Orpierre and Goodbye to new Friends

Picture: Orpierre Panorama

For our final day climbing Adrian and I took a trip to a new location: Orpierre. Orpierre is a small mining town about an hour drive North East of where we have been living in Pierrelongue. The drive was not so bad and along the way I got my first glimpse of the French Alps.

Picture: Panorama of Alps in the distance on drive to Orpierre

Picture: Panorama of Alps in the distance on drive to Orpierre 2

We pulling into the parking lot and look around wondering how so many ropes were up when the parking lot was so empty. We made our way from the parking lot to the base of the climbs on the back left wall. They seems to have the best looking rock and were not covered with gumbies. Not having a guide book for he area I figured this was the best place. Its also gave Adrian a good vantage point for getting pictures of all the different sectors.

After snapping pictures of all the different cliffs in the area Adrian gave me a few belays on some warm up climbs. Since I had brought my 100m rope I linked together two pitches of a climb right to the top of the cliff graded 5c and 6a. The climbing was easy and straight forward. I was tired from the previous days adventures and had no problem taking it easy. I followed up with a 6a+.

Adrian then hiked out for some more shots while I stayed back and moved to the left. A couple of French climbers from Laval were going up a 6b and found it hard and got about half way before they got shut down by the crux. I volunteered to climb the route and get their draws back down. I managed to get up to the crux move which had seeping water because of the rains over the past couple days. I made the crux move, a four feet reach to a giant pocket. To my great surprised the pocket was completely filled with water which spashed out and tricked down the rock wetting all my foot holds on the left side. I worked around the wet foot holds to make another 4 foot reach to an edge but because I couldn't use the left hand foot holds because they were wet I slipped off. I tookk a brief rest then pulled back on and completed the climb.

Adrian returned and we both did the 6a+ next to the route I cleaned for the French climbers from Laval. Packed up and moved over to an area of vertical to slightly overhanging gray wall with horizontal ledges midway up.

I was feeling tired so I jumped on 6b+ but got smoked at the crux. My head was clearly not in it anymore so I called it a day. Adrian went on to climb it and then onsighted a 7b+ to complete our day.

We headed back home and packed up that night. I spent the evening saying goodbye to Christian, Gabriel, Jess and Ollie. I hope to visit them again when I return to Europe.

Final week in Southern France

Since the decision has been made to include the Rochers De Groseau at Malaucene, and since nobody not even the current English guide has treated this exceptional crag properly. In fact, I distrust the guide so much I'm not sure if I should even believe the route names. I suppose they sound french enough.... since the mission was to get the grades because the guy who wrote the English guide just walked around from the bottom and assigned a grade without climbing it and affix the infamous eyeball symbol next to it we had to climb them all for grading.

I was first up to check out some short scrappy looking routes on the far right side of the cliff.
I started by leading a climb called "Preview" which I gave a 5 (5.9) followed by top roping "Time Code" and "Polarisant", 6b+ (5.11a) and 6a+ (5.10c) respectively.

Adrian tagged in and quickly dispatched another three climbs of questionable grade before I got on the last unknown climb of the sector called "La Voie Lactee" a nice 6c (5.11b) that move up over broken pocketed rock at a slight overhang. After using some siege tactics of moving out of a rest and placing draws and checking out holds I managed to pull through the crux for the onsight but not without first placing my hand is a water filled pocket. It seems the endless rain storms we have been having have left their mark.

We packed up our thing and move to the far left side of the crag where not only were their more eyeball grades but also some new climbs. This first one I got on was an off vertical face climb that moved up the middle of what looked like a rib. The climb has no name and is not in the old guidebook so its anyones guess what its called. The climb was fun and a touch technical but the rock quality at the top started to fall off and I had to avoid crumbly hand and foot holds to clip the anchor. A 6a (5.10b) that I probably wouldn't recommend to anyone reading.

Next I did another unknown climb which I would give two stars for its excellent athletic moves and great position through the overhang which kicks back right at the start of the crux. If it wasn't for the knee bar mid-height on the climb it would probably be 7a+ but you get to get a really good shake out before you have to start hauling yourself up a 15 degree overhang on your arms and tacking with you feet using big moves on good to mediocre holds. Wonderful climb though I had trouble with the right arm lockoffs.

Adrian then got on a series of sharp hard pocketed overhang climbs which again were not in the guide book. He didn't enjoy himself much as various footholds were crumbling under his shoes. After a few epic belays and precious little skin remaining he returned to the ground and declared himself done.

At his recommendations I want up a three star 6c (5.11b) that he had left the draws in on his first run up the steep face we were working on. the moves were incredible! A couple pockets on overhanging limestone which you work you feet up on small holds then make three consecutive big moves to get into a nice hole where the angle turns to vertical climbing on really good but sometimes sharp pockets with technical sequences and footwork. The climb was an amazing way to finish the day off.

The last two days since then have been filled with rain and what I can only describe as a tempest. The brio blocks form the children upstairs were blasted off the deck above our gite and are now strewn about our door in various glowing primary colours.

Today, Tuesday April 22rd, we headed out into the maelstrom that was Malaucene to the Rochers de Groseau. It was our hope that the howling wind would be enough to dry out the pockets that we would have to pull on. Since the clouds and the wind were so uninspiring in the morning we delayed our departure from the gite till 1:45 PM. Some would say this was too late especially after having two days of rain and wind but the days are still long and the thought of standing around the base of the crag waiting for the wind to dry it out was not high on my list of things I wanted to do.

Adrian also wasn't feeling very perky today so I got the nod to dry. We reach Malaucene and with practice movements set about grabbing our bags and hiking into the base of the crag. To was yet another mission to reveal the true grades and nature of all the eyeballs that had been scattered about the old English guide.

Since I was the the one eager to climb today I got to start out. I picked a nice groove line that was the first in the on the right of the sector. I guessed at a grade of 6a+ (5.10c) from the ground and it was confirmed and two stars appended to it. I then top roped the climb immediately to its left, finding it too be a 6b (5.10d) and absolute joy, another two star route.

