boulder. The hardest part though, is holding the big swing after catching the edge.
Somehow, this time, I could immediately feel that there was potential for doing it, and I got closer with each attempt. Then, suddenly, I managed to hang on while catching the swing and topped out. 
It was a nice little bonus to a wonderful walk through the forest with good friend Olaf and his dog Iva.

Fontainebleau - Rocher d'Avon Ouest - Mekkera 7A

November 02, 2025 - Making the best out of the weather.

Last weekend me and Jan got really close to doing "Bleau's Heart (direct)", and I even slipped off the very last move, at a point where I usually don't feel anymore.
Below, two of my best attempts of that day.

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After having spent six weeks in her house in the South of France, my mom decided to come for a short visit on her way back to Belgium and she arrived on Friday, intended to stay until Sunday after breakfast. It meant no climbing on Saturday, but rather going for a long walk, enjoying the beautiful autumn colors that the forest offers now. Climbing-wise, I didn't miss anything, because it rained until the afternoon, after which it stayed wet for the rest of the day. The long walk in the forest was marvelous, despite the rain.

This morning, after breakfast, Olaf and I agreed to meet later in the day at Rocher des Potets when the sky would clear up a bit. It definitely wasn't worth to go back to "Bleau's Heart" with the potentially very bad conditions. Our intention was rather to have a look at and maybe try a few of Theo's new problems.
By the time we arrived at the area, the wind was blowing hard and some boulders were climbable, way more than expected.  We started with trying "Le Sens Joue", which turns out to be very morpho. I was making quite good progress, but when some stupid movement hurt my back, I was forced to stop trying, so we headed to "La Jetéité". This one, I was able to flash, followed by Olaf doing it soon after.

Fontainebleau - Rocher des Potets - La Jetéité 7A

On our way back, we stopped another one from Theo, "Le Pilier de Soutien" in Jean des Vignes. Featuring a nice toehook and a weird dyno, I was able to finish it second go. Olaf was slightly out of his comfort zone, but right when he was making good progress, a rain shower made everything wet again, forcing us to end the session. Had a good and fun afternoon, though, with a good buddy!

Fontainebleau - Jean des Vignes - Le Pilier de Soutien 7A+

October 18-19, 2025 - We are all equal.

I didn't write anything yesterday, because after a great day with even greater company, I knew that another one like this was coming the day after, being today.
Yesterday, I met up with Olaf, Jan and Tom at Apremont Mare aux Biches. Olaf and I were there first, and while waiting for Jan and Tom, we played around a bit in "Onde Sensuelle". We both already did "Onde Sensuelle" three and five years ago respectively, but we were curious how the direct version, following the slopey arete, would feel. The scenery was perfect out there in the sun, which made it quite warm, causing the friction of the slopers to feel quite bad, but despite that, it was fun playing around on the boulder. 
After a whole week of climbing, Jan and Tom were taking a rest day, but joined us to keep us company. We had a great time. 
Olaf was having his 23rd consecutive of climbing, but quite easily flashed "Vive les Hommes (gauche)" on the backside of the boulder of "Vive les Femmes". I followed in his footsteps by flashing the problem as well.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Mare aux Biches - Vive les Hommes (gauche) 7A

Immediately after, we also did the direct version on our first attempt, while Jan, despite his rest day, put on his shoes and also climbed "Vive les Femmes (gauche)".

Fontainebleau - Apremont Mare aux Biches - Vive les Hommes 6C

Even though being an absolute classic, for some reason, I had never tried "Le Gong" and that day seemed like the perfect to try it.
To be completely honest, I underestimated the problem, and thought that the first part would have been easier. But still I was able to top out this beautiful classic after a handful of attempts.
It seemed to have triggered Jan's attention, because he also put on his climbing shoes again and despite needed a bit more time and attempt, he got away with the send too.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Mare aux Biches - Le Gong 7A+

The weather today was nothing like yesterday, but Olaf, Jan and I met up to climb in an isolated sector of Coquibus Grandes Vallées, quite some distance of the main area, assuring ourselves to spend the whole day alone again. Our first stop was at the boulder of "Culbuto", not far from the road. I had tried "Culbuto" one session in 2018, but even though I could quickly do the first part, couldn't do the quite hard mantle. Given the sketchy landing with a few boulders that one can fall on, I had never gone back for it until today.
Thanks to the extra crashpads and the confidence in some excellent spotters, it didn't make me long this time to finish it. An absolutely very nice boulder, and the mantle makes it quite hard for the grade.
Jand and Olaf were doing some good attempts, but a few little rain showers forced us all to take some breaks and even seek shelter under the boulder. Luckily it weren't big amounts of rain, so it dried quickly quite fast each time, after which the conditions of the slopers felt better each time. We were in the meantime joined by Anna (or Ana), a friend from Olaf and Jan and who I got to know a bit today.
After a longer rainshower, the boulder needed some more time to dry again and while waiting, we had a walk around and went to have a look at the boulders in the sector. By the time we got back at "Culbuto", it was dry and in the best conditions of the day, so I decided to climb it again, with much more control than before. Olaf and Jan were tired, but still put up a huge fight. Olaf almost made it, but had to let it go for today. 
Jan's last attempt was a huge fight, and I don't think I have ever seen him fighting so hard on a mantle ever before. Under loud encouragent of all of us and the sounds of a grunting Jan, he made his way to the top. It was a funny, but great moment.
Anna (or Ana) closed off the session doing "Divagation", the problem the rest of warmed up with, but she still put up an impressive fight.

