A Summer In Paradise by James Pearson Added 25/09/09

Summers for me usually involve escaping to some far flung or exotic destination in an attempt to escape the grease of the Peak and find inspiration in pastures new. This spring, I was fortunate enough to be part of The North Face Summit Series Road Trip which was essentially a whistle stop tour of some of the best climbing areas, all over Europe.

The trip really opened my eyes to just how incredibly diverse climbing in Europe can be and how fortunate we are as climbers to live in such a place. Within a few hours drive you can be climbing on totally different rock types, worlds apart in terms of feel, style and structure, but all of impeccable quality

So when my girlfriend Emily told me she would have just over 3 weeks from finishing her BVC before being called to the bar, and wanted to take a climbing trip somewhere, I decided to shun the expensive air fares, pack the car and book a ferry to France. The plans were relatively simple; we should try to visit areas new to us, try to stick at altitude to minimise the temps, and try to visit as many friends and family along the way.

The first stop on our little tour was Fontainebleau. “Font in the summer! You’re crazy” I hear you cry. Well, whilst it is true that during the summer months, temperatures in the forest can soar to well over 30 degrees, the air is usually very dry, and whist these are most definitely not prime conditions, if you stick to well shaded areas some climbing can still be had. Good places to check out are Isatis and Cuisiniere, as the tree density here seems just a little thicker. In fact, shortly before we arrived the notoriously difficult slopers of Karma (8a+) had been climbed by visiting Canadian Sean McColl.

However, this time we were not in font for the climbing. My friend Neil has lived in the forest for a few years and runs the climbers paradise of Maisonbleau (http://maisonbleau.com) and so we decided to stop in to see him and his family for a night which also served to break up the journey southwards nicely.

Ceuse - hard routes and hard walk ins!!

As hard as it may be to believe, I had never climbed at Ceuse before this trip and so was very excited to say the least. I had seen the pictures, listened to the route recommendations from friends and also the horror stories of the walk in, but since we arrived late in the evening, I would have to wait one more night to find out for myself. We stayed at the “Les Guernis” campsite which costs 5 Euros per person per night but has very good facilities and very helpful owners. There is also a free option a little further up the road which has running water but nothing else.

The amazing Biographie wall at Ceuse towers over James...

Em and I woke early with excitement and after a quick breakfast we set off up towards the crag. Red arrows had been stuck in the ground, showing the way for the first quarter of the journey through the farmland which I guess must change every year or so to minimise erosion. You soon find yourself on an obvious path that weaves upwards through lovely forest until you cross a fire road which marks the halfway point. From here the route becomes a little less obvious and on our first day we unintentionally took the shortcut, which is very steep and hard on your knees.

The standard path is much more amenable and continues to snake up through the trees until you come to the end of the forest and have to choose which sector of the crag you want to visit. For the cascade sector and others close by, turn left, go through a gate and continue on a flat path for a few hundred meters until you reach a cairn. From here you turn right and quest up the steep rocks until you reach the waterfall.

For the other sectors (Berlin, Biography and further right) you keep right after leaving the forest and follow the path as it gently climbs up the hill for several hundred meters. There are various points you can turn left to climb more steeply to the crag, just pick your sector, take the exit and push out the last few hundred steps to victory.

The crag itself is one of the most impressive I have seen, so tall and long that you can only really appreciate it once you are back down in the camp and can see just how insignificant the days routes now look! The single pitch routes are up to 80 meters in some places so stamina is the name of the game here. If you are unfit, you will have a hard time, but fortunately this is probably one of the best crags to get all over body fit at, and given a month or so, very significant gains will be had. Unfortunately Em and I had significantly less time than that and in the 4 days we walked up that big old hill, our climbing performance was going down and down. We would arrive at the crag, climb a couple of routes and the tanks would feel empty and we quickly realised our dreams of redpointing our respective projects would stay just that... dreams. Until next time...

On one of our rest days at Ceuse we decided to meet up with Neil who was holidaying a little further south near the Verdon. Neil had shown us some pictures of deep water soloing at the mouth of the gorge; the rock looked incredible and the water inviting, and with temperatures approaching the mid 30’s we really had to check it out.

