Climbing with Thierry at St Leger, Rest and back to Ubrieux

On Friday I met up with Thierry at St Leger. It was really good to see him and his dog. He always has a great smile on his face and is excited to be out climbing. We started out on the East Face. There as is a hard 6c+ (5.11c) I was hoping to tick off called "Torcheur D'Elephant". The climbing routes names don't seem to be any less humorous than the ones in English. A Torcheur if you were wondering is the french word for someone who wipes your bum.

To warm up I decided to get on a route called "BC L'Ecornifleur" a fun sandbag 6a+ until you get to the anchor which is in a terrible position. Yes, another Kalymnian anchor. I think in the new guide we will give it a 6b (5.10d) as this is the a little more appropriate for clipping the anchors.

Basically I got all the way to the the last move where you have to move off of some really nice jugs into a terrible and insecure position with off angle feet and an overhang to reach and clip the anchor. I got trapped here and rather than get a flash pump decided to lower up and let Thierry see if there wasn't an easier way to do this. Thierry climbed it and agreed that he climb is pretty ugly and there was no easier way to do it. So I went back up and red pointed it.

Next we moved over so could get on "Torcheur D'Elephant" the 6c+ that I'm trying to red point. Thierry, still need to warm up decided to climb it first and put in the quick draws for me. He walked the route till he reach the crux which is 5 moves from the end of the route. He pulled through the bouldery moves and lowered off. Next was my turn to jump on and I climbed to the crux and fell off three moves in. Since I was red pointed and figured I had I good idea of the sequence I lowered off.

Thierry then got on a pumpy 7b which he finished with after hanging on the rope to prevent a flash pump. He lowered off we relaxed in the sun for a while talking about the technique need for the rock here, and about climbing when Erin and Carrie arrive. It was a lot of fun spending time with Thierry, he's such a fun guy and always has a sparkle in his eye and a faint hint of a smile.

While Thierry and I were climbing Adrian had gone off on a hike to get some more pictures for the book and now had returned. He decided to warm up on Torcheur as his warm up. Then I had another go on it. This time I got one move from finishing the crux when I fell off. This time I got back on and pulled through the crux then lowered and worked it a few times.

After rest and Thierry cranking out a 7c+/8a I got back on. I ran to the crux but was more tired than the last attempt and fell. I decided that maybe that was a day for me. Thierry still has some energy so I gave him a belay on a bouldery 7b which exhausted him as well. All three of us walked back to the cars and parted ways.


I took another double rest day to help recover from the abuse my body has been getting from the climbing.


Sunday, came soon; any harshness in my head and body were chased away by a couple of cups of coffee. ;) I hoped on a bike and cycle with Stuart a friend of Ollie, the owner of our gite. We went to Propiac, the next town over, which is where a street rally was going through. We perched ourselves atop an embankment overlooking a pair of hairpin turns. After about 5 minutes the cars started screaming by. We had another car every minute for 3 hours. Some screeched around the corners, some slide, some just turned. A couple nearly hit the bank we were sitting on but that was as we were about 20 feet up and so were in no risk.

At 11:00 AM the last car rolled through our stage of the race and we state down to eat lunch. The day was hot, the hottest so far here. i would guess it was 28 degrees but a nice breeze kept the temperature from getting too out of hand. After a 45 minute interlude the second state of the rest took place with the cars pushing now to their limit.

The Rally lasted till 3 in the afternoon and we packed up and cycled back up the hill to Les Jonchiers. I spent the rest of the afternoon down in Buis-Les-Baronnies with Adrian who needed a break from writing the book.

Today I wasn't expecting to climb as we were going into Buis-Les-Baronnies to see if we couldn't get Adrian's dentist appointment moved up. Adrian while in Switzerland skiiing manage to crash and hit himself in the face with his pole. He had a false front tooth from when he was a boy and got it knocked out. Well I said had and I mean had, he is looking like a hockey play now. Apparently the crash broke either the tooth that the false one was sitting it or the cement hold it in but either way its out now.

So we wondered into the dentist office in hopes of getting a cancellation or improving his appointment time. I spoke to the receptionist and she gave us a better appointment for tomorrow at 3:00 PM. So we found ourselves with the entire day available.

We decided to visit Ubrieux, we had spent one day there already but the place was massive and we had lots of climbing to check out there. We set out and climbed out the far right sector of Tchernobyl rock, a sector with a slightly less than vertical wall to a roof and then it slabs off. The routes in this location are quite short only 12-15 meters in length, making them bolted highball boulder problems.

