Join us for a week-long
journey to the sand covered bouldering capital of the world! The trip base will be at Camping Ile de Boulancourt which
hosts some of the best camping showers in France. The cost is £70 which
includes camping for the duration and a BBQ provided on one evening. The end of each day will begin with winding down around a professionally built campfire while dinner is cooking and end with the gentle quacks of resident ducks as they drift off to sleep.
- Where:
Camping Ile de Boulancourt, 6 Allée des Marronniers, 77760 Boulancourt, France. 48.256726656912896, 2.4353156077428064
- Accommodation Style: Camping
- When: Saturday 6th May till Saturday 13th May (including the bank holiday Monday).
- Cost: £70 includes campsite fees, campfire and a communal BBQ on one of the nights.
- Photo album link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/31eb8oNG25PBAH7M6
- Target Audience:
This trip is open for Beginners to Expert who want a week of Bouldering. Committee members will be around to help; however it is an unstructured trip so you will need to make your own fun.
---- Trip Details ----
- Font is world famous for a reason, it is stuffed full of bouldering. Last year it was described as a kids playground for adults.
- Bouldering pads are available to hire from the campsite should you wish to replace your car seat with a less useful piece of equipment such as an extra passenger.
- Please note that all transport and travel to and from Fontainebleau including ferry/tunnel/flights/car rental will need to be organised and subsidised by individuals as this is not included within the cost of the trip.
- Please also note that those who are driving through Paris will need to apply for a "Crit'Air" low emissions zone environmental sticker well in advance (no more than £4) or there will be a high chance of a fine. https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/
---- Climbing Information ----
Lots of crags are on UKC such as
Le Diplodocus which we visited last year. The Bouldering grades are generally in font format.
Wikipedia has a nice comparison table to translate from the V-grades we use in the London climbing gyms.
Suggested Guidebook(s): Last year we found
Fontainebleau Fun Bloc and
Fontainebleau Top Secret (both by
David Atchinson-Jones) to be the very useful guides for the area, however there are literally hundreds of guides each covering different aspects of the forest so any guidebook will be helpful!
Generally the climbing is broken down in to colour coordinated circuits of 20-40 climbs in an area.
1. Yellow/ Orange. Stress free circuits that are perfect for an introduction to the unique feeling of climbing on sandstone – these can also be a little tricky as many will be polished from popularity. VB to V0.
2. Blue/ Red. Completing one of these circuits is a worthy challenge and seen as a rite of passage for visiting climbers – these shouldn’t be underestimated! V0 to V4.
3. Black/ White. These circuits require nothing less than some serious projecting over the course of a few sessions that will require giving blood, sweat and fingertips to complete. V1 to V10 (yes…V1. Think of these as comp routes).