Adrian then stepped into play and made quick work of the warm up routes at the far left of the crag, both 6b+ (5.11a) but no stars and then moved on to a more serious climb that would turn out to be a 7b (5.12b). He set up a top rope on the climb immediately to the right again. This looked nice, with big moves on pockets, sightly overhanging and then up through an overhanging groove with little feet and slightly awkward body position as the groove prevents you from getting any really weight off you arms. The crux move is probably hanging 80% of your body weight off two fingers while you quickly get the other hand into a jug just about it. I had to dog my way to the top but a great climb which made me smile.

For my next climb I did what looked like hard and pumpy climb on slighty overhanging terrain and the ominous presence of a bail biner didn't help with my confidence. What looked nasty and brutish turned out to be the best three star route on the crag. I mean it was amazing, great climbing on huge pockets and holes with big moves, once through a technical crux you get to rest in a cave. Then the climbing goes to slightly less than vertical on technical terrain but juggy non the less.

For my last climb of the day I decided to get on what the guide book described as a 6c++ (5.11c - stiff) or that was what I guessed at. I didn't take me much past the first climb before I wandered a bit off route and fell on a deadpoint. That was the start of a epic belay session as I had grown tired from climbing near my limit for the earlier part of the day. The climb was a bit relentless with big moves on pockets through overhanging terrain that didn't offer as many foot holds as I would have liked. After flailing through the crux and climbing poorly I managed to get my way to the top. I graded it as stiff 7a (5.11d) because I certainly didn't use good technique in a few spots but it definitely would be quite the pump fest. I gave this one two stars as well because of the excellent position it gives you while climbing it.

I am not ready to doze off so I wish you all well.

Rains have finally left; now some challenges with Visas.

(Picture is a panorama that I stitched together using autostitch. This doesn't do the climbing justice but its of the North face of the Chaine de Clapis in Les Dentelles de Montmirail this place is simply amazing, so many climbs)

After the deluge of the last few days Adrian and I finally made out way back out to St Leger. Equipped with the 100m rope we decided the only place to go was to Al Andeluze as there are several new 40+ metre routes to the right of the sector.

The hike in was relatively uneventful and we were the first people to arrive at the sector, which was somewhat surprising since we had gotten a late start.

Since this was the first day back after starting my forearm recovery program using the weights I started out on the easiest climb in the sector a stiff 6b (5.10d) that I had climbed several times before called “La Maitre et son disciple”. I could really feel the pain in my forearms but it was somehow different; it felt more like a muscular pain than the burning from lower down near the connective tissue.

After completing this climb I moved on to “Le Deux Boeuf en Vacances” the 6b+ (5.11a) next to it which I had also climbed before but fallen off of. I made my way through the bottom half to the second roof where I found myself at a loss for the sequence and decided I wasn’t warm enough to pull hard so I sat on the rope to recover and figure out the sequence of the climb. Getting back on I climbed to the upper crux which pulls over a small bulge and as per my usually self as soon as I loose sight of my feet I fall apart. There was a great hand ledge below the bulge for you feel but you can’t see it after you move up so with my poor memory of the climb and uncertain of my foot placement I fell off. I quickly realized my mistake and finished the climb with ease.

Adrian went and warmed up on “Gourmandise” an overhanging start and a slabby finish makes this three start 6c a great choice but perhaps not for a warm up, at least not for me. At my request Adrian left the quick draws in the climb so I could try to flash it with him passing on beta to me.

But first things first, I wanted to red point “Le Deux Boeuf en Vacances”. I moved back over and easily dispatched the climb, executing the moves I had done the last time and the sequence that I had forgotten at the cruxes. Happy I came down and belayed Adrian on one of the many 40m routes around the corner. Toby if you are reading this, the 100m rope works wonders, you can lower to the ground without a second thought.

For my first attempt on “Gourmandise” Adrian suggested I go bolt to bolt and check out the situation. The climb had a few big move and a very sustained nature, if it wasn’t for the no hand rest after the overhang I would expect the climb would have been two grades harder. I thought I should just try to flash it so I told Adrian I would go to the crux at the overhang and see if I could pull it and if not I would go bolt to bolt. Well I moved up to the crux and made the move but couldn’t figure out how to get my feet up to pull over the steep overhang and onto the headwall. So I sat on the rope to figure out the sequence.

I jumped back on and climbed through the crux to a no hands rest. While recovery in this stance I noticed that one of the French women from Grenoble was climbing next to me on the next route over. I didn’t think this would be a huge problem even though the climbs shared an anchor at the top and the fall line would be right over top of where I was climbing. She passed me on the left as I moved into what felt like a tricky face climb with very little feet. Once she reached the top she lower off and cleaned, again not a problem until the need where she unclipped her last clip which sent the rope she was lower off of sliding across the rock as she swung into me. I didn’t fall off but was a bit annoyed. Then as I was trying to figure out the rest of the climb she starts to pull the rope which is passing over my back. So I’m sitting on this face hanging onto the rock trying to adjust my body position to keep the rope from melting the shirt I’m wearing while not falling off. She finally get the rope through the top without saying anything and the end whipped through the anchor and hits me in the face. I more than a little cheese, could they not have waited a mere 5 minutes for me to finish the route. Talk about situationally unaware! The rest of her group was really nice and I enjoyed talking with them but this person was pretty self absorbed.

After a brief break and verifying that the climb next to me was free so that I wouldn’t get a rope in the mouth I got back on for the red point attempt. The climb flowed from one move to the next. It felt really good to execute the moves cleanly and smoothly as I had planned them out on my previous attempt. After finishing this off and cleaning the climb I was happy with my day as was Adrian so we packed up and headed home.

Monday, April 14th, was a hard day, I woke up feeling exhausted from a restless sleep. The sleepiness that you experienced followed me like a shadow of lead. I felt tired and couldn't move and the rock, my limbs weighed down by some unseen force (gravity I think they call it). I feel exhausted even now and will likely go to bed soon after a shower. The climbing was a little frustrating as I seem to get tired after every move now. I only managed to do 3 climbs on the day. One of them I had climbed before and fell off at the top. I tried it again and got right to the anchor but I lost site of my feet when I pulled above an overhang and fell again. Very frustrating.

For the second climb I tried to flash "Des Titis des Grisette" a pump 6c (5.11b) as Adrian had climbed it first and left his quick draws in. I climb with Adrian giving me beta form the ground. I pulled through the crux move after which he had no information. On my own I couldn't see where to go after that so I fell off. When I got back on I pulled through the crux and made the last clip but couldn't get any higher than that as the rock above was frighteningly weak and there were no feet for me to easily stand on. After thrashing a bit and hanging on the rope a lot I managed to find a way through it. I was feeling defeated and exhausted. I had pulled two fist sized holds off the top 3 metres of the climb and was not interested in repeating that experience so I setup to clean the route.

As I was lowering off I cleaned off the first clip and noticed that there was a traverse possible to a different set of bolts out on the left. This traverse could be done on good holds and had reasonable foot holds. I got Adrian to take and then worked the moves on top rope. They were good so I put the clip I had just cleaned on the bolt on the left and lowered to the grounds so that I could red point the climb.

The Red Point attempt went flawlessly and I pulled through the deadpoint (where you make a move and if you don't catch the hold you are going for you fall) at the crux and through the top sections just as the sun came back out. though I succeed on the climb, I decided to call it a day. My heart and my head were telling me it was time to go home and take a break. So we packed up and headed back into town.

Since the day before was such a gong show, I decided to take a day off while Adrian went off to photograph the South face the south chain of les Dentelles de Montmirail. Instead I took the time to relax at home and map out climbing crags I want to visit as well as look into buying a car in Italy and finding accommodation and ways to get to Milan. After spending a few hours on the couche surfing website I found a really helpful guys from near Milan who just put up a social networking site for climbing called 9b (here is the link for the climber out there). Its a pretty cool site because its just like Facebook but for climbers. I ended up talking to the guy on Skype for a about and hour and he taught me a bunch of Italian. I'm looking forward to meeting him when I get to Italy. I also had a great visit with my dad on Skype to top out the day.

As of the morning April 16th, that has all changed. I was doing some research last night into if it was possible to buy a car in Italy and finally piece together something that has been making me wonder this whole time. My visa, it seems is a Schengen tourist visa which lasts only 90 days. What I thought was a visa that was for the country I was in and could get renewed by leaving that country and moving into the next is not in fact true. The Schengen space is made up of all of Western Europe and now as of this year most of Eastern Europe. The visa granted to tourists on arrival to this area is valid for only 90 days and can be applied for only once every 180 days. Thus, when my visa runs out on May 5 I will not be able to return to the Schengen space (mainland Europe) for the following 3 months (90 days).

Now that is a scary or expensive prospect given that I'm flying out of Marseille in October. I called the Canadian Consulate in Paris to find out if I had any options for applying to get another visa or an extension. I wasn't impressed with the level of help I got, the suggestion was that I only had two options: stay and keep a low profile and hope no law enforcement ask to see my passport or keep traveling in other countries outside of the Schengen space for 3 months and then come back.

So my options for destinations are fairly limited at this point. As far as places I would like to go and won't cost me an arm and a leg are: Morocco, Turkey and the UK. So it looks like Adrian might not be ride of me yet. My new plan is to go up the the UK where you can get a tourist visa for 6 months at the border and maybe spend a few weeks there and then head to South Africa for a month or two. Return to Britain and spend a bit more time climbing there till August when I can get another 3 month tourist visa for the Schengen space.

Simple plan, just need a get a few things taken care of like Malaria drugs, Typhoid and Yellow Fever vaccine and a plan ticket. I've also sent off an email to the French Consulate in London to see if I can apply for a long stay visa from them, contrary to what I was told by the Canadian consulates.

I've been dealing with the feelings of embarrassment, like I should have known that or I should have done more research on visas. I feel like a child who made the most obvious mistake. Ultimately, I recognize that these feelings are not helpful and I'm only going through the old habit of punishing myself in order to learn. I'm working on letting go of that feeling and choosing a more effective learning script by seeing the experience as a moment to learn so that I associate mistakes with learning instead of with negative emotions like embarrassment or fear. I'm also moving on to the more immediate and fun aspect of trying to figure out what I want to do. I think this is a harder decision but life has been telegraphing a trip to South Africa for a while now as my wonderful sister is going to be down there as is Karina.

I also have some wonderful support from my cousin in London who has offer me a couch of his for the beginning of May which is where I will setup for my trip South Africa. I will fill you all in on the details as they become more clear to me.

So naturally I was a bit stressed over this development so Adrian and I went climbing in the Dentelles de Montmirail as he needed to get pictures of the North Face of the chain de Gigondas. He hiked up and around getting pictures the on an overcast day which is what he wanted for the North side because it would otherwise be in the share and make for bad pictures. I dozed in the car as I hadn’t slept well for obvious reasons.

We then packed up the 100m rope and our gear to hike up to the “La Breche de la Pousterle”, a gap in the giant fins where you can cross over to the other side. Adrian wanted to photograph the North Face of the chain de Clapis. After a 20 minute uphill hike we reach the break. Adrian hike to the other side and got his pictures while I wait at the break. We then hiked in and linked two climbs together as warm up. We chose to do the first two pitches of “Oceane” at 4c and 6b+ then linked into the upper pitch of a beautiful dihedral crack line called “Diedre de Provance” at 6a (5.10a). Not having read the topo on the first “Oceane” I jumped on thinking it was a nice looking climb and it appear to have spaced bolts but I wasn’t concerned as the holds looked good. I was mistaken and after climbing the route head on instead of stepping right at the crux I found myself hanging from the rope. After a brief rest and finding where I had missed the transition right I jumped back on and linked the two routes right to the top of the fin for a single pitch of climbing of 55 metres. It was quite fun when we found that the we could rappel all the way to the ground once all the direction changes were taken out of the route.

Since it was cold we decided to hike back over to the break where I saw a climb I wanted to do from the previous days hike called “Je Suis un Communiste” a slightly overhanging 6c+ (5.11c). I put aside the any thoughts of what the climb would be like or level of difficult and just focused on wanting to do it and enjoying solving the challenges along the way. Once I started in it was amazing, my mind got quite and started to move with precision and confidence. The crux sequence was amazing, a pull off of a sidepull and a mono (one finger pocket) on a 5 degree overhanging bulge to a soso crimp with slabby insecure foot holds. The climb continues in a sustained mediocre holds as you progress through vertical and overhanging sections till you pull up onto a slab head wall to finish. It was 30m of pure pleasure, the guidebook under rated this one giving it only one star. Its easily 2 and a half.