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - Culbuto 7A

It was a great weekend, and the company of everyone present made ma completely forget the miserable work week that I had this week. We were all riding the same wave, all equal, no matter of who climbed what.

October 10, 2025 - Il Muzzoné.

I spent the weekend in Belgium with my sisters, and considering the log drive, I had decided to take the day off on Friday to be able to leave on time. I did have a little bit of time for climbing in the morning, and I was glad that Olaf and Jan agreed to join me to try the very exposed "Il Muzzoné" in Roche aux Sabots Sud, a line that attracted me a lot, but that I had never dared to try alone.
It's a slow drying boulder, but I had expected it to be dry after this longer period without rain. It was dry indeed, but the conditions were not the best that early in the day. Despite that, we tried anyway and discovered that the first part was much harder than we had imagined. I didn't have much time, so I didn't expect at all to be able to climb it given the little time I had.
Progress was faster than I had anticipated and when I had done all of the moves, I slightly started to believe in it. Not much, but there was at the point that I at least give it some real attempts. To my great delight, I was able to finish it a handful of attempts later. Just in time, even though feeling a bit bad about having to leave Olaf and Jan behind.

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Sabots Sud - Il Muzzoné 7B

October 05, 2025 - Causing confusion.

Very much against our habits on a weekend day, Olaf and I met on the parking of Cuvier. Of course it's an extremely bad idea to climb in Cuvier during the weekend for people who prefer to climb alone, but Cuvier Nord offers a great alternative for this occasion.
We found what we were looking for at the quite isolated boulder of "Asphyxie" and "Asphyxié", wondering why the openers had made given those names, as it tends to become quite confusing with all the different variations on this nice overhang. 
I had already done one of the easiest lines, "Asphyxie", way back in 2016, almost ten years ago already, but was attracted by some other lines recently, of which the main one being "Asphyxié (droite)".
While I was working out the moves of the last part of the boulder, Olaf made a quick ascent of "Asphyxié" on his second attempt. He almost did it on his first, but a stupid foot slip had prevented him from doing so.
Not long after, I had figured out the final part of "Asphyxié (droite)", and then sent the whole line on my second attempt from the start as well. It was already a good session.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Nord - Asphyxié (droite) 7B

Surprisingly, Olaf had more trouble doing the easier "Asphyxie (direct)" than "Asphyxié", but that was mainly because of the slopers of the direct version being in quite bad conditions.
Myself, I had now set my mind on "Asphyxie" and was able to make quick work of it. Olaf came extremely close to sending that problem too, put up a very hard fight, but somehow kept smipping with his feet until his arms gave up and he had to let go.
It was a fun session, and we had a smile on our faces when we walked back to the parking, through the oh so crowded Cuvier area itself.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Nord - Asphyxie 7A+

October 04, 2025 - Teamed FA.

The conditions were really bad last Saturday morning, but me and my youngest son, Noah, had met up with Olaf in Rocher des Potets. Not my favorite area, but at least I was sure that Noah would be able to climb as he pleased, and which he did.
Due to the bad conditions, I wasn't very motivated to climb myself, but did get away with "Impulsion Discrète", a nice new addition by Theo (Konstantakopoulos).
Sunday, I met up with Olaf, Jan (Gorrebeeck), and Tom in Rocher Saint Germain Est, but I had a hard time finding the right motivation for some reason. Nevertheless, I did repeat "Magic Three", eight years after the first time that I climbed it. Not a great climbing session, but a very nice day among friends.

Fontainebleau - Rocher des Potets - Impulsion Discrète 7A

A few weeks ago, when Lars, Simy and me met Theo in 91.1, we cleaned and tried a new isolated boulder hidden just outside the main area and found by Theo some time ago, but none of us were able to finish the problem that we had envisioned.
Theo being back in the forest this week, I met up with him, Alex, a friend of Theo, and Olaf, with the intention to go try and open the boulder we cleaned before.
It had rained a lot last night and this morning, but the sky cleared up in the afternoon, the sun came out and there was a lot of wind. Perfect ingredients for quick drying and good conditions. Pleasantly surprised, we found the boulder in pretty good conditions and with the wind coming from the West and blowing directly on it, it only got better, and quick.
The conditions got so good, that I only needed two attempts to finish the boulder, followed by Theo a while later. The teamed first ascent that we were looking for had worked out. A nice shared moment!
This is a pretty nice boulder with even nicer moves. It can be found at about 50m North-North-West from yellow 19 of the 91.1 area. 
Coordinates of the boulder are: 48°22'42"N 2°31'7"E.

Fontainebleau - 91.1 - Proue en Pression 7B

September 18, 2025 - Racing the dark.

