Yesterday was great fun as we made an new addition to our group before bidding fairwell to another. Toby a climber from Sheffield joined us for a week of climbing to tied him over till he heads off to Spain. We met him a little over a week ago at Saint Leger. We picked him up on the way to Combe Obscure. For the first time we had reached a group size of four people.
Toby is a delight to climb with. He's laid back and upbeat and cheers you on when you are struggling with hard parts of the route. He and I are roommates as there is an extra bed in my room and clearly Adrian bunking with his client Paul.
Since I was climbing with Toby who is probably climbing the level of James we made quick work of many routes. At the end of the day I managed to climb 8 routes, one of them I red pointed. The climbs were mostly slab and tended to be either crimpfests or jug hauls depending on the grade. I climbed my first doctored route, the drilling was a bit of a let down but the climb was fantastic so I guess what's done is done.
We started by warming up on a 6b called "Picon Fatale" which was a nice warm up as you pull on jugs to a one more wonder on crimps. Next we shifted right and climbed "Joe Le Maxi" a nice 6b+ which has a slightly longer crux in which you step up on a few thin feet as you move out left into a scoop and you rock up onto a hero jug. We continued moving right across the wall and jumped on "Bibdufafait" a 6c+ with a pull of a slightly awkward crimp and small feet. I managed to find a way to fall of this climb despite being more than strong enough to pull on the holds.
Continueing our escapade to the right across the wall I got on a climb shown in the guide book we did have called "Truffe a la tronconneuse" with no description or grade given. The climb starts with a bug reach out to what appears to be a small hold on this gray limestone slab that is blank with no foot holds to speak of. The hold that you reach turns out to be a sinker jug which lets you swing out onto the slab and start pulling to a ledge where a beautiful blank creme coloured limestone wall that is characterized by a series of pockets starting about 4 meters up. I stood on a loose boulder and got my hand into a drilled pocket (yes this is France and the ethics are/were a little different at one time) then rocked over a waste level think edge to gain some pockets an a second clip. A few more moves on increasingly larger holds and tracking my feet brought the climb to a close. A really fun affair. I would grade the climb 6b+ or maybe a soft 6c (5.11a).
We moved back right to get on a route called "Fou du Pont" a 6c maybe 6c+ that takes you up a nice face filled with man many small crimps and small edges that seem to not quite be at the angle you want them on. The climb is great requiring good and steady footwork. This one I red pointed after missing a key foothold an falling off.
Meanwhile Paul, Adrian's client, was having a minor epic on a 6b+ he was working on. The man has good climbing skills and physical capability but had a complete lack of believe that he could do climb. The 6b+ he was working was called "Vibration". He had been at the crux for almost 1.5 hours. He was talking himself out of being able to do the route, it was hard to watch because you keep telling this guy that has the skills that he can do the move he just has to ignore the fear and do exactly what moves he needs to do. In this case trust his feet. Adrian eventually stripped the route for him and gave him a break.
Since Paul saw me as more close to his level and had seem me fall off a 6b+ before which he had red pointed saw me as a good meter stick for comparing him. So I jump on the route to see if I couldn't offer any insight into the route. I didn't find it that difficult except for the crux. Ultimately it came down to the foot holds which may have seemed small to him but were actually quite good. I would in fact downgrade the guide evaluation of it as 6b+ and make it a 6b. Admittedly, while I did onsight it, I would have done it in much better style as I did barn door a little at the crux and only through good core tension and being strong on my feet was I able to correct this mistake. I hope Paul breaks through the head space problem he's having because he has a lot of skill, the only holding him back is his thinking and self talk that tells him he can't do moves or hold on to things.
To finish off the day, I did another cool down call "Chandelier" a 6a+ right next to "Vibration" which was characterized by some awesome big moves off of a suit case handle hold on to some jugs. A perfect cool down climb. With the light fading we all hiked out to the car for our latest time leaving the crag on the trip so far.
Today was a rest day and the day to bid farewell to Paul as he had to return to Briton. We drove into Avignon and dropped him off to the TGV station. Then we made a necessary stop at the to buy me some sports sandals for the crag. The high temperatures were just a touch too much for hiking boots and they take too long to get on and off. My feet are much happier now and I can tell you that a little known fact about Chris Singer is he hates wearing shoes, the make his feet feel like they are suffocating.
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
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