March 15, 2025 - Like a duck.

The boulder of "P'Tit Quinquin" is one of only two boulders in the micro area of Apremont Belvédère, right next to Apremont Mare aux Biches.In the middle of a small chaos of boulders along one of the blue paths, it's not the easiest to find, and it was during a scouting session that I briefly tried it many years ago. Back then I wasn't able to do any of the moves. I had completely forgotten about it since, but not very long ago, I saw a video on Instagram of Laurent Darlot doing this rarely repeated problem. and it gave me a sense of urge to go and try it again. I had set it as my goal for today.
After arriving at the boulder, still being almost exactly where I remembered it to be, I started trying the single moves one by one and immediately understood why they all felt impossible a few years ago. Realizing that I am stronger or maybe wiser then back at the day, I stayed with it and practiced. The problem consists of three very hard moves into a quite sketchy and delicate topout, one where it is still possible to make a mistake and fall off.
After some time, I had managed to do every single move, including the topout, but linking them seemed to be another crux. The first three moves allow as good as no room for error at all. They all had to be precise. I took a short break and afterwards started to give it some real attempts. There were a lot of fails at first, but with each attempt, I became more more and more consistent in the moves, and built up the so necessary muscle memory. And then all of a sudden, it flowed all together and I made my to the top, relieved that I had practiced the topout as well. A really cool problem, glad to add this to my done list.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Belvédère - P'tit Quinquin 7C(7B+)