Finding my toes in Bleau

Our first week in Fontainebleau went by really quickly, between my cold and the rain, most of our time was spent in our Gite (which is awesome by the way!). By the time that my cold had started to ease, the rain had really set in and looked to be staying around a while. Instead of staying indoors and dreaming of dry days, Josh and I decided that the dreary days would be better passed with the help of some wine. So with the aid of Tucker, our awesome new TomTom, and his world maps, we jumped in Hugo (our Opel Corsa) in search of wine. We programmed the destination - and in just over an hour of driving through the French countryside we arrived in the town of Chablis. Our first stop was the patisserie, because everyone knows the great wine is amazing, but great wine in conjunction with great food is out of this world.

A little stop at the Patisserie

After a tantalising treat it was time to get serious, we had set ourselves a task, and as burdensome as it was we had to complete it, it was time to get to tasting the wines so that we could select some wines to bring home to help us pass the rainy days. First stop Jean Marc Brocard- we had intended to get to as many houses as possible, but this all changed when we met Sebastian, the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Jean Marc Brocard employee. As we tasted through the range the time passed quickly, about two things we were absolutely certain, it is great to be in France and a trip to Chablis is much better than a day stuck in doors, rain or no rain!

 After Jean Marc Brocard, we only had time for one more house, plus Josh was driving so best not intoxicate him too much, to Laroche it was! Though we were in Chablis, we went to Laroche in search of a South African wine, a wine that I remembered fondly from my time at Malmaison - Vina Punto Alto Sauvignon Blanc - its a fabulous drop! After tasting through some of Laroche's wares, and with goody bags of bottles to take home from our Chablis adventure we made one last stop at the Chablis Bar for a coffee and a hot chocolate and then made our way back home for dinner.

Goody bags for home....

And then something marvellous happened...the rain stopped! It was time climb! On the first day we went to Rocher Saint-Germain in search of some easy circuits to help us get used to the new style of climbing that Bleau offers. I have to admit, this new style did not come easily to me! Having avoided slopers for as long as I have climbed, never climbing slabs and coming from a world in which I called a 1cm positive foot edge "a tiny footer" I had a LOT to learn! The first climb on my circuit completely shut me down - A V0- -, that I couldn't even work out how to get onto. Welcome to Fontainebleau - where if you don't know how to use your feet you don't know how to climb! I came to Font with terrible footwork! My biggest issue in my climbing was to date a lack of trust in my feet...this would need to change.

Starting to get my confidence with the new style

I shook my way up the second problem on my circuit, Elvis legs and sweaty palms, holding my breath all the way to the slopey top out. The third problem, though a little harder in grade, was easier, I was starting to learn to press my hands rather than looking for something to crimp. The fourth problem of the day helped me to locate my big right toe and ensured I wouldn't forget where it was for a few days....having never climbed slabs, nor used smears, I had not yet learned to keep my heels down, so instead I was heels up trying to toe into the smallest of features...needless to say this was not a successful tactic! I pulled onto the scoop at the bottom of the slab, managed to move each of my feet up once and then slipped, big toe first into the scooping rock...ouch! For those of you who haven't stubbed a toe that is crammed into a climbing shoe, let me tell you something...it really hurts! Not only does it hurt when you stub it, it then proceeds to hurt every time you 1. put on your now seemingly tiny shoes, 2. every time you stand on it in your tiny shoes. After a quick shoe break to recover, it was time for a second attempt. I pulled onto the scoop, moved both of my feet up, managed to get my left foot up one step higher and then...bang, again with the bloody right big toe straight into the bottom of the slab...damn it! One final try, this time my toes hurt too much to stand on, so out of self protection I didn't stand "on" them, instead I dropped my heels and used the bottoms of my shoes, and this time....I topped out! After six problems, I had learned to smear, I had learned to mantel, I had learned to trust my feet a little more, I had learned that I don't always need positive hand holds and I had toes that did not want to be jammed back into climbing shoes so I called it a day and settled myself to take photos and watch Josh crush like a champ - topping out more than 15 problems!!!!

Josh showing how its done!

The next day we headed to Rocher Canon. We met Nick in the carpark and then set out in search of awesome lines. Forgetting that I need to warm up before repeatedly throwing myself at three finger quarter pad crimps, I walked away from my first two climbs without topping out and with sore fingers, time for something different. A traversing slab. Again with the stupid right toe. My first try I was heels up, came off and smashed my toe into the wall, by this point my right toe felt like it had been subjected to torture by sledgehammer for the last two days and after a few tries more on the slab I was soooo close to the top out that I could taste it, but if I wanted to climb again that day I would have to find something a little less dependent upon my right big toe! Onto a cool highball it was...heel hooks and mantels... about two minutes was spent at the top having an internal debate about whether it would be safer to try the mantel for the top out, or if I could somehow manage to downclimb...the downclimb looked impossible, the only choice was to throw up a high heel and try somehow to get over it...yay! my first ever highball top out!!! After a couple more climbs I was spent, Josh moved onto an awesome V6 and topped it out in style and then we called it a day, getting back to the car just before the rain set in!

Learning to climb slabs...another stubbed toe on this one!

It was time for a rest day! It rained all night and far into the morning and everything was wet, perfect timing for a day off of the rocks. Josh and I decided to go for a walk around out little town Bois-le-Roi. As we walked the weaving paths along streams and streets with gorgeous homes, we realised how lucky we are to have time to just stop and watch the world, to appreciate how beautiful the little things are, an insect dancing across the petals of a flower, a train coming into a station...all of the things we so often miss or take for granted in our day to day lives. Another stop at a patisserie and it was time for some movies, dinner and a quiet night in.

Bois-le-Roi

Taking it all in...

Yesterday we headed to Franchard Isatis with Nick, James, Claire and Amy. It was a slow start for me, at first I felt very self conscious, being surrounded by so many climbers who are much stronger than me. It took me a few problems to even pull on and then even more to commit to enough moves to say that I honestly had tried. I spent most of the day making progress on climbs, learning to avoid the feet polished by puff and to trust my smears. Another scoopy slap, another stub for my right toe. I like to think that everything in life has a purpose and so after stubbing my toe five times in three days of climbing it was time to test what I had learnt. I found a little line near a problem that Claire, Josh and James were doing. A little slab with some tiny holds and a scary mantel on nothing at the top. It looked easy at first and then I pulled on and it seemed much harder than expected, the holds were tiny and not positive, the feet looked good, but the faced the wrong way forcing you to use the smaller parts of them, then the top....the top had nothing! After a couple of shots, the first two working out how to get to the top, the next deciding that the top was too scary, Josh gave me the encouragement that I needed and so up I went...heels down on the slab, bum out for balance, move your weight over your foot before you try to stand, move slowly - control it, at the top - hold onto whatever you can, throw up a heel, confirm with your spotter that they have you and you wont die if things go badly, and then commit...as my weight passed over my heel and my hands slapped up I knew I had it...this was my proudest send yet! I was stuck on top of a boulder with no idea how to get down and I was over the moon that I had committed to something that had terrified me so much only one try previous to this...when I got down we looked in the guide to see if the problem was in there...it was...and to my absolute astonishment it was graded 6c! I would never have tried it had I known the grade before I pulled on...from now on to hell with the grades, I am just going to climb the lines I like!!!

Life is pretty good :)

Oh yeah...and for those of you who are interested, I have heel hooked, mantelled and high stepped with my right leg and...it feels great!!!!