Adrian decided to lead it and he felt it was a pretty stiff 6c+ so I would have to say this is the hardest onsight I’ve done on the trip so far. The best part was I wasn’t in any great pain for the lock-offs I did with my right arm. I guess the rehab I’ve been doing is helping.

I spied yet another route I really wanted to do just to the left, another 6c+ (5.11c) called “Ourdes 96” which was even more steeply overhanging. The guide gave this climb two stars which as I would find were well deserved. The climb starts out stiff off the ground with a few thin moves at 5 meters up then starts walking straight up a face moving through good holds and head on climbing for the most part. The moves are big and sweeping and the footwork as your get into the crux is of a technical nature. The climb then works left up into a no hands rest where you can recover after pulling the crux then another 4 meters of jugs get you to an alcove and the anchor. I fell off at the crux because I didn’t see the sequence but it will be an easy red point if I get to come back. This finish off surprisingly good day of climbing and clean out any stress I was feeling from the visa situation.

Finally untied myself from that chair...

Since the departure of Erin and Carrie life has slowed down a little but not the climbing. We all woke up early in MontPellier to make sure they made it to the airport on time. After the adventures getting there the night before I was pretty much exhausted and wasn't much for words that morning. I dropped them off at the airport at 7:40AM and began the long trip back to Pierrelongue. The drive back didn't seem nearly as long as the ride down as it always seem like that with driving home. Perhaps is was the fact that there was lots to see along the way as there was daylight.

I arrived back in Pierrelongue at 9:20AM to a sleeping house. Thankful the front door was left open, I let myself in and made coffee as I was not able to nap from the drive back to the gite. Audrey woke up shortly after followed by Adrian. We decided to go to climb near Malaucene on a crag called Rochers Du Groseau. Adrian and I had visited this place once before but I had yet to climb there and the climbing was quite good. We also figured it would be better than fighting the crowds (no bad but still present) over at St Leger.

The interesting thing about Rochers Du Groseau is the limestone, it is of a different sort than all the other cliffs that we have been to. The rock is a creamy white colour and it flakes off into a power substance if it hasn't yet been cleaned. There are also lots of pockets which are spaced at times and not much for foot holds between them. The angle of the rock ranged from overhanging up to about 15 degree to less than vertical.

Since I had been up since 6:30 AM and I had 5 hours of sleep I had the thought to take it easy and let Audrey and Adrian climb the hard stuff. With that in mind warmed up on "Potiron, Citrouille & Cie" - 6a (5.10b) - which Audrey had kindly place the draws in for me. The climb was less than vertical with a pronounced crux requiring you to work you feet high to make a big reach to the next set of had holds.

Adrian warmed up on "Papillon" - 6b/6b+ (5.10d/11a) *** which was a great warm up as it ran the full 30 meters up a series of bulges with small to non-existent feet. Thankfully there are enormous hand holds to allow you to pull up and through the overhanging bulges. The movement was great and if you ever visit Malaucene I would suggest this climb as a must do.

Trying to stick to the program of easier climbing I picked "Touche pas a la belle mere" - 6b (5.10d) *** as my next climb. This climb starts up on some big moves to a small ledge where you make a hand traverse out left on verticle rock with only a tiny foot hold at hip level. I fell off at this point because the sequence is a bit tricky and the way I was doing it was requiring a right hand lock off. The upper section is really good, the holds are big and the sequence still requires some though and footwork. I repeated this climb for the red point (this is when you climb a route more than one until you successfully do it without falling off).

The lack of sleep finally caught up with me at this point and I wondered off to a comfortable place at the crag, bundled up in my Yam coloured belay jacket to ward off the cold wind and took a nap/dozed for a while. As I hover at the brink of sleep I found myself reflecting on how much I was enjoying my time here. It seems that in the past two to three weeks my enjoyment has greatly tapered off. I found my thoughts gravitating the the memories of past summer in Squamish, climbing with friends. I felt the feelings of satisfaction and joy I would get after climbing a long day on the granite there and driving home with a car full of friends. I haven't been experiencing that here of late and I wondered why. Sure, being injured is playing a role in that but I realized that the injury along is not enough to throw me off because last year I did the same thing to my left arm and was still able to enjoy the weekends out.

I realized that my climbing and I in general am living in fear of not being able to perform. I'm placing high expectations on myself and its taking away from simple joy of climbing regardless of the outcome. I'm showing the classic Aries trait of being so focused on the goal that I'm missing the journey to get there which is the most valuable part and also the greatest opportunity to learn. It shows up in my climbing at times when I'm not sure if I can get through the climb, I'll sometimes climb off route to easier holds promotes poor climbing style and habits instead of climbing through what appears to be more difficult but if I climb with good technique then it saves energy and teaches me more. When I do this I climb and get the symbol of success, ticking the climb, but fail to learn or progress in my technique so I will stay at this climbing plateau.

The other outcome of climbing with such high expectations is I don't enjoy it as much. Climbing by chasing grades feels so empty, its just a number, being an engineer as I am I have trained in school to focus on these but what value do the really have. Grades are subjective to begin with and in a sport that as a culture is focused not on competition, which is clearly an attempt to feed the ego, but on our own personal struggle to learn and overcome our personal limitations does this symbol have any meaning? What if I climb 7c (5.12d), does this make me a better person, especially if I didn't enjoy the journey to get there or if I don't discover more about who I am as person what value does that have? If ticking a grade is the only thing then I only have gained a symbol which I can use to show how much better I am at climbing than others; status. This is a reinforcement of a vertical power structure and can't give any value in other domains of my life, it may even detract from. The competition against others instead of a journey of self discovery and might provide insight into other aspects of how I interact with people.

After rousing myself from this meditative slumber I resolved to climb with the feeling I felt from those summer days in Squamish. The affects were immediate. I warmed back up on a climb called "Mistouflouete" - 6a+ (5.10b) *, which had a fun technical start involving a nice sequence on a overhanging bulge. Easy and unremarkable face climbing to finish by reaching above a overhung ledge to climb the belay. The climbing while easier felt much better and enjoyable while not thinking about what if I don't get this climb.

