If you ever get tired of dicey moves way up in the sky over dicey landings, where a tiny foot slip will land you in the hospital, come check this line out. It's a nice low lip traverse on slopers,
Small moves on good edges and one explosive pop to the lip
A sit start to a red problem that's pretty fun on its own. Sadly for shorties, it helps to have a bit of extra reach for the first move. Good technique and flexibility can make up for it, but be pre
Strength and body tension are key to this little roof.
A low, powerful, roof that's not too reachy and has actual holds. What's not to love?
Friction-dependent, beta-dependent, technique-dependent. If any of those things are lacking, you'll find it harder than some of the 7b's in the area.
Popular problem just off the path at the start of the area, it may be easier for the short to do this method than the 7a variant with the right hand arete. Stand start with hands lower than seems obv
Not sure on this one, but having played around on it, would say for 7a you miss the big sloper on the left... bleau.info disagrees tho. And it was super! hot when I was trying it.
Start as for Makhno, with the two crimps get a high left hook, then left sloper - right sloper. Beautiful.
A big lock off at the end, key is to fully trust the left foot!
Be careful not to step on the ancient carvings on the big pedestal!
Beautiful traverse with mostly slopers, where the first few moves are definitely the hardest. Finish on the left of the nose with a very doable mantle into a victory jug
The lower part was easy for shorties, but then the mantle harder than expected
This is a fun problem (Red #30) with a sit start into a slightly overhanging bulge. It has some powerful moves that seem harder for shorties but high heel hooks and foot placements can help make up fo
Nice balancy problem. Good friction slopers on top
Tricky start around the arete and then keeping it together at the top. Technical nice line
Ooh! There's some amazing girls-only trickery to be found on this boulder. Go do it now! The conventional start is from the pinch and the crimp, but with your feet further under the roof. As
A fun traverse along the lip of a roof, with some tiny crimps that work for small fingers and no reaches anywhere in sight.
Sitstart, crimp for left hand and hook with the right. Long move to a good crimp with right hand that can be avoided using the bad slopery part on the right. There are different variations to do the t
On the backside of the El Pussah boulder this is a fun non-Font-esque 3D boulder problem that poses more of a problem if you are less than 155 tall! Avoid the eliminated holds as described on Bleau.i
Easy moves to start with, up to the bigger move to the crimp. I found a small pocket/undercling on the left side of the jug that you normally use for the big move to the crimp (not the one you use lat
A boulder that looks reachy at first, but a little ingenuity makes this problem possible. Start with the left hand pinch, the right hand in the pocket, and a foot lock in the big hole. Short legs make
This boulder is perfect for shorties. You have to swift your weight on your left heel to manage to hold the slopers and traverse to the right. It has a good landing so with two pads you can easily do
Beautiful vertical and crimpy line, starts a bit to the right then moves left - 6a, not 5+
A low traverse, followed by a tricky move to get established and reach up to some nice Font slopers. A really good "First 7a", and very doable for shorties.
If you have short arms, this problems looks impossibly wide at first glance. But you can outsmart the powerful moves with some sneaky footwork making this problem an enjoyable entry-level 7a.
This is the left variant of Donnant-Donnant that tall guys do because it has a crazy big jump to the lip. But there
This is one of those lines that sucks you in. You'll get up to the slopers on your first go, and they don't even feel that bad at first. But the mantle is crazy hard no matter how you go at it (and
Big throw to start things off, then a funky mantle and some crimps above. A little of everything, really. It's hard for shorties because of that huge blind jump at the beginning and the subsequent
Looks pretty straightforward, sitting there right on the trail. Easy to pad out, no bad fall potential. Those slopers do look a bit slippery but really, how hard can it be? Narrator: *It was n
First move is easier if you're tall, but can be done by shorties using a couple of terrible crimps in opposition. Pulling the roof, it helps to be small, so it all works out in the end.
Fun problem that feels hard at first but succumbs to plenty of feminine-foot-trickery. Sit start under the roof, and move out to the arete with powerful moves on a left heel hook at the back of t
Un super mouvement avec une inversée MG qui se déclenche en dynamique et qui se termine stat.
Fun fun fun moves out the roof, and then you have options. This option heads straight out right to a big sloper and a fight to get established above.
Powerful and technical. And given its location it gets lots of traffic so chances are there will be plenty of pads and spotters around if you try it on a busy weekend. It may be suffering a bit fr
Really beautiful line on the right arete of the boulder which can be found on the top of the hill on the west side of the sector. Took me some tries to figure out the exact beta and sequence. The move
I tried La mouche this evening, but my fingers where to sore.. and maybe a bit weak for that problem. But this one was a really nice consolation prize. The start is really nice!
