As anyone that has been to Font can tell you, it's a magical place
and the best bouldering in
the world (I stand behind that statement). I think this was
my 10th trip to Font and while I'm far from fully versed on all-things-Font, I feel I've learned a
thing or two over the years and thought I'd share a few tips for anyone planning a
trip to the magical forest. So in no particular order here are my top 5 tips to optimize your
trip to Font.
Bring an umbrella. The weather in
Font can be notoriously bad and if your trip coincides with a rainy
spell you'll want to utilize every weather window available. That
means you'll be among the hoards of desperate climbers flocking to
the rocks when the rain stops and subsequently running for cover
when the showers return. A good umbrella and/or small tarp will be
your new best friend as they will keep you dry during short showers
or day ending rains. It can also be wise to use the tarp and
fashion a little roof in anticipation of the rain and it can even be
used to keep the top-out of your project from being saturate. It is
worth noting that you can't count on hunkering under a roof as they can be overcrowded and substantial rains will have streams of water gradually encroaching on your cover until there is no more shelter. It is no fun to pack wet gear into your car and even worse if
you're camping with a crashpad doubling as your bed. Hopefully
you'll have good weather but if you draw the short straw then do
yourself a favor and get an umbrella.
It could be worse, at least they have an umbrella.
Learn how to poop in the woods.
Don't you just love it when you are exploring around the boulders
and encounter a minefield of human feces. Yeah, neither do I so
please be considerate and learn how to poop in the woods. If you
don't know let me break it down for you. Take a long walk far
away from trafficked areas (not just behind the first boulder or
tree) and find a suitable place to dig a sufficient sized hole.
Ideally you wouldn't leave behind toilet paper by using what nature
provides (moss, smooth sticks, rocks, etc) or packing it out but the bare
minimum is to bury it with the poop. After you do your business someone
should be able to walk by without even knowing what just transpired
there. Seriously, why is this hard for so many people. The ground
is not that hard and a stick can easily be used. I could go on
ranting but I'll leave it by saying there is never an excuse for
leaving your shit for someone to step in and your toilet paper to be
blown to the wind. If you have to poop in the woods learn to do it properly and everyone will
have a better time in Fontainebleau.
Don't go to Bas Cuvier on a
weekend. It can be nice to bump into other climbers at the boulders
but it can be a bit much when you have to take a number just to try
a problem. Under normal conditions you can expect the popular areas
( Bas Cuvier, Sabot, Isatis, etc..) to be busy but during European
holidays and weekends they can feel just like Disneyland as you'll
spend most of your day waiting in lines to get on the more popular
rides. Fortunately there are multitudes of less popular areas that
are equally as good and offer the perfect
place to spend your weekends. And if you simply must try one of the
uber classics in the middle of Bas Cuvier go early in the morning
and you'll have the place to yourself, or wait until the evening we
things tend to die down.
Henrik trying an awesome problem that we stumbled upon while exploring the boulders around Rocher d'Avon one Saturday. No crowds to deal with, just sweet sweet sandstone.
Forget your tick-list. Font is
the one place I've been that genuinely has loads of amazing problems
across the entire grade spectrum and I pity those that are slaves to
their predesignated tick-lists. With so many stunning problems the
idea of spending several days trying to do a single one just seems
crazy to me. Yes, you should seek out those classics that will
challenge you but I've seen folks so hellbent on sending a
V-blahblah project that their whole trip is spent climbing on a
handful of problems. What makes Font special is the ability to run
around and do so many great problems one after the other and if it's
your first trip to Font you'd be cheating yourself by even going to the
same area over and over. So dump the tick-list and try to visit as
many of the more than 100 areas as you can. And if you really want
to appreciate Font I highly recommend doing some curcuits. You'll
do tons of great problems, see the whole area and become a better
climber.
Henrik and Lina learning the subtleties of climbing in Font. Both these problems are on red circuits, awesome, and unlikely to stroke the ego of number-chasers.
Drink wine and eat cheese. While
you might be in Font to climb on rocks don't forget that you are in
France and should take advantage of being a tourist. A day trip (or
two?) to Paris is probably in order and there is no better way to
start your day than picking up some fresh bread from your local
boulangerie. Personally, my wine and cheese consumption goes
through the roof but there are lots of ways to embrace your inner
Frenchman/woman. Just don't take it too far because despite what
your mom says you can't quite pull off the pencil mustache and beret.
Now get out there and start planning you next trip.....
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