It was a last moment decision when I decided to go for a quick climb after diner, so it was already late when I arrived in 91.1 to try another one of the recent openings of Theo (Konstantakopoulos). 
I had briefly tried the standing start of "Philion", named after Theo's son, a week or two ago, but quickly threw in the towel due to very bad skin. The standing start starts with a fairly good crimp left hand, and a very, very bad tiny crimp for the right. Hence my decision to quit last time when I had bad and sweaty skin.
After my first attempt today, I thought it would be a quick deal and I would be able to work the sitstart soon, but it couldn't be farther from reality. After that first try, my right hand just kept on slipping off that tiny crimp at crucial moments and the times that I was able to jump, I was always too far off the better hold. It became a race against the upcoming darkness.
My skin started to sweat as if it already was in recovery mode, but I persisted until I finally had an attempt where it stuck.
I still tried the sitstart a few times, was able to get up into the standing start, but couldn't find enough on the crimp anymore to do the jump. In the meantime, darkness had caught up on me, and I was forced to quit. I will come back for this one quite soon though. The moves of the sitstart are beautiful.

Fontainebleau - 91.1 - Philion 7A

September 15, 2025 - Last light, quick fight.

A couple of days ago, Theo (Konstantakopoulos) sent me a message suggesting me to go try one of his new ascents in Canche aux Merciers, "Big Fish (assis)". As it was raining as good as all day yesterday, I only was able to go check it today this evening after work and dinner.
We finished eating later than I expected, and it was already just past 20h when I arrived at the boulder. Even though it's not that noticeable on the videos, it was the very last light of the day and darkness was going to fall soon. I had to hurry.
The starting pinches didn't suit me very well at first, but after a few minutes, featuring a few tries, I got the hang of it and topped it out. Pretty nice one indeed.

Fontainebleau - Canche aux Merciers - Big Fish (assis) 7A+

I still had a little time before it would be really dark, and I spent it on the other side of the boulder, trying "Pac-Man", also from Theo.
A huge very violent move to the right, followed by a harder than it looks topout. Quite sketchy as well. 
Somehow, barely ten minutes later, I managed to stick the dyno, did the far move to the slopey arete and to my surprise, I didn't fall off. Improvising, I had to use a power scream to not fall off at the very end. It seemed to have helped, because I topped it out then.

Fontainebleau - Canche aux Merciers - Pac-Man 7B+(7B)

September 13, 2025 - Problem solving.

Yesterday, Saturday, it was my birthday and even though I wanted to climb in the morning, I had to keep the session short so I could do something with my family later that day. It would have been great to be able to do "Tempête Solaire" in Apremont Butte aux Dames, but the conditions weren't ideal and I didn't want to spend the whole session again trying the separate moves. Instead, I chose to go to the nearby boulder of "Bavaria", with the intention to try the harder problems on it, starting with "8-6 Bavaria (bas)".
The transition low to the left using the beta I saw online seemed impossible at first, but thinking out of the box made me come up with another method, using a toehook for the right and a hidden kneebar for the left leg. It worked, but the crux near the end was giving me some trouble. Luckily it didn't take too long before I was also able to solve the problem there and a few attempts from the start later, I was able to make my way through to the end. I really liked the solution that I found on this one.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Butte aux Dames - 8-6 Bavaria (bas) 7B+(7B)

To finish the session, I made a quick ascent, from my first attempt, doing the slightly easier "8-6 Bavaria", which does use the better holds higher up. Nice one on itself.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Butte aux Dames - 8-6 Bavaria 7A+

September 11, 2025 - Well timed pinching.

Still hectic and stressful workdays, and with rain forecasted for the weekend, I was in a desperate need for a short climb this evening. 
I was keeping an eye on the sky outside during dinner and it looked threatening. I immediately left after dinner to the nearby La Ségognole, looking at dark clouds coming my way. I wanted to try the new "Sacrée Pince", just recently opened by Theo (Konstantakopoulos), but I feared that it would start raining as soon as I arrived. Luckily, it didn't, and I hurried putting on my shoes after having turned on the camera. Despite not having warmed up at all, there was a slight possibility that I would do this quickly.
I wasn't very wrong and was able to send it on my third attempt. It was all about the first move, like many of Theo's first ascents. I did love the starting pinch, which seemed to fit my hand perfectly.
I could feel a few rain drops while walking back to the car, and after only a few hundred meters of driving, the clouds turned on their tap and let it all out. It was suddenly raining cats and dogs and my street had almost turned into a river by the time I got back home. It was a perfect timing.

Fontainebleau - La Ségognole - Sacrée Pince 7B

September 06-07, 2025 - Not so on.

I didn't have a very good weekend climbing wise, but I had good company nonetheless. 
After a very heavy work week, I still felt tired throughout the whole weekend and it was hard to keep the motivation high somehow. Luckily Lars and Simi and also Theo on Sunday, were there to keep the session bearable, which made stay instead of just calling it a very short session.
Yesterday, I wanted to try "Man Power" in Apremont Désert, and after a short warmup trying the moves of "Les Surimis" on the boulder next to it, I was pleasantly joined by Lars and his girlfriend Simi. Soon after their arrival, I was able to do "Les Surimis".