To finish the day I decided to push a little more and see how much I could learn. For the climb I selected a nice line (climb) called "Cayenne" which in the guide book indicated 6c+ (5.11c) but had clearly not been climbed by the author as his comments for the climb were - Not Checked?. The route moved over a series of 15-20 degree overhanging bulges, with two rests in the middle. The route had been worked by someone recently and was all ticked with chalk to indicate hand holds. Some of which proved useful some of which did not.

The challenge of the route was the fact that there was easier climbing on the left and the right of the route which would provide an easier ascent but avoid the more interesting and for me more challenging climbing. To the right was a crack system filled with big holds, loose rock and spider webs. To the right there was a slab section with few holds but less than vertical, playing to my technical abilities. I avoided both of these to pull straight up the line on jugs and focusing on keeping my feet underneath me on what good feet were available but pushing through the core (abs) so as to keep my arms from pumping out (getting to tired to hold on).

After staying the course and pulling through the roofs I clipped the anchor with a smile on my face. A route such as this would have knocked me off at the start of the trip and likely would have caused me to climb off route to find easier holds in the previous days. I would give the climb three stars and grade it 6c (5.11b). I felt satisfied with my day and came down. I also have to mentioned how much I appreciated Audrey encouragement while on the climb. She reminded me of some pretty awesome belay partners I have back come; The Canadian Contingent.

The next day Audrey was due to head back to London on the TGV but we had yet to get on her 7c project at Baume Rousse so that is where we went. It was the busiest we had seen yet as we arrived to find the parking area full. We found a parking space on the other side of the road and hiked up to a the sector Droit Competition where we warmed up on "Bapaat Connexion" 5+ and I got on the first pitch of "La Sirene en Pyjama" which we had yet to climb. This I was glad to get on as it climbed the backside of a cave and then out through the roof. A brilliant 6a+ (5.10b) which completes all the climbing below 7b+ at Baume Rousse.

I hung up my shoes for the day and we focused on getting Audrey her red point on the 7c project she had picked out. Alas, the clock is what beat her as we had to leave by 2:30 PM to get her to the train in Avignon, which she cause by the skin on her teeth as we had an unscheduled stop to pick up her laptop charger. Full point to Adrian who drove like a professional to get her there on time.

Since I had sent my Petzel 70m rope back with Erin and Carrie and I had my Muira's resoled Adrian and I had to make a trip over to SOeScalade to pick them up and I wanted to get a new rope. I picked up a 100m 9.1mm diameter Beal Joker. I'm very excited to try this rope out. It can be used as a single ultra long full rope or a 50m dual rope. I figure if I can avoid the rope drag we can climb any of the fins around here without having to stop for a belay. I also picked up my shoes with now have 5.10 onyx rubber on them so I have a performance shoe and my Vipers will be the warm up and slab shoes because of the softer sole.

To complete the shopping trip Adrian stopped in at Decathlon for me to pick up a dumbell and ice pack for my forearms recovery programs. I have posted requests from climbers on forearm injuries such as the one I'm experiencing and I finally have a good feeling for what I've done to myself. The responses include several articles from Rock and Ice in which a climber and Osteopath has written articles on injuries, causes and treatment for recovery and prevention. My symptoms are consistent with tendonosis which is an overuse injury which causes the tendon to degenerate from micro damage because the attached muscle is too strong. The treatment involves doing eccentric weight training (holding a dumbell and slowly lowering it, then returning to the start position by using the none training hard so that muscle in the training arm doesn't does a load bearing contraction).

The timing for our visitors seems impeccable at this piont since the past three days have been cloudy and raining here. For me this is good as it gives me a chance to work on my recovery exercises and catch up on my blog. I have also been posting to various forums looking to see if there are any climbers driving through Fontainebleau (just outside Paris) on their way to Mello Blocco a bouldering meet a competition in Val Di Mello, Italy. This is a huge festival that attracts thousands of climbers and boulderers each year. I have also asked if I can DJ there so we'll see how that pans out. The organizers said the are considering it.

Hopefully in the next weeks I'll be able to tell you how my forearms are doing. The training seems to indicate it will be months before I'm back at full strength but hopefully I have caught the injury early enough that I can recover more quickly. Last year as I remember it was 4 (June to start Oct) months of reduced climbing before I was pulling hard pain free in Red Rocks. Then again, I never did anything to help recovery since I never was diagnosed.

The following two posts (apr 8th and 9th) cover the rest of the intervening time. Between this one and when the girls hijacked the blog. ;)

Much love for all.

My birthday with Erin and Carrie. - April 1-6th

(Picture is Le Rocher Du Saint-Julien)

With the arrival of Erin and Carrie I found myself taking it much easier in the climbing. For their day of introduction to the rock in France Adrian and I went to Baume Rousse. Adrian still needed pictures for the book from that location and it has plenty of excellent rock with a full grade range.

To acquaint them with the rock here slowly we picked the slabs at the far right side of Sector Initiation. Since this was Erin's second time on real rock and Carrie had yet to clean an anchor I lead the first pitch and set myself up at the top so the could TR and I could teach them how to clean a sport anchor. I climb a 4+ (5.6) called "Tyrex" which run a full 30 meters. I would have suggested they lead the climb but the top 15 meters only had two bolts and I though it wouldn't due to have them thinking about bolts for their first climb or worse taking a long fall on slab.

So after a clinic on anchor cleaning, I descended and cleaned the route. Next up was "Sikarate" a 5 (5.9) which got three stars in the guidebook. I found the climb while well bolted and fun, had some thin moves on it. The angle I guess is what keeps the grade down as it a slab but decided it might be better to give Erin and Carrie one more climb on top rope before getting them on lead. I once more waited at the top of the route and walked supervised the simulated cleaning of the anchor (simulated since they were top roping).

