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