November 30, 2016 - What a bonus!

It was only -7°C when I brought my youngest son, Noah, to school. Too cold for climbing so I had to wait, but it didn't matter because I had to go to the doctor with my oldest son, Anthony, at 10h30 anyway.
After bringing him to school afterwards in La Chapelle la Reine, I drove on to Larchant.

Last time, when I did "Baloo" in Maunoury, I had a good look at "Bagheera" next to it.
The slopers were humid though and I remember thinking that I would wait for good conditions and that I wanted to take my time for it.
I made it my main goal for my 3 day holiday.

When I arrived at the boulder, it was still freezing but as long as there was some sun, it was very enjoyable.
I started checking and brushing the holds, had another look at a beta video and warmed up with my first attempt.
It turned out that the crux move seemed to be at the start, holding a sloper pinch and then making a far move to the right.
I tried just that move a couple of times and as soon as I did it, I started my second attempt, made it easily past the crux, my hand stuck on the high left sloper, felt that I could easily pull on it, realised that the camera wasn't rolling, and jumped off.
I installed the camera, took a minute break and went for my third attempt which was the good one.

It was just perfect, my hands were stuck like glue on those slopers.
Really glad with this one!

Fontainebleau - Maunoury - Bagheera 7C

My main goal was done much faster than I expected, everything that followed would be a bonus.
And what a bonus it has become!

I strolled around a bit in the sector behind "Instinct" and it was more by accident that found myself standing in front of "Oasis" amidst the chaos of boulders. It's a beautiful line!
Last time that I stood before it, I didn't dare to give it a try, but now that the conditions were perfect, I took my chance.

Before I installed the camera, I wanted to check how the first sloper felt, and I did and stuck the first move from the first try.
I installed the camera again, and here also sent "Oasis" right away on my second attempt. I could have flashed it if I would have set up the camera first.
It didn't matter. What does matter is that it is a really nice climb, with the conditions again in favor.

Fontainebleau - Maunoury - Oasis 7B+(7B)

I then went looking for "El Rodeno", which didn't look really nice and on top of that was a bit expo, so I walked down the hill to try "L'Oeil de Boîte dans l'Epaule (droite)". Now that's a whole mouth full when speaking that out, but what's in a name?

Long ago I did the direct version quite quickly and I was curious how the right exit variation could make the grade go up from 7A(6C+) to 7B.
It didn't take long before I was relieved from my curiosity.
I tried different ways, but it turned out that the only way I was able to go the right was by doing a morpho crossover move with my left arm crossing over my right to the (from that position) extremely far two finger pocket that was humid inside.
Many times I had to try this move before I was able to do it, each time doing it from the sitstart, because I didn't know when the successful attempt would be and that I would be able to do it again.

From all the problems I did today, this one wasn't the hardest, but the most difficult.
Hard for the grade in my opinion.

Fontainebleau - Maunoury - L'Oeil de Boîte dans l'Epaule (droite) 7B

It was time to find something easier to finish the day. I noticed that I did loose some energy in the last problem.
With these conditions, it was time to finally try "Cuicuishovsky" and "Cuicuishkaniev", both on the same boulder as "Soupçon" and as some might have guessed already, opened by Marc (Lehner).

Both problems are with very bad sandy slopers that require perfect friction, which there was.
My only concerns was to find it too wet again, as I had never found it dry enough to try on my previous visits, but apart from the lowest starting jug, they were dry.

This time I immediately installed the camera. Luckily, because I flashed them both.
It was a true sloperfest!

Fontainebleau - Maunoury - Cuicuishovsky 7A(6C+)

Keep on slapping!

Fontainebleau - Maunoury - Cuicuishkaniev 7A+(7A)

The days when the conditions are perfect, are scarce and the chances that they come together with the right motivation, the available time, feeling strong and being alone in the forest, are very low.

Today they all came together.

Maybe I should play the lottery? Now that would be a bonus!

November 29, 2016 - Ça colle!

It's cold. There's a blue sky, a light breeze sometimes and the air humidity is only 65%.
The ideal ingredients to create perfect conditions, so I took a couple of days off to profit from them.
After all, it's Autumn and things can change quickly, but it's forecasted to stay like this for the rest of the week.

It was about 10am when I parked at Gorges du Houx and still -1°C, but the sun was coming over the hill and slowly warming up the air.
In the Summer of 2015 I came here especially for the ultra classic "Gargantoit".
Ever since the first time I saw a picture of it, I knew I wanted to try that beautiful line.
I knew I could do it, but the move to match the right hand at the left on the sloper felt too scary with the heat. Now at least the cold would give me more confidence for sticking the slopers.

