October 26, 2022 - Keep it clean!

My last session trying "Gengis Khan" in Rocher de la Reine was on the 6th of November 2021, almost exactly one year ago, give or take a few days. Thanks to some tips that I got from Christophe Laumone the week before, I had a method that got me really close, always falling off the last hard move, the one to the pinch left hand. I could do the move separately and climb on to the top, except not when coming from the start. I decided back then to step away from it for a while, a while that apparently almost lasted a whole year.
The weather promised to be very good today, maybe a bit warm for the bad slopers right hand of "Gengis Khan", but I had made up my mind and decided to give it another chance. I had kept some recordings of my best attempts from last year, so I watched them before leaving, to make sure that I wouldn't lose too much time searching for the important small details in the method that suited me quite well last year.
Arriving the boulder, I warmed up doing the blue problem next to "Gengis Khan" a few times and started cleaning the crimps and slopers. Obviously, the person who tried it before me, probably yesterday, didn't clean the holds before he or she left, leaving me with the task to do it for him or her. I even had to clean more and longer than when I left later today. Please clean the holds of any problem you tried before leaving, and for your own benefit, try to clean every time as well in between attempts.
It only took a couple attempts before I came at the same point I fell almost every attempt last year. It all comes down to the small details, and after an hour of fine-tuning tiny details, I felt that it could down any moment now. I wisely decided to take a longer break and sent "Gengis Khan" on my second attempt after the break, filled with joy.

Fontainebleau - Rocher de la Reine - Gengis Khan 7C

October 23, 2022 - Belgian bunch.

My body and the skin on my fingers felt sore when I got out of bed this morning. It was probably a good thing to meet a Belgian bunch for some climbing together in Marion des Roches. With Pieter, Jan (Gorrebeeck), Stijn and later also Jan (de Smit), Nataleigh and Dario, we were indeed a bunch at the big boulder of "PMH". 
We decided to start with "La Fissure du Clodo (assis)" to wake up the body, which apparently took some time. Once warmed up and the moves worked out, I was the first to grab the ascent.

Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - La Fissure du Clodo (assis) 7A(7A+)

Almost immediately after, I also got away with "PMH (assis)" on my second attempt.

Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - PMH (assis) 7A+(7A)

The remainder of the session was spent playing around some of the other many lines on the boulder, but my main interest went to repeating "Pierrot", which I was able to climb in a clean controlled fashion. It is already seven years ago, back in 2015, that I first climbed "Pierrot", and when I looked up my video from then, I almost bursted out laughing. The way I climbed "Pierrot" that time, is in no way comparable with the way I did it today. There was no way in my mind that even came close to doing "Pierrot" the way I did in 2015. I wish I would have recorded my ascent from today, just to be able to show the difference. Now I only have the 'what the hell did I do' method.

Fontainebleau - Marion des Roches - Pierrot 7B (2015)

October 22, 2022 - Free donuts.

As Pieter has spent a few weeks in Japan with his wife, visiting her family, it was a while ago since we last climbed together, so I was delighted to see him back and spend a good climbing session. We met in Rocher Brûlé, with the intention to try some of the problems on the "Donuts" boulder. "Donuts" being the easiest problem, it was obvious to start with and warm up in that one. Surprisingly, it took a while before we figured out a method to get into the second part of the problem, but once we did, I managed to top out immediately after turning on the camera.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts 6C+(7A)

While Pieter was tweaking the method to suite his morphology and flexibility, I sent "Donuts (assis)" on my first attempt.
Pieter did the standing start soon after.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts (assis) 7A+(7A)

Pieter wanted to skip the sitstart, so the next logical step was to try "Donuts à la Crème" as it would give us an idea about the tiny crimps used for the exit of "Crème Brûlée" as well. Starting from the low boulder underneath, we spent quite some time finding a method for the upper part. When we both finally did the upper part, it still took quite some attempts before I was able to send "Donuts à la Crème" from the start.
Pieter was still struggling a bit, but after a longer break, during which I had turned off the camera, he sent it immediately after it, executing every move perfectly and without hesitation. I wish I had turned on the camera again immediately after the break.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Brûlé - Donuts à la Crème 7B

Eager to try "Crème Brûlée", we skipped the sitstart of "Donuts à la Crème" but working out the moves of "Crème Brûlée" took a lot of time and energy. When I finally had all the moves dialed, I didn't have energy or skin left to make any good attempts from the start. Nevertheless, "Crème Brûlée" should definitely be possible when coming back with a fresh body and skin.

October 21, 2022 - Be quick.

