Fontainebleau: Chalk and Sand

Getting to Fontainebleau was an adventure in itself. Austin and I quickly discovered how nice it would have been to learn French before coming to France. At the airport we got on a train, which took us to the center of Paris. Then we eventually figured out what train we had to take to get to Fontainebleau, actually it was kind of a guess, we didn’t 100% know until we reached our destination that it was the right train. We missed that train once and almost got back on the metro to take us into other parts of Paris by accident. But we figured it out eventually. Once we got to the station in Fontainebleau we couldn’t find a taxi. We walked around for a couple hours and couldn’t find a single taxi that we could get to stop. This was frustrating seeing as how there was a sign that said, “taxi” pointing to the direction we went. Eventually I found someone that spoke English and she directed us behind the train station where the taxi area was. We called a taxi and twenty minutes later we were on our way to where we were staying. After an interestingly scary taxi ride we arrived at the Bed and Breakfast. It was a nice place, out of the way. It was on the edge of the small town where we were staying, about a forty-minute walk from the climbing area. First thing we did was find the market and buy some food. The baguettes were only €0.76! Later that day we headed out to go climbing. After three hours of walking around in the woods and not being able to find anything, we decided to call it a day. We had a grand total of two hours of sleep the night before so going to bed early was a welcomed blessing.

The next day we woke up to a wonderful breakfast. A croissant, orange juice, toast and jam, cereal, fruit, and great company. Breakfast everyday consisted of Austin and I, Stef, the owner of the establishment, and an old British couple there on holiday. Breakfast was one of my favorite parts of the stay because we would all share stories and talk together. Jack, the old British man, was quite hilarious. We learned about all things Europe from our friends at breakfast. After breakfast we went out to climb. We eventually found the climbing area we were looking for called Le’ Elephant. The first big boulder of the climbing area looks like a big elephant head, so the name is fitting. We were out at the climbing area for eight hours that day. There was a nap thrown in the mix so we weren’t climbing non-stop. It took a while to get used to the rock. It is sandstone so it feels different than the rock we are used to climbing. Because there is sandstone everywhere, there is also sand everywhere. It was interesting to see white sand in the middle of a forest. It added a couple interesting elements to the climbing as well. We only topped out (completed) a few routes that day and it was a bit of a tough day. The temperature picked up and it even got a little warm during mid day. Eventually we headed back to the Gite (name of the B&B). We had a humble dinner of baguettes and pasta, without sauce. We spent the night relaxing and watching videos preparing for the following day.

We woke up the next day to find rain. Breakfast was good as always, but the rain put a damper on our day. When sandstone gets wet, it gets slippery, and if it’s slippery we can’t climb it. We walked to the market again and got some more bread and other food, and continued to watch the weather. Around five in the afternoon we decided to go out to the rock and try to get some climbing in. It turned out to be a great day. We started cranking out routes like nobody’s business. They weren’t necessarily easy routes either; we were just feeling good. Austin and I both ended the day with a project route for the following morning, meaning that we both had one that we really wanted to get, but weren’t able to finish. We only climbed for several hours that day, but we left content because it was such a good day of climbing.

Our last day, which was this morning, we woke up at 6am to get some climbing in before we had to leave. We got out there and I started on my project route. It took me a half hour but I eventually stuck the hold that I had to in order to finish the route. We went on to Austin’s project and he finished it first try. We then went on to a route we had tried the first day of climbing and Austin finished that one first try as well. After some more climbing we headed back for breakfast. We said goodbye to the British couple, showered, packed, and eventually Stef took us to the train station. First leg of the trip has been a roaring success. It went very quickly, but it was wonderful. And now I am sitting in a hotel room in Paris. More adventures to come!