I enjoyed the 15 minute walk. The ground was crisp and the path was easy to follow without those 2m high ferns, another advantage of the season.
When I arrived, I needed some time to warm up and I stood and stared at the problem for a couple of minutes.
I imagined myself doing the move, and I felt scared, but I transformed the fear into focus and tried my first problem of the day. I was hanging in "Gargantoit".

On my first try I was able to do the move, but as it came unexpected, I didn't feel ready to do the next far move, the one to the left arete.
My second attempt was slightly more relaxed but I didn't dare to give it all yet. I needed to feel the left arete first.
By my third try I felt really confident and sent "Gargantoit". Great, beautiful problem!

Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx - Gargantoit 7A+(7A)

Next up was "L'Arête" at barely 50m further down the blue path.
On my previous visit in Summer I gave it some tries but it was too hard.
I tried some moves separately and soon I felt confident that I would send it this time.
Not long after that, it was done.
I really liked trying and doing the moves, it's a beautiful underestimated problem.

Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx - L'Arête 7A+

Now that I was at it, a couple of boulders to the left of "L'Arête", I once tried "Ligne de Mire" for a long time and had to leave it behind undone.
It's a straight up wall with good holds and the first moves are a walk in the park, but the move towards the first top sloper is a really tough one.
It requires balance, good footwork and body positioning, speed and power.

You can count the number of tries I needed to finish it today on one hand, but it sure wasn't easy.
Nice problem and certainly not a giveaway. 

Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx - Ligne de Mire 7A

In the meantime it had warmed up a bit. It didn't go over 6°C today, but as long as I wore my layers, it was comfortable. The cold clean air was filled with oxygen and gave me plenty of energy.

I decided to go to Rocher du Télégraphe, but not without trying "Le Bi Haut" in Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie on my way to the car.
Last time I was there, the pockets in the roof were wet, but today they were good enough for some tries.
I could do all the moves separately quite fast, but you have to jump to a hold that you cannot see. A hard one to coordinate and I kind of had to be lucky to get on the right spot.
The move after that one was for me the crux. Letting my right hand go from under the roof into a two finger pocket and immediately catching my swing, was a move that I couldn't do every time. You need a good aim while moving.
Eventually, I got lucky and was able to make the whole sequence in a row.

A very cool problem in a low roof. Pure fun!

Fontainebleau - Gorges du Houx Oiseau de Proie - Le Bi Haut 7B

I had chosen to move to Rocher du Télégraphe because I remembered "Morse", one of the recent problems that I couldn't do because of the jump to a bad sloper. I couldn't stick it and needed good conditions. Just like today.

Out of curiosity, I immediately tried the jump to feel how big the difference would be. It was huge, I stuck the sloper right away. Ça colle!
When I then realised after some tries, that I jumped to the worst sloper, I knew that I would send it quickly when aiming for the better one.
With these conditions, it felt soft for the grade.

Fontainebleau - Rocher du Télégraphe - Morse 7B

I didn't want to be home too late but I still wanted to climb a little something, so I checked bleau.info for something interesting nearby and my eye fell on "La Petite Sauvage" at barely 50m.
It's a slow drying boulder and recommended for in the Summer period, but it besides parts of the top of the boulder, it was dry enough.

It took me a while before I found my method to start, but once I got the holds after the dynamic move, the rest followed right away.
Very hard start, certainly not the nicest problem of the area, but good enough to tick off.

Fontainebleau - Rocher du Télégraphe - La Petite Sauvage 7B

I went home relieved, looking forward to tomorrow because "ça colle"!

November 25, 2016 - Hey, that's Bleau.

Tony (Fouchereau) is unstoppable! Yet again has he opened some problems in Franchard Hautes Plaines.
One of them is "Bossanovabrasil". After a seeing a picture on bleau.info, I wanted to see the boulder in real life.

It was a grey and humid day today, but it didn't rain and I stopped early at work to try my chances anyway.
Most of the boulders however, even though they looked wet, were dry but did feel damp.
As I wasn't sure that "Bossanovabrasil" was going to be dry, so I first went to the "Lapin ou Canard" boulder. There was still a 7B variation, "Tom et Géry", that I only recently noticed on bleau.info and I wanted to give it a try.