I descended leaving the draws (short for quick draws) in the climb so they could lead it. We ate lunch basking in the hot sun, the temperature maybe reach 26 degrees and a light wind blowing. After lunch the light was right for pictures and Adrian soloed up a 6a to get on top of an adjacent pillar to our slab. I climbed a 3 (5.6) route called "Douce Colere" to get the draws in for Erin's first lead clean the draws out of "Sikarate" which would have ruined the picture as they would appear in the foreground.

Both Erin and Carrie did well on their first lead climbs in France and cleaned without any hitches. Since we had climbed all the good climbs in this section and Adrian got the pictures for the book we packed up and moved to the other side of the crag to sector Facile where I put up a 5 (5.9) called "Murmuroa" a three star face climb that is much more fun than the slabs we were previously playing on. Both Erin and Carrie lead the climb to the setting sun.

Day two Adrian decided to stay back and leave Erin, Carrie and myself to climb on our own. It was Wednesday April 2nd and that meant we were going to be able to shop at the market in Buis-Les-B. We made the rounds as quickly as we could because we had left late and the market closes at 12:00 noon. Stopping first at the fish monger we picked up a fillet of Salmon and then went to the produce are and got variety of vegetables and fruits for our week. We then moved up to the Baker and the Biofood store to get bread and some gluten free products for Erin. On the walk back to the car we passed through the vendors whom were selling clothes and other miscellaneous items.

We took quite some time at the market so I decide to go to Ubrieux for climbing as its a close location to Buis and you can practically belay from the car. I started the day by putting the draws in "L'ABC" a 5+ route that works up a crack system. The girls both lead this route and cleaned it.

Next up I put the draws in two routes: "Hesitation" 5 (5.8) and "Aphrodite" 4+ () and turned Erin and Carrie loose on them. They had no trouble pulling through the slightly technical "Hesitation" which requires a bit of route finding and footwork at the top. After they finished their leads and cleaned the route we stopped for a lunch break. The wind was hollowing at this point and the guts were enough to knock you off balance if you were on the rock.

I had one climb I was interested in climbing on this sector which neither Adrian nor myself has climbed, "Ecolo Man". The english guide gives it a 6b+ (5.11a) but I had known it to over grade quite a bit. The climb proved to be as hard as advertised. Basically a bolted boulder problem, the entire route took 4 draws, one of which is of little value as its at the 3 metre mark and you gain a large ledge just above it. The next clip comes at the 8 metre mark so I didn't bother clipping it as it would only add rope drag and put me in danger of getting caught on the rope if I fell at after the first bolt. I moved up on a some jugs at the start of a right diagonal crack system to make the second clip.

The crack system was shallow and provided no more jugs as you move up and right under the overhanging head wall above. I did a hand travers with my right which became sore as was forced to do a low right lockoff. I called for take but realized that I didn't in fact need to stop as I was able to shift my weight over my right foot, work my left hand up to an open hand slopper and then throw my left hand up into a finger lock and rock over my feet. The next move was a blind throw to a line of weakness on the face behind and above then a cross through with the left over the top to a big juggy ledge. You cut off you feet and swing them left to get some feet to stabilize you position to get the third clip. The rest of the climb was a jug haul to the top.

I set up a top rope on this climb and let Carrie have a crack at it. While having some fun falling off at the crux she did pull through and moved up to the top. Since the wind was so bad I moved us up and right to a dihedral with a three star 30 metre 5+ climb called "Mammouth Cave". I decided to climb a 6b right next to it called "Dernier Soupir" which worked up a slightly overhanging gray slab with technical moves on poor feet. A runout at the top made it interesting and instead of going right to the anchor which has 5+ moves I stepped left to setup the top rope on "Mammouth Cave".

There was only time for Erin to have a climb and clean the route. I had to be back to the house at 5:15 PM to go look at a car with Christian, Gabriel's husband whom I mentioned in on of my earlier posts. Unfortunately, the car was a not up to snuff, as it only had 2.5 seats which isn't enough for when the rest of the clan arrives in Aug-Sep time frame. The back was also a touch dingy, at a cost of 2500 euro I wasn't interested even if the mechanics were good.

While I was out Carrie and Erin arranged to hire Adrian for a day of climbing. This threw my plans to take them to the Mineral Spa at Montbrun into chaos. The idea was to have Adrian join us as this would be the only day it was possible to do the spa with him and he had expressed and interest. Alas, it was probably the only day they could have hired Adrian so I adjusted my plans and made the mineral spa day be on my Birthday.

I had to be up at 5:30 AM that morning so I could be online to attend a Soundproof meeting. Though totally exhausted from getting to bed at 1:30 AM and up at that hour. It was all worth while to see the friends I have been missing so much over here on the laptop. After the conclusions of the meeting I managed to sneak in a few more house of sleep.

So for Carrie's birthday they got a multipitch lesson and went and climbed "La Grotte" on La Roche Du St Julien. I accompanied them to the base and took pictures from a mountain just opposite and then took Adrian mountain bike and rode through the mountains on my first mountain bike ride. Alex, Sheri, James, Becca and all the others; I now understand the challenge of mountain biking. The trails its can be small and the turns sharp and steep angles. The ride was fun and popping off of jumps with a full suspension was tons of fun.

The girls were rather bubbly when they got back from their climb. I think I heard about a hundred times how Carrie "save Erin's life". As Erin had taken a fall on her traverse on the second pitch of the route. I was happy that they now had some multipitch experience and learned a few tricks about moving while off the ground. That night Adrian drove into town to get Audrey. I left him for some down time in the car alone as I'm sure having us all around him for the past three days had been draining.

My birthday was a slow start. Since I hadn't been able to take the girls to the spa the day earlier I decided I was going to go on my birthday. Audrey and Adrian wanted to climb so we dropped them off at Baume Rousse and took the car to Montbrun-Les-Bains where the spa ValVital is located.

The lounging in the minerals pools, the sauna, hot tub and then down in the Hammam (steam room) was a welcome break from the climbing. The Hammam was particularly interesting, the design had a parabolic column in the middle surrounded by a pool of cool water for splacing on the face. The room was dark except for some LEDs lights that would glow in several patters from the pool in the centre. The column made a parabolic shape that started at the outer walls then drawing more and more steeply till it sank into the cool pool in the centre. This allowed all the condensation from the roof to be guided down into the pool instead of dripping on people heads. The room was very peaceful and everyone whispers which adds to the relaxing atmosphere.

