Ascension weekend in Fontainebleau

Just returned from yet another trip to Fontainebleau. Ascension Day was a bit wet. We managed to climb for 2 hours at Gorge aux Chat where I did "Variaspel" in the first try. It was however not a flash because it is a variation on "Sa pelle au logis" which I did before and hence a bit lame actually.

The second day we had an early start and went to Isatis. After warming up I tried "Divine Decadence", which is the sit start of "Surplomb Static" but the first move is so freaking hard I could barely lift my but off the ground. 

When it started to get a bit more crowed we went to the second sector where I spend quite some time on "El Poussif" which also didn’t go well. I could not manage to push hard enough and get my foot on the bulge. 

Some Dutch guys were having a go at the nearby boulder named "El Poussah". They were kind enough to let me use their crashpads so I decided to give that boulder a go as well but had very little confidence in a successful sent. To my surprise my toe was positioned well in the third try and I easily managed to top the boulder. Once your toe is perfectly placed the next moves are beautiful and actually not so difficult anymore. I am very pleased with this result. 

In the third sector of Isatis I finally managed to do the last move of "De Brevitate Vitae". This boulder had turned into a frustrating project. I had been trying it over and over again on several previous trips and the rock-over you have to do to get to the last move failed every single time. This time it worked out well. I am happy to see some progress. 

I also did "le Surplomb Feuillete Gauche" which is quite scary but with lots of crashpads and Ricardo being around to catch me, I had the nerves to top it.

Saturday was spent at Roche aux Oiseaux and Mont Pivot were I did a number of easy boulders but nothing difficult.

Sunday we went back to Gorge aux Chat because a friend of mine got very close to topping his first 7a in Bleau on Thursday so it would give him a couple more hours to try it again. 

I managed to do “la Ritournelle” and “un Franc de Kilometre”.

All in all a successful trip in which I managed to do five 7a’s. My next trip is 8 weeks away which will give me time to train a bit more and get stronger. I will definitively need lots of strength to be able to do the boulders on my wish-list in Rocklands. So much looking forward to go there.

Spring break, chasing the sun

I just returned from a two week spring break. I had planned to spend two weeks in Fontainebleau to have time to work on interesting projects. Unfortunately after two days of sun the weather changed. With a forecast of 5 days non-stop rain we decided to go to the South of France, the only place with reasonable weather and pictures on Facebook of people swimming ON the campground proved us right.

The two sunny days in Bleau were well spent. I was able to do 5 7a boulders among which a long standing project named Sa Pelle au Logis in Gorge aux Chat.

This is a boulder with a history for me. When I was three years old it was my father’s project. Being bored by spending too much time under the same boulder I became naughty.  I grabbed two little hands full of sand and while dad was embarking on his ultimate try of his project I filled the two little pockets with sand. Everybody was laughing their pants off but he was not amused, which is quite an understatement! When I grew a bit older I started trying the same project but dad was always close, seeking revenge. This time he was not around to stress me out and the project went down very smoothly in the second try of the day.

Contemplating half a day in heavy downpour what to do, I left Bleau with pain in my heart and we headed for Orgon. This meant changing the crashpad for a harness and fumble with rope and quick draws. I really prefer bouldering to lead climbing but it is better to be in the sun than sit idle in the rain. The campground in Orgon is really nice. It is surrounded by rocks and very well maintained by the new owners which are Dutch.

I started out at sector Canal. The routes turned out to be really hard, slippery and dirty. All holds above the roof were full of bird shit which was not surprising with 50+ corvidae breeding in the rocks. Respect to Marc for being able to climb an 8b in this really though sector.

Next I visited Mont Gaussier, which is half an hour drive from Orgon. It has a nice cave which is in the shade most of the day. On my first visit to the cave I managed to climb Maxi Grip, a 7b+ in the 2^nd go. The route is not so difficult but very pumpy and with my lack of endurance it gave me a very good feeling being able to climb it.

I also visited Buoux. It was great to have a go in some of the classics. I tried Reve de Papillon an 8a which was the first 8a climbed by a Dutch female. Respect to Mirjam who is one of my trainers for being able to climb this route in 1995, a period in time when this was a super cool achievement. I was able to move in the route but very far from being able to giving it a serious try.

I also tried la Rose et le Vampire. Being inspired by Anna Stohr who is guided through the route by Antoine le Menestrel in a cool YouTube movie, I really wanted to try the beautiful cross over in the route. Well, it turned out to be extremely difficult to even get to that move.

Trying these classics in Buoux made me realize that this old-school climbing is not my style and it also put the 8a routes that I managed to climb in Spain into a different perspective.

I definitely want to return to la Rose et le Vampire when I am a bit older, stronger and more experienced. It is a brilliant route and it would be so cool if one day I would be able to climb it.

I also had a look at No Man’s Land which was recommended to me by Frank. The traverse looked scary and horrible to clean and the lenght of the vertical wall higher up impressed me too much. I guess I just missed the guts to give it a go.

The rock surrounding the campground in Orgon are mostly slabs and vertical wall climbing. We met a lot of old friends of my parents in Orgon. I had to do the obligatory slab climbing in the morning with the old dudes. This is definitively not my favorite style of climbing. When lead climbing I prefer big overhangs and free falls. I am a bit scarred of falling on slabs. I did manage to do a slabby 6b+ on-sight of which I am actually very proud.

Luckily my friend Vincent arrived in Orgon and business returned to normal meaning great big roofs to attempt. I was able to do a 7b and 2 7c’s in the 2^nd go. I am happy with this result. After a period of feeling weak I have the idea that I’m getting back in shape.

On the way back home we visited Fontainebleau for a half day of bouldering. We went to Bas Cuvier where I tried a number of 7a’s but nothing worked out the way I wanted. I did manage to top a 6c in the second go which was a nice closure of this holiday.

More pictures can be found HERE

I will be back in Bleau in 3 days’ time for the Ascension weekend. Really looking forward to that and hopefully the weather will be nice.