I warmed up on a 6b called "Ira De La Lune", the climb was relatively straight forward but condensation from the hot weather made some of the polished holds slippery. Feeling good about he onsight I decided to talked a 6b called "Sensation". This route has a roof which forces me to climb the overhang. Overhangs have been my Achilles heel so far on the trip so I'm now focusing on working the technique needed to climb these.

The climb didn't go so well, the first section was relatively easy till you pull up to a ledge just under the roof and most of the holds run out. I had to pull on a mono (pocket in the rock only large enough for one finger) to gain the first hold on the roof. I clipped the bolt and then worked my hands to the jugs just above the edge of the roof but with no support from my feet I was unable to hold the position and fell off. I rested briefly and then gave it another try. This time at Adrian suggestion I cut my feet off (cutting off is when you remove both feet from the foot holds and hang exclusively on your arms) and reposition my right foot and then rocked up and locked off. I moved my right hand to a so so hold but my right foot with where it was positioned was forcing my body out and away from the rock and I was unable to hold the position. Rather than continue flailing I decided to come back to the ground and rest before making another attempt at the route.

After some rest I got back on "Sensation", after working out a better sequence involving a left hand cross (when you cross you left hand over you right hand) above the head wall I was able to get the red point.

We decided to move over to the K D'Annibal sector a bit further from the road. Here I flashed a three star 6b+ called "Nuage". The climb works up some gray slabs to a overhanging buldge. Once through the bulge you make you way up to some slightly overhanging right trending flake to a traverse (climbing horizontally) right on thin holds, then up to the anchor.

We decided to finish the day off at the Diagonale Du Fou sector. I got on a route called "Desir" without looking through the guide book. It was slab for the first section, then crack and then back to slightly overhanging moves on slab. This marathon route is 38 meters. Some tricky moves open the climb as you pull up into an undercling and then up onto a head wall. Moving over sustained but easier terrain you reach a short section of chossy (rotten/crumbly rock) rock which you pull through with some caution and then out on to the slab. The moves get progressively thinner as you work higher on the route till you step left on small edges and a couple of sidepulls and latch on to a big flag that threatens barn door you (when you body peels away form he rock and you but one side stays attached making you look like a barn door). Fighting through the barn door you get into a set of finger locks and then underclings to the chains.

I eeked out the onsight of "Desir" just as the sun set so we packed up the gear and headed home. A good finish to a good day. It seems the extra rest I've been taking recently is paying dividens as this is my first 6c+ (5.11c) onsight on the trip.

A friend recently as about what my feeling is for this trip, what exactly is my persuit here. Am I just chasing grades or what do I hope to accomplish. I think it would be good to share my thoughts on this.

I want to see just where I can go with my climbing. I'm pursuing it to the limit and see where that is, I know it might not be the same place as those guys but that doesn't matter, I want to find mine. I love the purity of climbing and its one thing I have a passion for in my life. I have always love it.

I have a whole lot to learn and I'm already starting to discover some pretty glaring technical weaknesses that have been hidden by the angles I climb in the gym. Basically the Coquitlam gym is not steep enough to teach what you get out here. Things are so outrageously overhanging it will blow you away. I now know that once the angle of a climb reaches about 15-20 degrees or more I'm going to have problems because I haven't developed the technique. Some of this is physical as I'm getting worn down a bit from the intensity and length of the routes. I also realize now that I haven't developed the strength I need for some of the hard moves because I haven't bouldered much but most of all that could be compensated by better technique which I haven't got yet. I'm sure it will come but its becoming so apparent it really interesting. Knowing a thing is one thing, becoming a thing and living/moving in that way is quite something else.

Knowing all this I'm starting to develop a more structured approach to climbing here. I'm starting to set goals and training practices to help me get the technique and strength I'll need to start climbing harder. One thing I'm not doing is resting more. I'm now going to take two day rests every week or so to make sure I stay physical condition for climbing hard. Next climbing day I'm going to get on some much harder climbs, maybe a 7b+ (5.12c), and go bolt to bolt to help develop more power. I'm also going to start picking out easier climbs in the 6a/6a+ (5.10b/c) range that are overhanging and focus on technique where I am not totally taxed to my limit (today I did this with sensation).

So there you guys have it. There are other reason for the trip but in the context for climbing that is why I'm out here. I hope everyone back home is well. Hugs and love.