We drove back to Baume Rousse at around 5 after soaking for quite some time in the mineral baths. We picked up food at the local grocery store for the dinner that night which we were to share with Christian and Gabriel upstairs. They had prepared "racklette" which is boiled potatoes skinned then covered in melted cheese slices that you melt in a fondu like heater at the centre of the table. You then cover the cheese and potatoes with slices of meat. I'm sure if we weren't climbing every day we certainly would have had heart attacks.

The conversation was fun and interesting as it was all in French because Christian is French and doesn't speak much english though he understands it quite well. The night went late but as we started rather late in the evening. When the clocked roller around to 12:30 we thanks our gracious hosts and departed for some much needed rest. For those back home you will get a chance to meet Christian and Gabriel because they are moving to Vancouver the same week I'm coming home.

For the girls last day we made our way to a hard location: St Leger. I figured this is the up and coming place and is easily as big and as important as Buoux as far as cliffs go. Its the climbing location of the future for the South of France as there is still load of development to be done here and no shortage of 13 and 14s to be set.

We started the day by hiking in to South Face where there was a 6a+ called "A deux pas d'ici" which I had climbed on previous trip to St Leger. As a warm up it wasn't the idea as it start off a bit bouldery then gets easier as you move to the top. The climb is however, the easiest at St Leger in terms of over all grade (excluding the North Face which is cold and wet at this time of year). I hiked up and put the draws in for the girls. Since the start is rather hard I left the first bolt clipped so they could lead the climb. Carrie made a good run of the climb but as expected found the start challenging.

Erin had a bit of trouble with the start and psyched herself out of the climb. Rather than banging our heads against the wall she came down and we took a walk. This is no less than what I had to do on my first day at Baume Rousse when I got shut down by "Ecolo Net".

Before we left on our walk I lent a couple quick draws to a french couple who were climbing a 6c next to us. They seem competent enough of climbers and it was only a couple draws. The guy had reach the crux of his climb and was getting shut down as well so he lowered off. The couple wanted to climb our climb so we pulled the rope to let them climb through on my draws. When we returned from the walk the guy had made it to a tricky slab above the crux. He was having trouble progressing so I suggested the easier slave section on the left which doesn't take much power but you need to be good on slab and make sure you clip the second draw before traversing back right onto the main section of the route.

Unfortunately, the guy didn't have the head I though he did and instead climbed passed the second draw without clipping and continue up and left onto lichen where he slipped and slid down the slab. His partner couldn't do anything as he had failed to protect himself by clipping the second draw and scrapped up his leg and arm and banged his leg on a tree stump off the ledge where the slab starts. He lowered off and cleaned his scraps and nursed his wounded pride. The bad thing was he was unable to climb after with what I suspect was a charlie horse from the tree stump. The fall pretty much seal the deal with Erin, she wasn't up for getting on this route no that it had spit her off the bottom and had scrapped up a climber.

So up I went a second time on a retrieval mission to get back my quick draws and set up a top rope for the woman in the couple. No sooner than i got down I realized I was going to have to finish and clean the 6c (5.11b) that they had been climbing previously. The route was called "La Violence Eternelle" and was definitely not the best route at St Leger. The first half moves through some poor quality rock and climbs less than vertical to a head wall that kicks back. This is the point where the French guy had lower off. The climbing really starts here as below this it probably grades only about 5+. I quickly found out that the climb was manufactured as the sequence is unnatural for the rock you are climbing and the cemented in holds become you route finding marker.

Needless to see, I couldn't read the route and sat on the rope in the middle of the crux while I tried to work out the sequence. Once I figured out the sequence is to follow the cemented holds I move pass it to the upper section which moves on a vertical wall with crimps and high steps to the top. On the second to last move my foot blew off and I took a fall which the hold I had in my left hand being a bit sharp left me with a flapper (flap of skin that is still attached but cut deep). I pulled back on and cleaned the route leaving a top rope in place for Carrie and Erin to play on the route. Carrie did well to dog her way up through the crux and finish the climb while Erin moved cleanly through the bottom section to enjoy the moment.

I got on a 6b+ called "Melancolique et Desabuse" which I was hoping to red point. I climbed well through the bottom sections but found I had forgotten where the hand holds were for the top crux right before the chain. I left a top rope in place for Erin and Carrie to play on. The bottom gave both of them a run for their money as the move requires some sure feet with no hands. It really isn't an easy move and the the climb gets overhanging and pumpy. I would actually thing the climb is sand bagged and is probably a 6c but its St Leger and sandbagging is the norm here. I made one last attempt for the red point as the sun was setting but rushed to the upper crux but this time missed a key hand hold which you can skip if you have hung at the crux hence why I didn't find it the second go. I cleaned the route off and packed up so we could go as we had to get home to pack and drive the 2.5 hours down the Montpellier so the girls could get there flight in the morning.

The drive proved to be more of an adventure that we first intended. The car I realized as we left Pierrelongue was showing an empty tank and it was Sunday night in rural Southern France. This translates to no open gas stations and the beauty of being North American is that gas stations here don't accept your credit cards. We made our way to Vaison-Les-Romaines where we were unable to get a gas stations that was open or find someone who would buy us gas. Giving up and seeing that the gage was more full than I first suspected I decided to press on listening to the GPS navigation system call out the turns I should take.

After about 30 minutes but what seemed like hours we crawled into Orange at 10:30 PM running on fumes. I figured we didn't have much time to wonder around looking for a gas station so I stopped and asked the first french guy I could find. He was a friendly and asked if our credit cards were functional in the gas station here. I told him no and he offered to lead us to the gas station and pay on his credit card if we were to give him cash.

We jumped back in our cars and began following him. He found a gas station quickly but it was closed. He turned around and went back the way we came and exited the center of town in different direction. All the while in the back of my mind I'm wondering if we are going to take a turn down a dark alley to be blocked off but I didn't sense any deception from the man and he had a good natural smile. We drove another 5 minutes and reach a gas station that was open. He happily provided us with the need fuel and the offered to help us get to the Autoroute (toll highway) when I mentioned our destination was Montpellier. Since we had the GPS navigation already calling out the direction I thanked him. Carrie and I tried to slip him a tip but no sooner that he found out he was knocking at the passenger window thrusting the 5 euro we had included in saying we should keep it. If you ever read this Jerome, thank you.

