October 18, 2026 - Re-united.

After almost a year of non-stop working in his home country, Germany, Olaf finally arrived back in the forest on last Sunday evening. Due to work we hadn't had the chance to meet up during the week, but Saturday we finally re-united. On top of that, Lars and Simy were also there, so it was all more about enjoying climbing with good company and less focused on trying hard. Nevertheless, yesterday, in Rocher du Corne-Biche, I made some good attempts trying "Papa Gaga", after four years and a half not having touched it. The high pinch felt not too good condition-wise, but I did manage to get back to the point, preparing for the last dynamic move to the right. I was happy with that 'retro progress'. This is definitely high up on my list again!

This morning we met up in Apremont Ouest where Olaf wanted to try something on the "Piece of Mind" boulder. While he climbed the right version, I made very quick work of "Piece of Mind (sans convention)", the only variant that I hadn't done yet on that beautiful boulder. Olaf needed a few attempts more, but also he managed to do both the right version and the "sans convention" version.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Ouest - Piece of Mind (sans convention) 7A+(7B)

With over 600 registered repetitions, "Powerslave" is apparently one of the most popular 7A's of the forest, but somehow, I had never even noticed it. It was Olaf whol told me about it, and as Lars was eager to try too, I decided to give it a go. Having flashed it ease, I can understand its popularity now. It's very soft for the grade, and giving it a personal grade of 6C+ still seems a bit generous.
With his neck injury, it became quite a battle for Lars, but he did manage to top it out as well.

Fontainebleau - Apremont Ouest - Powerslave 7A(6C+)