The drive from Ceuse is about 1 ½ hours and took us through the heart of French lavender country, which seemed like a very peaceful place. Once we arrived at the north east point of the lake (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mr&ie=UTF8&ll=43.802695,6.250877&spn=0.056991,0.154324&t=h&z=13), we met with Neil and set about hiring a Pedalo from one of the many riverside vendors. We paid 12 Euros an hour for a 4 to 5 seater vessel, from the shack nearest the bridge, which seemed a little less than the other places but not exactly cheap. If you are thinking of spending more than a few hours on the river, it might work out better to buy a cheap kiddies dingy from one of the nearby towns.

Once afloat, head down river into the gorge, and the climbing will become immediately apparent. One of the first walls you reach on the right is one of the best, a vertical section of very compact pocketed limestone. With a big rounded ledge at around 12 meters. We did a great route that climbs past the obvious large hole at 1/3rd height but there is potential for much more on the steeper tufa and pocket covered faces left and right.

Further still, approximately 300m on the left is a very steep cave like feature with a host of acrobatic routes. We climbed 4 or five lines here, the best of which tackles the roof at its widest point. Unfortunately, due to it being mostly virgin, the rock here is often quite sharp which as you might have guessed does not go well with soggy skin. After about an hour and a half my skin had seen better days so we started to head back to the beach which was a lot harder work this way round due to the current.

After Ceuse we drove 4 hours north east to Visit Emily’s brother Robin in Chamonix. Chamonix is obviously world famous for its winter season, but during the summer thousands of people still flock to the valley for hiking, mountain biking and mountaineering. Bouldering however, is not something people (well English people anyway) usually associate with a summer in Chamonix but I can tell you that it does exist, and not only that, it’s also pretty good, especially in the easier grades.

James working it on

There is very little info available online and it seems like the locals have been trying to keep the beta fairly hush-hush. Fairly recently however a small guide Les Blocs de la Region de Chamonix has been published with info on over 800 problems (http://www.gebro-verlag.de/gebro/chamonixblock.htm) and you can buy the guide from a few locations in town, including Technique Extreme.

The areas we visited were well shaded and quite picturesque. The problems have been organised into coloured circuits, with each problem also being numbered, and more info available by checking the guide. The circuits come in Yellow, Blue, Red and Black flavours and with a couple of hours, you can have a really good, productive session, climbing on slopers, crimps, slabs and overhangs.

If there is one negative point, it is a few of the problems have been manufactured, but these are easy to spot and avoid if you so wish. Problems range from 3’s to 8+ so there really is enough to keep anyone happy for a few days as an alternative to slogging up big hills!

The most memorable time from our stay in Chamonix actually had nothing to do with climbing, well not rocks anyway. One evening (or more precisely early morning) found us locked in a rather exclusive gentleman’s club with the owner and his girlfriend, sipping on Champagne, trying our luck at the pole or just kicking back and watching the show. I have always had time for watching talented strippers working the pole, and after trying a few tricks for myself, that respect has only increased - It’s really hard work and super core intensive!

We waved goodbye to the good times in Cham and got back on the open road. Innsbruck was our next destination and also my new home base for the next 6 months. I am moving in with my friend Keith, who is possibly better known by his internet alter ego of Unclesomebody, with the basic plan of climbing loads of sport routes and getting as fit as I have ever been (which shouldn’t be that difficult given my past bolt clipping achievements ;) ). We were really impressed with Innsbruck when we stopped off on the Roadtrip earlier this year; the city seemed cool, the mountains looked beautiful and the rock is steep and everywhere.

First job first, unpack the car and build a bed as you got to have somewhere to sleep, but once that was out of the way, it was time for the main event. I don’t want to write too much now as I won’t be able to do the place justice in only a few hundred words. Instead, I plan to write another article for this very site to be published later in the year when I have visited more areas. For now, I can say the climbing is incredible. The first day, Em and I plodded up an easy multipitch with amazing views all the way back to Innsbruck. The second and third were spent on steeper and shorter routes, onsighting, flashing and redpointing some of the best sport routes of my life.

I think I’m going to like Austria, but before I settle down there are a few things still pending. After returning to the UK, Em and I start the second leg of our one summer in paradise when we jet off to Mallorca for a spot of sailing and Psicobloc.

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