We set out at 11:00 PM to Montpellier. By the time we arrived at the hotel it was nearly 1 AM and once we settled into our room and set alarms the time had struck 1:30 AM. Exhaust we all passed out almost as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

Time leading up to the arrival of the Erin and Carrie - Mar 23-30th

Well, it been two weeks since I have actually made a post. I guess since I have been injured and not climbing as hard I feel like I would be boring you guys with tales of climbing 6b. Alas, I will cover the last two weeks but maybe skip out on the climbing details till the end where I might cover all the climbs that I did just so I have them recorded somewhere.

So where did I leave you all last time. I guess I had just gotten back from Buoux on March 23 and we had moved into our new gite in Pierrelongue. For this week Adrian and I spent a few days climbing with some of Adrian's clients two English boys and their parents. The Hamer's were delite to climb with and there enthusiasm infectious.

The first day I met them was climbing at Baume Rousse on the 26th of March. I continued to take it easy warming up on an easy 6b. I did manage to get on a 6b+ called "La Cicciolina" which I red pointed. The climbing is quite easy but has a bulging roof that you have to make a few good move to pull through. I then did the "Bapaat Connection" at 5+ and linked in with the upper half of "La Sirene en Pyjama" a 6b roof cracks system which I fell off of because of my sore forearm.

After taking a rest day I rejoined the Hamer's for their last day in France at St Leger.
After warming up on "Piedra Savage" a great 6b+ that is sustained took the Hamer's recommendation a got on a 6c called "Milesi". This route was a brilliant three start line that worked up some technical gray wall that was veritical then traversed to the right to pull on big pockets on an overhang. I was disappointed to miss the onsight one move from the anchor when I mixed up the hand sequence. It was fun having a belay from Dan as he has great energy on the other end of the rope.

I finished they day off by accidentally getting on a 7a called "Gravroche et Mimi Pinsen" which I learned how to bail from using a sling as I didn't want to risk pulling to hard on my sore forearm.

That evening we were invited to dinner at the Climb France gite with the Ollie's family and the Hamer's. The night was fun as we enjoyed vegetarian spaghetti and warm and stimulating conversation with the Hamer's. Dan works in the mining industry in Africa and was telling me about the Eritrea culture which was quite advanced. The had an empire that was center near what is modern day Ethiopia which rival the Roman, Chines, and Persian empires. Both Sam and Ed were disppointed to be going back to the UK in the morning. I couldn't feel sorry for them though as Sam will be off in the summer climbing.

With one final climbing day before the arrival of Erin and Carrie it seemed a good idea for Adrian and I to visit one of the crags that we could be going into the book. We set out to Trois Riviere which turned out to be the closest climbing area to our gite in Pierrelongue, though I'm not sure we will end up there again. The climbing was far to short and not terribly impressive. There were some good routes there but they were generally no longer than 20 metres long.

We occupied our day climbing several routes but decided not to push to hard because of my forearm and in part because of the lack of inspiration from the clouds above or the shortness of the cliffs.

What follows in a route descriptions and grades for what we climbed:

• "Cincine" - 6b (5.10d) - good edges but a little bit dirty and runout near the top.
  
• "Moravagine" - 6b (5.10d) - Really nice climb with good flowing movement between medium size hold with big reaches. The angle is slightly overhanging with good feet. A horizontal break at the top give an amazing hand jam before the last few moves to the anchor.
• "Attention Elle Arrive" - 6b+ (5.11a) - The first clip is hight to start out with but you are glad of it when you realize you are facing the crux right after. The first move off the clip is a bouldery arms only move to gain the headwall followed by a delicate open hand move to step right. Move through incut holds on mediocre feet moves you out of the crux and into a good stance to recover. A few more 6a+ moves get you to a large flake which gives easy moves to the anchor.
• "Me-fiate" - 6b+ (5.11a) - This climb was slab like and required a long reach and extremely thin moves to get past the crux at the 3rd bolt. A tiny crimp, allows you to pinch a terrible right hand hold while you make a delicate rock over (shift weight over you other foot) so you can bump your right hand to a better hold before you shift you weight right further to a secure position. The top has some bite as well requiring some route finding as the direct finish is not much to speak of.
• "Le Clochard Analphabete" - 6b (5.10d) ***- The climb starts out on an overhang with powerful moves for the first 8-10 meters on hug jugs. The rest of the climb is pretty relaxed till you reach the last few moves which are really run out but not difficult.
• "Nebulophobe" - 6c+ (5.11c) *** - Big moves on jugs but almost no feet. The sequence above the flake is sequency and has large moves on very small feet. Powerful lockoffs for my right arm prevented me from doing the upper sequence so I pulled on the bolt to get through it. A great climb if you have long arms and like to pull on them.

"Carrie saved my life!"

Carrie AND Erin have taken over Chris Singer's blog.

We have been sent by a contingent of Chris' friends to help him celebrate his 30th birthday. And have thus far provided an abundance of hugs, laughs and entertainment.

We are happy to report he is surviving on a diet of red wine, chocolate, cheese and baguettes. But has been burning it off daily at the crag and is in fine form, with the exception of his (Foulkes, this ones for you)... flexor-carpi-ulnaris bilaterally.

Chris was caught off guard while doing laundry and washing dishes. We tied him up and took his roommate, Adrian hostage. It was an awesome day of climbing and we won't bore you with the details (but if you are interested in the details, read between the brackets). The highlight was when Carrie caught Erin on her first fall ever on a wild multipitch and Adrian had to 'aerial dance' (Flynn style) to get out of the way of her pendulum. Nothing like gaining superhero status on one's birthday.

Rest assure, we plan to untie him in one hour... as that is the start of his birthday (France time). Tomorrow we are planning to take a rest day and go to the spa... ahhhh.

Chris would like to say; whaw, whaw, whaw, whaw (translation; thanks for the hugs everyone)... we think???

Much love to all from superheros, seven and Lady Macri.