After some heavy rain yesterday evening and very early this morning, the sun had come out a few times so there was hope for a quick climb after work, if only would choose the right quick drying boulder. Manuel (Marquès) had opened a new variant on the boulder with "Entre Eaux Os" in Justice de Noisy, and knowing that this boulder, being exposed to the South and catching a lot of sun thanks to a gap in the trees, dries extremely quick, the choice was quickly made.
I came close to doing "Un Os en Eau" on my first attempt, but my skin wasn't in the best shape, and I slid off at a crucial point. The same happened a few times in a row, but each time closer to the top, so there was quick progress. Each attempt could be the successful one. On half an hour, I lost quite some skin on my right-hand fingertips, but then it all stuck and I topped out.

Fontainebleau - Justice de Noisy - Un Os en Eau 7B+

October 19, 2022 - Love those Wednesdays.

Until the end of the year, I'm off work on Wednesdays again and by miracle, today was the only day of the work week with good weather, warm and most importantly, dry. Being off on Wednesday, gives me the chance and motivation to visit the otherwise so crowded areas, like Cuvier for example, one of the areas where I am rarely to be found during the weekend.
For today, I had set my mind on "Vert Clair" on the very popular boulder of "Holey Moley" and "Le Biceps Mou". Being Wednesday, and early, I arrived at the boulder, and I was alone. The side of "Holey Moley" was still wet, but the side with "Vert Clair" had already received some early morning sun and was dry.
I had tried "Vert Clair" once before, but when I couldn't figure out the right heel-toe jam, I had given up on it pretty quickly. Today however, I was going to spend some time on it. As expected, I did indeed need some time to figure out that heel-toe, but once I did, the other moves didn't feel like too much of a problem for me. When I then tried the first move separately and did it, I turned on the camera and sent "Vert Clair" without hesitation, much faster than I had imagined.

Fontainebleau - Cuvier - Vert Clair 7B+

I briefly spent some time trying "Vert Nulle Part", but when the surroundings started to become more populated and louder, I decided to leave the area and make a small detour via "Rocher Saint-Germain Ouest" on my way back home. I tried it a few times after I had done "Deus Ex Machina", and even though being really close, the heat that day was too much to bear.
The boulder was directly in the sun, but it was much less hot than last time, and I was able to send it quite fast. I love those Wednesdays being off work.

Fontainebleau - Rocher Saint-Germain Ouest - Si t'es Petit, Sois Technique (assis) 7B+(7B)

October 16, 2022 - Playing lines.

Similar scenario as yesterday, except that it cleared up a little earlier and with well over 20°C, it was a quite warm afternoon, even pretty hot in the sun. I had done a walk with my youngest son, Noah, around Coquibus Grandes Vallées in the morning, and as it was already starting to dry there high on top of the hill, I returned quickly for a climb in the well known roof of "En Dessous de Tout". With at least nine published problems on that boulder, there were still a few that I hadn't done yet.
I started with "L'Etroit Mousse, plus Bas que Tout", a very conventional problem, where it's mostly about endurance, one of my weaker points. I considered it as a good training.

Given the number of moves, I had to rest long enough between attempts if I wanted to succeed. After I ended up finishing, I was pumped, but relieved.

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - L'Etroit Mousse, plus Bas que Tout 7A+(7B)

Despite being pumped, I was still eager to climb and started trying "Plus de Mousse que de Tout". I wisely worked out the crux move after failing on my first attempt, but once I knew what to do, it was a pretty quick send.

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - Plus de Mousse que de Tout 7A+(7A)

My intention was to call it a day there, but after watching another climber, Julien, topping out "LEtroit Mousse, plus Bas que Terre", I decided to pick another line, but a slightly easier one this time. I quite easily topped "En Dessous de Terre" to finish the session.

Fontainebleau - Coquibus Grandes Vallées - En Dessous de Terre 7A(6C+)

October 15, 2022 - Sunset flashes.

Rain yesterday and this morning made the possibility for any climbing as good as non-existent, but when it cleared up in the afternoon, I got some hope. There was a nice breeze and I patiently waited until parts of the street started to dry. Greg (Gars des Bois on bleau.info), sent me a message earlier this week, mentioning that the new "Sunset Roof" in Bois Rond Auberge dries quickly and told me about a possible left exit version still to be opened. He hadn't done it yet, but notified me about it being a gift, one that gracefully accepted.
The first boulders of the area were soaking wet, but as I got closer to the "Le Grand Requin Blanc" sector, it started to look more and more dry. I found the small roof of "Sunset Roof" dry and was able to flash the original problem with ease. It felt like 6C+ at most, but nevertheless, a very nice climb.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof 7A

Not being sure about what kind of left exit Greg had envisioned, I did a somewhat first impression of it on my first attempt.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans convention) 7A

Greg joined me and explained how he saw it. Following his indications, I also managed to do this version, without the pocket and only the low part of the arete, on my first attempt as well.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans le trou) 7A+

Being there, and still eager for another climb, I did another version of the left exit, eliminating the right edge of the roof and the arete as a whole. Also on my first attempt.

Fontainebleau - Bois Rond Auberge - Sunset Roof (gauche sans l'arête) 7A+