Thursday, October 17, 2013

La Camargue



After all the climbing in Annot we felt we deserved a little rest and what better than chilling out on the beach.  Our friends had told us about their stay in La Camargue which sounded lovely and we weren’t disappointed!

As we drove down the road among the salty mud flats it wasn’t long before we were greeted with all the sights that the Camargue is famous for.   White horses (we didn’t see any wild ones on the drive in but we did see a large herd on the drive out!), the black bulls and flamingos!  Not a sight I expected to see in Europe. 

Flamingos!


We seemed to be stopping every 50m to take a photo of something. 

White Horse
We soon arrived at the end of the road and onto the beach – we parked up on the beach with awesome 360 degrees view of the sea, beach and wild life; we quickly settled in for the evening drinking a beer, watching the sun set over the sea and dipping our toes into the pleasantly warm sea.



The next morning we watched the sun rise with coffee and croissants in bed and went for a walk along the beach.  It was pretty much deserted and so wasn’t long before we went in for a quick dip!



We left later that day to arrive in Toulouse before the Friday rush hour – a short but very lovely stay.  Spotting loads of wild life on the road out once again.  Unfortunately no pictures but we did see some White Storks, Little Egrets and possible the Purple Heron! Also a couple of Muskrats. 

More Flamingos

Monday, October 14, 2013

Cake, Croissants & Cheese …

…Oh and hopefully some climbing – I love being back in France.  


With the weather remaining unstable in Switzerland we decided it was time to head south and find some dry rock to climb on.  We were both feeling frustrated with the lack of climbing over the past few weeks so after much discussion (and the eventual decision to extend our planned 6 month road trip once again - up to 1 year so far) we had a plan - we are off to Spain for the winter, again.   It’s a long drive though so we’ll be making a few stops along the way. 

First stop – Super Marche. 

After being on a restricted food budget for our time in Switzerland our first supermarket shop in France was a little extravagant!  We were like kids in a sweet shop, only we have credit cards.  I couldn't help it; we stacked the trolley with my favourite food products of France, of which there are many.  Yes indeed, in went the cake, the croissants, various cheeses and a little wine of course.  With the van fully stocked time to find some climbing (while we still can).

Next stop – Annot

We’d heard mixed reports about Annot as a climbing venue but seeing as it was (kind of) on the way and the weather forecast looked good we thought we’d check it out for ourselves. 

The road up to the climbing areas is a long dirt track – especially to some of the higher areas!  After the long drive up the track we arrived at one of the first areas we decided to look at.  We walked around with a growing feeling of disappointment the boulders were looking unclimbed, over grown and sandy and very poor quality.  Had we driven all this way for nothing? Well, no climbing we had the cake at least!  Trying to remain positive we decided to check out the next sector – Madness. 

It was a smallish, compact sector a dozen or so blocs.  This time the lines looked good, they were clean and the rock mostly solid.  Quick lets climb…

ANNOT VIDEO WITH ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE FROM THE BEAUTIFUL CAMARGUE

The Font-like slopey, rounded boulders were perfect for my recovering finger injury – which seriously dislikes crimping at the moment.  For the first time in a while I was able to run around throwing myself at everything in sight – ah not a crimp in sight.  

Check out my ninja moves...
We were both enjoying the change of climbing style - It wasn’t long before we we’re both tiring from the days climbing and with thoughts of conserving the skin on our fingers for the next days.   These sandstone boulders and slightly courser grain than Fontainebleau so skin conservation is a must but nice climbing and some strong lines.

Jase enjoying the climbing and blue sky.

We discovered the perfect campsite most of the way up the dirt road.  Pleasantly situated in the dense forest with good - though a little rustic -facilities (the water in the showers was hot and lots of it which is the important thing) at very reasonable price and very convenient no need to drive up and down the dirt track every day.  The rest of the sectors we climbed in were all good - nice lines with lots to try.  The rock can be a little sandy in some places but there are plenty of other boulders to try.   

Our last climbing day broke with beautiful clear blue skies, unbroken sunshine and a brisk breeze – the perfect climbing conditions.  As we were only spending a short amount of time in the area there wasn’t time to project the problems so it was nice to not get caught up with grades and climbing hard and just climb the things that look cool and not worry if you don’t send the problem.  By the end of the day we were both exhausted – a short day of 10 hours bouldering!  I couldn’t bring myself to touch the rock again my fingers were raw.   A lovely end to a very pleasant stay in Annot.

A week didn't seem long enough to explore all the areas Annot has to offer. We would definitely stop by if we are in the area again.   

Interesting Mushrooms in the Forest of Annot
Time to recover on the beach I think… 

Friday, October 11, 2013

Autumnal Chironico


Komilator

GO DIRECT TO CHIRONICO VIDEO

After a wash out in Austria, we hoped for better weather in Chironico.  The first week was warm and dry - a welcome break from damp cold - so we spent the first half of each day relaxing, slack lining and soaking up the sun.

We usually ventured out at 4pm and sought the cooler, shady rocks. The first week went well for me and I made quick work of both Komilator and Confession of a Crap Artist.  Both are graded 8A in the guide, but seemed to go far too easily to warrant the grade. My suspicions were confirmed when we discovered that Komilator had been (sadly) chipped - making the start easier and lowering the grade.  The consensus with the locals seemed to be around 7C+.

Confession of a Crap Artist
Confession of a Crap Artist is a long problem requiring good power endurance.  None of the moves are
very hard, but it is very sustained and the top is pretty high. Topping out when pumped was particularly committing and scary!








Claire had a great time too - sending many 6's and making a great ascent of Triangolo 6C+.

Triangolo
After a dry and warm first week, the weather became more changeable. Although cooler, the conditions were generally damp or humid.  We hoped things would improve, but it remained changeable for a few weeks. The forecasts remained poor, so we decided to flee south...

Here is the CHIRONICO VIDEO

The thrilling dyno on Borderline!


Wildlife posing for pictures
Triangolo

Friday, October 4, 2013

Zillertal - Briefly!

We finally tore ourselves away from Magic Wood and made our way further east into Austria. We headed straight for Zillertal near Innsbruck. We spent the first day climbing in the beautiful meadow at Sundergrund, however, the weather was against us and we didn't manage much more climbing there.  Most areas are in dense woodland and take some time to dry after rain.  Since the forecast was poor, we cut our losses and fled back to Switzerland.  It was a little sad to leave without exploring properly, but spending a week or two on damp rock didn't appeal...

Here's a brief video of our time in Zillertal: