Andy, Raisha, Gordon, Donna, Phill and I caught the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk and drove to Fontainebleau for 3 days of fanstastic bouldering and 3 nights of camping around a fire.
Our first port of call was Bas Cuvier, where I was delighted to climb La Marie-Rose after many failed attempts last Easter. Here’s a video clip I found of a woman climbing the same problem.
Day two took us to Roche aux Sabots, home of a wonderful blue circuit and some classic red test-pieces. Fontainebleau is a great place to get away from the numbers and simply follow a colour that gives you a rough idea of how hard the climbing might be. I had a great time playing barefoot on the blues and Phill got his feet connected later in the afternoon.
On day three we went to l’Elephant and I spent most of the morning working the problem of the same name after watching Gordon cruise up it. Maybe next time…
Our last night by the fire was great fun! Gathering wood and lighting a fire to sit around each night was just as rewarding as the climbing. On the final evening we played a few silly games, including this one with two empty bottles…