Fontainebleau - Apremont Désert - Les Surimis 7A+(7B)

My attention then briefly turned to "Man  Power", but after having worked out almost all the moves separately, I somehow lost interest and didn't feel like trying hard. 
We decided to move to another boulder on which I briefly tried "Le Hurleuir", but also there lost interest pretty quickly as it just felt too hard for the day.
Instead, after watching Simi send "Malicia" on the other side of the boulder, Lars and I started trying a harder version, "Malicia (droite)". Even though we had a good idea about how to the hard mantle, the whole crux of the problem, execution turned out much harder than the theory. In the end, I was able to get away with it, but Lars will have to come back, despite having been so close.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Désert - Malicia (droite) 7A

Today, I had agreed to meet Theo (Konstantakopoulos) in 91.1, and also Lars and Simi were there. 
Theo had found an isolated boulder just outside the main area and after some brushing and cleaning, we were able to imagine a logical problem. It turns out to be very hard, and despite having done the moves separately, none of us could do a full ascent yet. Would have been nice to get the team send.
Theo then showed us one of nicer lines, "Philion", named after his son. I definitely see this doable one day, but my skin was thin, sweaty, and I couldn't motivate myself anymore to try hard. It was nice to see Lars do the standing start. Definitely one of Theo's nicest.
I can't say that I had completely off-weekend, but it certainly and unfortunately wasn't so on neither.

August 30, 2025 - Two beauties.

My main goal for today was the new "Catastrophe Eclairée" in Roche d'Hercule, recently opened by Richard Reggio and his friends, at a couple of meters to the left of "Fenbren le Fou". It's a quite high boulder, but the landing is pretty good, so I wasn't bothered trying it alone. The initial jump felt scary at first, but after a couple of attempts building up confidence, I was able to do it every time. But it's only then that the real difficulty starts. The high crimps aren't very good and there is no way to try the upper part separately, so it took quite some time before I started getting comfortable on them, but with each attempt, I felt I was getting closer.
Then suddenly, I stuck everything nearly perfectly, stayed calm and topped all the way out. Really a beautiful climb!

Fontainebleau - Roche d'Hercule - Catastrophe Eclairée 7B+(7C)

On the way back, I joined some Belgian climbers from Antwerp, trying "Le Temps est Arrêté", on an aesthetically beautiful boulder, but one that I never dared to try alone. Now, with maybe six crashpads and a spotter, I remained calm and only a handful of attempts later, we all did the problem. One of them will have to come back for it, but it only being his second 7th grade boulder, I was still impressed with his attempts.

Fontainebleau - Roche d'Hercule - Le Temps est Arrêté (direct) 7B(7A+)

August 24, 2025 - Gone to play.

I was completely exhausted when I arrived at home at 22h on Friday, after having spent all week in the South of France for my job. A busy schedule with very long days had worn me out and I still felt mentally tired when I woke up in my own bed yesterday morning.
Despite the exhaustion, I went back to "Tempête Solaire" to spend another session on it, even though I knew that the warm conditions weren't in my favor. Nevertheless, I had a quite good session and was able to do the whole problem in two overlapping parts instead of three the previous session. I'm definitely still making progress on it.
This morning, I needed a change and went for a playing session in Rocher de la Combe Est, a small area that I had never been to before.
I started with "Playtoi", that I was able to do on my second attempt. A short roof boulder that really suited my style.

Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Combe Est - Playtoi 7B(7A+)

Next, I made the dyno of "Playground" on my first attempt, but dabbed on the swing. I moved the crashpad a bit and did it again without dab on my second attempt as well.

Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Combe Est - Playground 7A+

To end the session I had some fun with some playful climbing in a nearby big roof.

August 15, 2025 - The beauty of climbing.

When I was browsing bleau.info, looking for inspiration a few days ago, I stumbled upon "Culbutor (assis)", and immediately knew that this was what I was going to try today. It had been on my list for quite some time, but I never took the decision to actually go and try it. Today was finally the day.
It was already quite hot when I arrived this morning around 10h, but the boulder is facing North, so it was very bearable. I warmed with doing the standing start, which I did on my second attempt, failing on the first, because I didn't feel very confident. I immediately did it again afterwards to make I got the good method in my body and head, and to gain more confidence.
When I then wanted to try the roof part and sat down for the start, the first move felt absolutely impossible. The really far left hand crimp/pinch looked like miles away and I already started thinking about letting it go. Figuring that I had come here for this boulder especially, I of course stayed and made minor changes after each failed attempt on the first move. When I finally found a way to do that move, holding it and moving the feet at first seemed even harder. Luckily, I was able to the first move early every time, and again after changing some micro beta for my body positioning and body tension, I also suddenly was able to move my feet and go for the second far right hand move to the lip of the roof. Now I only needed to be able to hold the huge swing when letting of the feet in the roof, but it turned out that this definitely wasn't the hardest move for me. Learning to hold swing went pretty quickly.
Having done all the moves of the first part and having the second part a few times separately, I was confident enough to set up the camera. 
Somewhat surprisingly, I didn't mess anything up and almost cruised through the roof, held the swing, stayed focused and topped out.
After a short break, I repeated it again, this time to be able to show the whole second part, which is a beauty on itself.
I really loved the slow but steady progress on this one, one of the beauties of climbing.