The boulder was also dry, but not in good conditions, the slopers could be held on to, but they felt uncertain, as if you could slip off any time.
Despite that, I was able to climb the problem on my second attempt.
Nice climb but soft for the grade.

Fontainebleau - Franchard Hautes Plaines - Tom et Géry 7B

I knew I had to pass by "Le Surplomb de la Coquinette" on my way to "Bossanovabrasil" and I was glad to see that it also was dry enough to climb.
It's also opened by Tony earlier this year and can be found on the backside of the boulder of "Le Surplomb de la Coquille".

Out of the 3 problems I did today, this has the lowest grade, but still it took me the most time to find the correct method. But hey, that's Bleau.

Fontainebleau - Franchard Hautes Plaines - Le Surplomb de la Coquinette 7A(7A+)

With the bit of time I still had left, I now set off to find "Bossanovabrasil", which I found easily by following the online description.
It looked bigger than I expected and I wasn't sure at all if I would be able to do it. But hey, it's Bleau and anything can happen.

I did it with the tips of my fingers.
Far stretched out move to the right, when coming out of a very sketchy body position.

Proposed as a 7B(7C). I will keep it in the middle.

Fontainebleau - Franchard Hautes Plaines - Bossanovabrasil 7B(7C)

November 24, 2016 - The game.

It was a long travel back home this morning and I needed a break before starting to work from home again.
Last Summer, also when coming back from travel, I stopped at Vallée Chaude to try "Ecarte un Maxx", which I flashed with ease and rightfully has been downgraded to 6C+(7A) by now.
During the drive I remembered that I started trying two variations of that problem but wasn't able to finish them back then. After all, it was 36°C and I was in Vallée Chaude!

One variation has been opened by Bart (Van Raaij) in the meantime, the direct dyno "Ecarte un Maxx (direct)" with a proposed grade of 7B(7A+).
Still today, I'm still lacking about 20 cm and technique to get the top.

The other variation is more like a game and probably many climbers will not like it because it's too conventional and partly eliminate, but I had a lot of fun trying and eventually doing it.
Maybe it will be published on bleau.info, or maybe not.

You have to start hanging with both pockets, feet hanging in the air.
Make a hard swing to the right and use a toehook behind the right arete. The arete is not allowed with the hands.
Then finally try to reach directly to the top.
Again, it was a fun game to play, as you will see in the video. Definitely worth trying if you should be there anyway.

Fontainebleau - Vallée Chaude - Le Jeu d'Ecarte 7A+(7A)

November 22, 2016 - No camping.

I was working from home this morning and had to travel for work in the afternoon, but first I took a small lunch break. It came in the form of a short stop at Gorge aux Châts.

Last Sunday I bumped into Peter 'Pete' Collins and he told me was around until Wednesday.
He said that he definitely wanted to try "Spanish Caravan" in Gorge aux Châts during his trip, so somehow I expected to find him there.
It didn't come as a surprise to see his van parked at the area.
When I found him in the main area, he said that he just was able to finally finish "Spanish Caravan".
It was great news. I was happy for him and it only strengthened my desire to try the problem myself.

Last time I saw Pete was when I did "La Caravane" and it was he who told me about "Spanish Caravan".
A quite logical line to the left that I had never really noticed before. I didn't really try it then, but I was psyched to come back for it.
Now that Pete did it, he could give me some very helpful beta. The moves are beautiful but very powerful, especially in the first part of the problem.

At first, the first move to the small crimp seemed almost impossible for me, but after a while I found a method that worked.
Now that I could do that move, I could do all of them separately. It was simply a matter of linking it all together now.

I got close but when I told Pete that I was going to give it one more try, I sent it.
It felt great standing on the top, totally unexpected.

If it wouldn't have been for Pete, I maybe would have never even noticed the problem and thus never climbed it.
Thanks to Pete also for the beta and the encouragement. I'm not sure if I would have been able to climb it today without it.

Fontainebleau - Gorge aux Châts - Spanish Caravan 7B+

Now I'm traveling for work until Thursday, and no, I'm not sleeping in a caravan.

November 19, 2016 - Conditions: The Return of the Good.

After days, almost weeks, of nagging about humid conditions, today was finally the return of the good. Even very close to perfect!

It was still early, there were only 2 other cars on the parking of Cuvier and I was only climber in the area.
I went straight to Rempart to try "Noir Désir (gauche)". The previous times I tried it, the conditions were not good enough and the slopers felt greasy, but now the conditions felt perfect.
The slopers still felt sketchy but I sticky enough for me to be able to hang on long enough.
It always felt so hard, but now it didn't take me long. Beautiful problem!

