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 End of the day... We always wind up at this problem at the end of the day. I've heard many promises about getting there earlier when still fresh; but inevitably it was meant to be done in the very last light of the day. (click on photo to enlarge) |
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 Chalking holds A poor fellow from England (not the guy pictured here) was on his third trip down to Fontainebleau this past weekend. He had previously sworn off the place due to the freakishly bad weather he had always encountered here, but was convinced to try once again upon hearing reports of the stellar conditions to be had this fall. On his first morning out, the heavens opened. The rain didn't stop until he left 4 days later. However, his rain did a cleaning number on the slopers and yesterday and today we were treated to amazingly good conditions. These photos are from today at Bas Cuvier. After a bit of brushing, the holds felt like velcro.... at least for your first couple go's. (click on photos to enlarge) 
 Every day the forest has a different feel to it. Today was particularly impressive. The rain had left the rocks with vibrant green moss, and the afternoon light played on the orange and red of the autumn leaves. All of this contrasted against the (finally) blue sky. |
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 To be fair, it didn't rain today; but you couldn't have asked for worse conditions. The previous couple days were filled with fog, rain, mist, and all sorts of wetness removing any hint of texture from the boulders. Unfortunately today also happened to be the final climbing day for a whole slew of people. I have never seen a group of people more psyched to climb while at the same time coming off the problems with streaks of green grime staining their clothes. It was completely insipring. (click on photos to enlarge)  Noah Bigwood getting psyched on the driest holds available. |
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Le Lepreux (direct)One of those beautiful days you get sometimes in Fontainebleau; cold enough to get some good friction, but warm enough not to have to run laps to keep warm. Here is a photo of a frustrating problem which gained fame from the film "Bleau" in which Fredrick Nicole was shown falling from the two main slopers, and a bleausard (Alain Thibault) coming along and pulling the usually dynamic moves statically. Classic bleausard. Here is Paul Barazza clutching the "thank god" hold on // Le Lepreux (direct) // at Elephant. click on photo to enlarge |
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