9th August2013



FONTAINEBLEAU BOULDERING



After a long day on the road we arrived at a camp site just outside of Milly de foret, 70 km south of Paris in the Forest of Fontainebleau. The site called "Musardiere" is a rag tag collection of tatty caravans some looking as though they have been here for many years and are slowly being reclaimed by nature, set amongst tall Oak and Birch trees. The sun filters through the green canopy of leaves, shafts of light dappling the sandy forest floor with luminescent patches that dance as the trees sway in the light wind. There are many climbers camped amongst the trees, tents of all shapes, sizes and colour scattered here and there, Bouldering mats leaning drunkenly against tree trunks, whilst many slack lines span between them like spider webs. The place has a nice laid back ambiance to it, the sounds of laughter and music drift on the warm air. It reminds me some what, of the infamous camp 4 in Yosemite.

In the morning we walked down the road for three quarters of a mile then cut into the woods following a sandy track that wound through the trees. We soon heard the sound of voices and very quickly came upon the first of the famous Sandstone boulders in an area known as the "Gorges au Chat". We picked a way through scrub and trees into a maze formed by the ten to fifteen feet high boulders as an intricate network of paths twisted it way amongst them. We soon identified some of the problems, musing about how hard they looked. We selected a couple of promising looking routes and donned our boots, we immediately learned a sharp lesson, the routes here are incredibly hard. Massively explosive moves on really sloping hand holds, whilst feet scrabble and flail looking for grip on tiny holds that have been polished to a high sheen by countless scores of feet leads to smooth rounded tops which leave you belly flopping inelegantly, gasping for breath from the exertion.
We had a day of this, it's a wonderful place and the bouldering is truly fantastic but bloody 'ard. When we left we had shredded finger tips and aching arms weak with fatigue.
Back at the campsite we jumped into the fabulous swimming pool which is without doubt the main attraction of this site, it was heaven.

The following day we did the same cutting into the woods at a different place we wandered through pretty forest for an hour, slightly lost but enjoying the relaxing walk and especially the peace. Sandy paths curled through the trees and around overgrown boulders, as yet undeveloped by boulderers, the air was fresh and clean, gossamer threads strung across the path glinted brightly in the sunshine, easy to avoid whilst unseen ones snagged across our faces. A rustle in the carpet of dead leaves on the soft forest floor betrayed the secret movements of a snake which writhed yoga like under a rotting branch to stay hidden from curious eyes. Eventually we ended up at a different area known as "Canche" it was equally as hard as the day before but more popular so the holds were even more polished and even more slippery. Muscles still not recovered from yesterday initially protested at the effort but after a while we settled into the groove. Jack and Rick soon burned out and I ended up bouldering alone. I stopped to share a sandwich with Rick and a rather neatly trimmed dog that instantly became my best friend, at least while the sandwich lasted. I found a new reserve of energy and hauled, balanced and pressed my way up another half dozen problems, the last of which was desperately hard and one I was sure I was going to fall off. I did managed to stay on but was completely spent by now, so we gathered our stuff together and walked back to the site chatting about what a good trip it's been. Another dip in the pool was followed by a very nice Tea prepared by Maggie.
With a heavy heart we will begin the journey home tomorrow. We have had a Fab time. It'll be good to see Colette and Steve and maybe next year we can persuade them to come with us and indulge in a little insanity, it's good for the soul.