Fontainebleau - Dame Jouanne - Culbutor (assis) 7C

All in all, I had done "Culbutor (assis)" quicker than I expected, so I still had time for a little bonus climb before it got way too hot. Being just below the top of the hill, I decided to walk all the way to "Asics" on the top of the hill in the Maunoury area. I had wanted to try this low roof for a long time, but it's a slow drying roof, and never had the luck to find it completely dry. I figured that that wouldn't be a problem now.
"Asics" turned out to be a little bit more complex at first, but that's mainly because there seem to be so many options to climb through the roof. After deciding on which method to stick to, it went down relatively fast. Glad to have finally done that one.

Fontainebleau - Maunoury - Asics 7B

August 08, 2025 - Say what ?

I actually wanted to take a rest day today, but after a whole morning of garden labor, I needed something else and decided to go to Roche aux Oiseaux for a quick climb anyway. After a long period of drought, it seemed like a good idea to finally try the very slow drying "Tudoisjefaisouquoiahbon". Try to say that name out loud correctly from the first time. Definitely a contender for most stupid name for a boulder problem in the forest. It might have its reasons to be named as such, but I'm not in the know.
Somehow, this problem always scared me a bit, climbing right above a low boulder and a sketchy landing. I probably always thought it was a good reason not to try it when it's mostly wet. 
Anyway, I took the time to practice the crux move, going from two tiny crimps on the lip of the roof to a very far sharp jug high above. Surprisingly, it didn't feel as scary as I expected it to be, and I was able to do the move rather quick, immediately followed by the ascent of the whole line.

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - Tudoisjefaisouquoiahbon 7B(7A+)

It was extremely hot and I had almost packed up already, when I figured to try a more interesting variation. The original problem starts with a sitstart with both hands on a very good huge low ledge. As it's allowed to use that same ledge for the feet afterwards, the first part of the problem consists of almost literally walking on it. I now wanted to the same line, but completely excluding that lowest ledge. Of course, in this case it starts standing with both hands on the higher ledge and then climbing through the roof without the low ledge. It makes the problem slightly harder and definitely more interesting. As I knew how to do the crux move, it went down from my first attempt.

Fontainebleau - Roche aux Oiseaux - Tudoisjefaisouquoiahbon (sans le bas) 7B

August 06-07, 2025 - Video bombed by the sun.

Yesterday morning, my main goal was to try "Habibi" in Apremont Fond des Gorges; a very isolated and slightly hidden boulder, away from everyone. I had looked for it a few years ago when I was in the neighborhood, and found it wet after quite a long search. I was able to have a good look at it though, and I was determined to come back for it one day after a longer dry period. Not having had a lot of rain for quite some time, yesterday seemed like a good moment.
It was a hard battle against high and dense ferns, but it was all worth it. I took a brief moment to try the upper part as a warmup, tried the first move and immediately sent it after turning on the camera. I was glad, but also a bit disappointed that I already had to leave that nice isolated place again.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Fond des Gorges - Habibi 7B(7B+)

This morning, I had the intention to try "L'Être Hâve (assis)" in Mont Ussy, which I did, but after dry firing off the crimps for the x'th time, I decided to pack up and walk over to Roche d'Hercule to try "Finement Con", a boulder where I already stopped several times, but the holds under the roof were always wet so I could never try it. Now, it was all dry and I was finally able to spend some time on it.
This one turned out to be quite harder than I expected, but with each attempt I made progress. I was able to climb the whole thing after a longer time that I had anticipated and when I got back down from the boulder, I noticed the camera standing full in the sun that had passed the trees and the boulder. It was standing the shade at first, but sun had moved from behind the trees and the boulder, shining directly into the lens. There was absolutely nothing to be seen (see the first few seconds in the video below).
I wanted to repeat it again, but it had become too hot and I barely had any skin left. As I had to move the camera much closer to be in the shade, it couldn't capture the whole boulder anyway, so I decided to just make a montage and did it again in two overlapping parts.

Fontainebleau - Roche d'Hercule - Finement Con 7B(7B+)

August 04, 2025 - Brother from a different mother.

My brother from a different mother and his girlfriend were visiting over the weekend, and even though we barely climbed, it was quite exhausting. Being out of my regular rhythm and having short nights always takes a toll on me. I didn't let it get to me too much, so after they left this morning, I drove to Rocher Canon, with only "La Mare (droite)" in mind.
I had passed by and stood in front of "La Mare (droite)" many times in the past, but I had never had the chance to actually try it. Either there was a big pool of water just under it, or it was at the end of a session and I didn't have it in me anymore to try it. Being such a beautiful boulder and a classic of the area, I had to at least try it once.
The boulder was dry and so was the little pit below it. Nevertheless, the conditions kind of felt bad and I wasn't sure if it was due to my skin or the holds themselves that never get the sun on them. I also felt tired and had already come into peace with the fact that I might not even be able to top it out today, but then I found a toehook on the right. It opened up another possibility and it only took a few attempts to get it to work and top it out. Glad to have done this classic, and I even might go back one day for the sitstart.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Canon - La Mare (droite) 7B

July 27, 2025 - Raved out.