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Rempart - Noir Désir (gauche) 7B

At only about 30m from there I wanted to try "La Boule à Pierrot", another friction dependent problem.
The few other times that I sat in it, it always felt too hard, but yet again, now it was sticky.
After a while, I did check the beta on bleau.info and as soon as I was able to execute all the moves, it went quite smooth.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Rempart - La Boule à Pierrot 7B

I will never forget the weekend in 2011 that I first did "Immodium".
It was the day that Ivan (Moreels) climbed "Fourmis Rouges" and Steven (Demets) "Immodium (assis)".
It took me many tries that day before I was able to stick the jug, but still fell off the easy topout because of my nerves. I can still hear Ivan saying to keep calm until the end.
I wasn't able to to it again that day, but the day after, I was and topped out correctly.

Today I wanted to repeat it for the video and made it on my second attempt.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Rempart - Immodium 7A

I got close to doing "Immodium (assis)", but my body needed a short break.
The break came in the form of walking to a relatively unknown sector of Cuvier Sorcières. The sector with "Le Proueptologue".
It's more like a micro area on its own, completely isolated.

Beautiful Autumn colors on the way to "Le Proueptologue".

I got to know the sector thanks to Neil (Hart) when we were filming Simon 'Kook' Newstead for Neil's film "Out of Sight".
It was amazing to see 'Kook' climbing "Le Proueptologue" (8A) several times for the camera, each time another angle.
I didn't get further than getting my feet off the ground in the standstart.

I could feel that I am stronger now, because apart from finding the correct foot position at the start, it didn't give me much trouble. The conditions were in favor.
Great compression problem and completely out of sight!

Fontainebleau - Cuvier Sorcières - Le Proueptologue (debout) 7B

November 18, 2016 - Catching up.

The weather was announced to be finally good today, so I took a couple of hours off work to enjoy the forest and hopefully catch up with some climbing.
They published again a lot of new 7's the last couple of days, out of which 2 of them in Gros Sablons Nord.
The 'Nord' in the name doesn't sound good after days of rain, but the small area is actually spread out on the South ridge of the neighbouring hill to the North of Gros Sablons. Still following ?
It still rained a lot last night, but the sun, the strong wind and the quite dry air dried up most of the boulders facing South.
I had to walk around a bit to find the new problems but it didn't take that long.
The boulder was dry and in seemingly good conditions, so I could start.

The warmup in "Y But Profane" was short. After trying the far move, I made it on my second attempt.
Felt very soft for the grade, but I did have a long rest after all.

Fontainebleau - Gros Sablons Nord - Y But Profane 7A

The other one , "Le Butapapa", is a variation on "Y But Profane".
The start is more to the right, traverses slightly to the left into "Y But Profane" and exits the same.

I really enjoyed trying this. It has great moves on really bad slopers.
Not 7B and also not very hard for 7A+, but oh so nice!

Fontainebleau - Gros Sablons Nord - Le Butapapa 7A+(7B)

On my way back I decided to stop in 95.2 for the time I had left.
Coming from the other side than usual, my first stop was at "Le Bloc à Bertrand", a wall with very friction dependent slopers. I was hoping that the friction would be the same as "Le Butapapa".

I had tried "Le Bloc à Bertrand" a couple of short sessions years ago and either forgot about it, or found the problem occupied by others when I didn't. Now the area was deserted and the boulder was dry.
I remember that on my previous sessions, I had difficulties holding on to the first sloper and could barely move my feet before letting go.
Now from first attempt on, I could easily move my feet and even prepare for the next far move left hand.
Sooner than I expected, I topped out. Truly glad with this one, a beauty.

Fontainebleau - 95.2 - Le Bloc à Bertrand 7A+

The problem just right of it, is a dyno of which I couldn't remember ever having tried it before.
It turned out to be not that hard for me, because I made it on my second attempt.
Cool dynamic first move. I wonder why I had never noticed this before.

Fontainebleau - 95.2 - Le Jeté Michaud / Jump 7A+

Another problem that I had never noticed before, but stumbled upon recently when I was browsing bleau.info, is "Tim Tim".
It's easy to find near the top of the hill in the middle of the main area, and a nice looking compression problem.
It turned out to be quite easy to climb too.
My heel slipped on my first attempt, but didn't on my second and I finished it off.

Fontainebleau - 95.2 - Tim Tim 7A(6C+)

Not too bad for a short afternoon, I had some catching up to do.