Brilliant feature - make sure to use a right heel to take weight off for the middle moves.
Super fun climb - the holds are positive at the top - just have to be precise with your movement to get there.
Brilliant line - great introduction to technical slab climbing in Fontainebleau - a must do!
For the stand start (7a) I used a left heel to make the transition in the opening moves easier - it felt like it fit me quite well to do this, I'm 167 cm in height and ape. Then reasonably good holds
I had many desperate attempts on the mantle, before figuring out I could place my left toe on the edge. I uploaded a video of it, maybe someone will find it useful :)
hello there,
could you please let me know where to find Bleautiful? last time I was looking for it in Cuvier Merveille, unfortunately without any success :(
looking forward to receiving some clues
I really appreciate your effort, time and energy to publish these articles and to raise awareness of topics like a sustainable climbing culture around Fontainebleau. I always liked the pro-active appr
Sympa cet article qui essaie de décrire ce que signifie le grès humide au lieu de juste critiquer les grimpeurs qui cassent des prises . Je rejoins entièrement ton analyse sur le fait que le grès d'ap
I booked a trip to Fontainebleau for October and November but had to cancel last minute due to a climbing injury. If you are planning a visit during that time, please consider this sweet Airbnb in Arb
Hiya Heather, there is a Betty meet-up planned for October 14 and November 19, so do join us if you’re around. Are you travelling on your own or do you have a crew?
Hi all, I'm planning a trip to Fontainebleau in November for a few weeks. I was wondering if there is a bit of a community there/ anyone also planning a trip in November that I could team up with for
According to bleau.info the 6c boulder is to the left of what's shown in the video. The variant in the video is an easier variant.
Hahaha, I opened this post thinking it was about a boulder called "Found Birkenstock" and pondered on the "beta" for a second before I realized... :D
There's a video of this by Michelle on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dtH4NwsnGNs
Beautiful line. Did this boulder following a straight line without using the bucket on the left, makes the line very nice/pretty to climb.
When you have your left hand on the sloper just before the t
A foot match on the crescent out right allows a high heel and its pretty much over. Not sure about the exit, maybe I should have carried on straight up rather than going slightly right.
Hi Maja, agreed with Helen.
One simple pad is enough for this block. Cheers
Hi Maja, in my opinion you don’t get to stack pads for foot holds. It’s definitely a grey area stacking pads anyway, but for me I feel reaching hand holds is legit because it’s impossible without. I
Ethics question/discussion: does going straight into the heel hook via a stacked pad count as a tick? On the one hand only the starting holds are defined on bleau.info and there's public ascents start
Topo says to start with the lowest two crimps. So I started with my left hand on the smallest crimp and the right one on the good one. I found the move harder in that way.
Hello! I really would like to come to this -- I live in Paris and want to take the RER and a bike to get there, and go back in the evening. Do you have more details about where and when to meet on the
I’m at the campsite you suggested :) it’s so beautiful I thought I’ll stay for the night to get some rest and see what’s what in the morning :)
Thanks Helen :)
Hiya, we are still meeting up to talk about opening new boulders. It’s going to be a bit wet, so I’m not sure how many will come, but I’ll be there between 11am and 12.
Hi Helen, just seen the site that tomorrow is cancelled and the weathers not looking good for the rest of the week :( probably gonna head to the coast if that’s the case hey. But thank you again for g
Found the right shoe of a pair of brown Birkenstocks in Coquibus Auvergne. I put it under the Crotale Boulder. Hoping it finds its way home!
Ah amazing thank you ^_^!
Hiya Emma,
These are two free bivouacs, where you can park overnight without worries 1. Dropped pinHiya Emma,
These are two free bivouacs, where you can park overnight without worries 1. Dropped pinHello, I’m emma I’m really excited to be heading there for the women’s meet up on the 7th and just wondering about the best place to camp in the van near by? If anyone has a recommendation that would
Being small makes this slab more of a challenge, but adds some amazing moves! For me, this meant a toe hook start and a slow stand up with an undercling edge near the top. Enjoy!
The Jingo Wobbly Top Secret guidebook calls the version in this video Tabac Froid 5c. There’s a Tabac Froid 5+ on Bleau.info, but the photos and video there show a climber on the face to the right. I
The big ledge around the right corner (not visible on video) is eliminated. I placed my heel quite a bit before the crack on the wall.
Hi Jessie, I ran into the same contradiction as you. The stand start on the left didn't feel like a 6b either, more like 5+, in my opinion. I interpreted the foto and description of Bleau.info to mean
Hi Helen, got it. Thanks for the explanation, I hope so as well!