For the third time in three months, an illegal rave has been causing me two nights with little sleep. This time, the rave was being held in a meadow in the forest at not even three kilometers from my house. Hearing the constant techno beats from Friday night through to this afternoon is quite tiring and annoying. The gendarmerie is aware, but besides checking everyone that enters or leaves, they can't do a lot. A small village gendarmerie corps can't do much against a group of 200 ravers. I have to admit that I couldn't suppress a smile on my face when the rain poured out of the sky for about an hour this morning, Okay, everything was wet, but feeling tired, I didn't feel like leaving early for a climb anyway.
Early afternoon, I arrived in the Franchard Raymond area and walked straight to "Stach-Stach". The regular start with the slopey ledge served as a good warmup to get my body going.

Fontainebleau - Franchard Raymond - Stach-Stach 7A

The low start, named "Kouloukoukou / Stach-Stach (du bas)" took me substantially longer. It doesn't add a lot of moves, but they are somewhat awkward to execute, despite involving a toehook.
When the strange toehook stayed in place long enough, it was an easy topout. Both the regular and low starts are very soft for the grade, but I had fun, and that's what counts.

Fontainebleau - Franchard Raymond - Kouloukoukou / Stach-Stach (du bas) 7C

July 26, 2025 - Heat is a crux.

First, a video from last Tuesday evening, when I went for a quick climb in Rocher Guichot after dinner. Just playing around in some of the moves of "L'Atelier", and ended doing a dyno from about the middle of "L'Atelier", straight up. The topout was lichened and required some brushing beforehand, but when Christophe (Laumone) passed by coincidently, I asked him, and he confirmed that it had been done already ages ago. I couldn't find any information about it on bleau.info, so until any information pops up, I named it "Jeté Oublié".

Fontainebleau - Rocher Guichot - Jeté Oublié 7A(6C+)

This morning, I walked the whole way to Rocher Fin, which didn't turn out to be a very good idea. I don't go there often and I can't even remember when the last time was. There were two problems that I had in mind, "La Micholeg (assis)" and "El Kift". Unfortunately, both were full in the sun, and it was much hotter than it felt this morning when I left the house. Due to the still growing heat, I didn't even bother trying "La Micholeg (assis)", and dedicated all my attention and effort trying "El Kift".
I had briefly tried "El Kift" a few times in the past, but never for long,because I was never able to come close to doing the first move. My first attempts today weren't any better, but despite the heat, I made slow progress and decided to stick with it. The boulder being full in the sun, made me take small breaks in the shade after about every two attempts. It was somewhat annoying and I almost decided to leave when I suddenly stuck the first move and almost matched the small crimp. With a boosted motivation, I kept trying and suddenly was able to match the crimp and go for the sloper higher up. I knew that I could that last part and I thought it was going to be a done deal, but the warm slopers and crimps made me doubt and I still fell off where I shouldn't have anymore.
Knowing now that slopers and crimps at the top were feeling so warm, I at least knew what to expect and was quite confident that I would be able to topout if only I would be able to repeat what I just did. After a short break in the shade, I did everything the same, except for the end. This time I was able to top it out.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Fin - El Kift 7B+(7B)

July 19, 2025 - Back to the roof.

After a short work week of physical rest, I felt in good enough shape to go back to the big roof of Eléphant Ouest. I especially wanted to retry "Grosminet", but upon arrival, I started warming up in the vertical last part of "Splatch". Starting from the big hold right at the lip of the roof, it seemed like the most difficult part of "Splatch" was there. It took me a while to figure out how to get from the big hold to the good slot far left and took a few good falls there, luckily each time on the only crashpad I had taken with me, besides the starter pads.
Once I had figured it out though, I decided to go for "Splatch", took a few good deep breaths and set off. The first part under the roof went quite good, and when I got to the big hold on the lip of the roof, I didn't waste time or energy trying to rest there. Being a pure boulderer, I haven't learned how to rest well at big holds. Mostly they just continue sucking the power out of me. Knowing what to do, I got passed the sketchy move to the slot, stayed focused and topped out. That was a nice surprise.

Fontainebleau - Eléphant Ouest - Splatch 7B(7B+)

After a short break, it was time to retry "Grosminet", and I immediately felt the difference compared to last time when I was feeling so tired. It still felt really hard, but I could move and started to believe it was possible. After a couple of tweaks, I finally also managed to do the crux move and I started doing some real attempts from the start. It was hard and I fell a few times, but with each attempt, I memorized the moves better and better, until finally, it all stuck and I was able to top out. It did feel hard though, and I really had to put up a fight to get this beauty done.

Fontainebleau - Eléphant Ouest - Grosminet 7B+

July 14, 2025 - Tired.

My body felt quite tired this morning and it was already pretty late in the morning when I arrived at the big roof of Eléphant Ouest. My initial idea was to try "Sherpa", but I was alone, feeling tired, and after inspecting the whole line and seeing the quite exposed topout, I decided to try something else. "Grosminet" looked nice and in my style, but no matter what I tried, I just didn't have enough power to do the crux move.
As a consolidation prize, I settled with a flash go of "Le Grand Toit (droite)".

Fontainebleau - Eléphant Ouest - Le Grand Toit (droite) 7A(6C+)

July 12-13, 2025 - Good versus bad.

Yesterday I wanted to go try "La Soirée des Galères" in Long Rocher, but what I thought was going to be a Northern orientated line, was in reality facing South and completely in the sun. It was a bad judgement call and I should have looked more carefully at the small map that is posted online. Way too hot for that problem, directly in the sun, so I looked for "Un Vendredi 13". This was is indeed facing North and on top of that, starting in a rather deep pit, very shady.
The starting position is a bit strange, but once I knew what to do and figured out the moves, it went down quickly.

Fontainebleau - Long Rocher - Un Vendredi 13 7A+

This morning, I made a good choice by going to Coquibus Longs Vaux to try "À Préhension". A big quite low, but very shady roof. Perfect to try on hot Summer days like today. 
I warmed with the easy topout, after which I figured out the first part quite quickly. The middle section with the left heelhook and the very far reachy move to the lip gave me some trouble, but after perfecting the heelhook position, it became quite consistent. I had a few good attempts getting up to the lip, but the dynamic move to the jug up on the lip felt extremely wild and I couldn't hold it without hitting the ground or the crashpad.
During a short break, I watched a few videos posted online and noticed that all of them were going right hand to the jug instead of the left, like I had been trying. It seemed strange at first, but when I checked it out, it did seem logical in a way. It seemed like going right hand would allow for the left heelhook to stick a fraction of a second longer, a small detail that could make a lot of difference.
After the break, I was determined to try it that way, and miraculously, it worked out on my first try. The swing was wild, but I had the jug and I wasn't going to let go. Having done the topout as a warmup a bit earlier, I didn't get nervous and topped out just like I knew I would. Great problem!

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Longs Vaux - À Préhension 7C+(7C)

July 05, 2025 - No love at first sight.

The first time that I was in Mont Ussy many many years ago, I honestly wasn't really impressed by the massive crack of "Amour Noir". It definitely wasn't love at first sight. Hey, I probably didn't even realize that there was a problem going through it. Even later, when I certainly knew about the line, it didn't attract me, because it looked impossible and I didn't know at all what crack climbing is all about. It was only a few years ago, when I briefly tried the crack of "Pure Line" in Rocher de Télégraphe, that I realized how difficult it actually is when you don't have the experience. I couldn't even link two moves in a row, and it was since that day that I truly learned to appreciate and respect the climbers that are into crack climbing. It definitely didn't feel as straight forward as I expected it to be. It was also since then that I played with the idea of trying "Amour Noir" one day, even though being a totally different crack than "Pure Line" and requiring a totally different approach.
The good moment never came to me, but finally a few days ago, I agreed with Olaf to go try it today. I didn't expect too much of it, but I was eager to step in and feel what the moves are like. I did watch several videos, and the moves looked kind of obvious.

On my first attempt in "Amour Noir" this morning, I was able to do a few moves through the crack, but fell off after only a little more than 1 meter, but it felt like I had done 10. It surely felt more exhausting than I expected, and for a moment it felt like it would be impossible because I would have to do about 3 meters more before getting to the first normal hold.
As the moves through the crack are quite repetitive, I knew I just had to give it all to be able to stand a chance. I decided to turn on the camera, just in case I would get far enough to make a chance for topping out, ruling out the possibility wanting to jump off to turn it on and start all over.
I started my second attempt without real expectations besides trying to get as far as I could. I didn't expect at all to be able to slowly work my way through the first part, but I did. Now I had to find a way to get completely into the crack and find my way out through to the top.
After a short struggle, I got in thanks to Olaf's encouragements, and listened to him when he told me I could take a rest where I was. It was easier said than done, but it worked. However, I was in there, looking for a way out, but couldn't turn my head anymore. I was definitely out of my comfort zone, but stayed calm and looked for options. Being able to lean back again after a while, I could turn my head again and found the best hold to pull myself out at the top, somewhat desperate, but it worked. Hearing Olaf's and Noah's shouts of encouragement, motivated me to give it one last push and then, there I was, out of the crack and on the top of the boulder.
I was scratched, bruised and completely exhausted, but relieved. It was truly a great experience climbing this nice crack line.

Fontainebleau - Mont Ussy - Amour Noir 7B+

July 04, 2025 - What others did.

Me and my youngest son, Noah, had agreed to look and climb at the quiet and for now quite unknown small area of "Le Miroir Magique", just outside of the town of Fontainebleau itself. Completely new to me, I didn't have any expectations and especially wanted for Noah to have a good time. Olaf, on the other hand, had planned to finally try the whole infamous but beautiful purple circuit of Dame Jouanne.
Before I left the house with Noah, I saw on Instagram that Olaf had started his long journey at 9h in the morning, taking advantage of the morning freshness.
At Le Miroir Magique, Noah climbed very good and I noticed a lot how much better his footwork has become. He's taking the time to read and analyze problems before trying and it paid off. When he needed a break, I used the occasion to climb some problems, starting with "Cœur de Pierre", which went quickly, on my second attempt.

Fontainebleau - Le Miroir Magique - Cœur de Pierre 7B(7A+)

I needed quite a few more attempts on "Coup d'Éclats" right next to it.

Fontainebleau - Le Miroir Magique - Coup d'Éclats 7A+

To finish my part of the session, I also got away with "Dargonne King" after having worked out the crux move.

Fontainebleau - Le Miroir Magique - Dargonne King 7B+(7B)

Noah then continued his session with doing an impressive variation, starting in "La Diagonale" (from the small boulder), and finishing in "La Conque" to the left of it.

Fontainebleau - Le Miroir Magique - Diagonale Vers La Conque 3 (Noah)

Finally, he also managed to climb "L'Écaille".
I was honestly very impressed by what Noah all climbed that session!

Fontainebleau - Le Miroir Magique - L'Écaille 3 (Noah)

After our session, we drove to Dame Jouanne to briefly support Olaf with his full circuit attempt. He was just past halfway when we found him and watched him do several problems, including a very impressive ascent and downclimb of the Dame Jouanne itself. A staggering 15m high and part of the purple circuit. 
At 4h45 PM, I received a message that he was done, and can count himself as one of the few who climbed the whole purple circuit in one day. After more than 7 hours of climbing, covering about 800m of climbing meters, Olaf wrote a bit of history. Only few people have taken on and completed this challenge. I bet that there are even more climbers who climbed 8C in the forest, then climbers who have done what he just did today. Congratulations Olaf!

July 03, 2025 - Into the night.

When Olaf agreed yesterday evening to go try "La Nuit" in Coquibus Longs Vaux today, I already started to get a bit nervous. This beautiful problem has been on my list from the very first time I saw it, but I had tried it once briefly with Pieter. Given the exposure, I would at least need a second crashpad and preferably a spotter, to feel safe, so I never had the chance to go back for it, or just didn't think about it at the right moment. When I started realizing yesterday evening that today could be the day, I felt excited and nervous at the same time.
The temperature this morning was perfect, still around 20°C, but compared to the past two weeks, it felt fresh and I could feel the difference in oxygen in the air as well. A light breeze made it all even better.
The boulder allows for working out the moves separately, so that's exactly what we did. During the process, Olaf gained more and more confidence, and started believing that "La Nuit" could be an unexpected cherry on the cake of his trip.
We both made good progress and after I had done all the moves separately, I took a short break before giving it my first actual go from the start.
It was completely unexpected that I was immediately able to do the first move, and for a split second second I felt a slight hesitation, but I regained total control when I also did the second move. We had practiced the other moves very thoroughly and I continued, executing the remaining moves perfectly until I reached the top. It was a magical moment.
By the time I had to leave to be back home for my son, Olaf was still missing one move, the first one. He had come close, and I felt sorry that I really had to leave. He understood though and walked with me back to the car so he could take a second crashpad for his remaining attempts. He was determined to finish "La Nuit" as well.
I think I felt as much joy as when I stood on top of the boulder when he sent me a message a few hours later, writing he had done "La Nuit".

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Longs Vaux - La Nuit 7C(7B+)

June 29-30, 2025 - Heat alert.

With temperatures going deep into the 30°C the last days, it's extremely hot, just like in many other European countries. Because of the extreme, it's nearly impossible to climb in the afternoon, and even in the morning, it's best to find some very shady boulders.
Yesterday, I met up with Olaf and Victor at Beauregard, to climb in the shady roof of "Seuls les Vrais le Savent". Olaf was working in "Seuls les Vrais le Savent" itself, while Victor and I were working in "C'est Toujours Pour Ceux qui Savent". Despite the three of us doing moving quite well, we couldn't finish our respective boulders.
As a consolidation prize, we did do a team ascent of the easier "Savoir Limitrophe", after which Victor had to leave.

Fontainebleau - Beauregard - Savoir Limitrophe 7A(6C+)

Olaf and I stayed at the boulder, where I was still able to squeeze out a quick ascent of "Les Sachants s'Echauffent (droite)", also repeated by Olaf later that day.

Fontainebleau - Beauregard - Les Sachants s'Echauffent (droite) 7A

Today, even though already very hot in the morning, I met with Olaf in Recloses where we walked straight to "Le Clapotis Rondouillard", a boulder that I couldn't try last time, a few weeks ago, because it was wet. Now it was perfectly dry. 
I warmed up in the standing start, but came to realize that the move to the right of the low start is really morpho. Despite being able to reach the hold, there was no way for me to hold it due to not being able to keep my left foot where it was, no matter what, my legs aren't long enough, and I always cut off. As I also couldn't do Manuel Marquès' method, I was about to give up, when I suddenly had the idea to try the far right move and keep myself from swinging, by doing a left toehook catch at the same time. It still felt nearly impossible, but it gave me hope and I decided to try that method some more. It's a kind of move that you would normally see in new-school competition style boulders.As I never climb indoors, I'm not familiar with that style of climbing, but thanks to my gymnastics background (I guess), I seemed to be learning fast and got close to holding it with every attempt.

When I finally did that move from one move in, I turned on the camera, was able to do it again two attempts later and finished it off.

Fontainebleau - Recloses - Le Clapotis Rondouillard 7B+

After doing the easy, but nice slab right next to it, we moved over to the nearby boulder of "Body Press", which seemed impossible with very bad slopers in the heat, but, very surprisingly, I was able to finish it on my second attempt.
Definitely not a bad session in that heat.

Fontainebleau - Recloses - Body Press 7A+(7B)