On Sunday morning we awoke to clear blue skies and aching muscles and after a quick breakfast we packed up and headed out.
Steph was eager to go back to Sa Pelle au Logis and get it ticked, but after working so hard on Saturday she just wasn’t feeling fresh enough. It’s going to have to wait for a few weeks i’m afraid.
So, we drove round to a packed Cuvier, and headed off to Duroxmanie, which thankfully was in the shade, as it was getting pretty warm. I wasn’t expecting to get too far on my first go, as despite knowing the moves they still feel hard and fingery to me. But suddenly I was back at the top and knowing that Steph was right behind me just reached up high and fairly casually latched the ‘brained’ sloper to top it out. Not bad considering it was the first bit of rock i’d touched so far that day!
I had another look at the direct start, which for some reason felt savagely hard compared to the other day. Still, I was more than happy with the weekends tally, so perhaps i’ll go back to it another time.
We wandered up to Rempart for a spot of lunch, and to show Steph Noir Desir. It’s a problem that gets all the sun going though and the crux sloper was feeling way too greasy for it to be worthwhile trying, so we decided to find something else to play on.
Steph had been working on ‘Beatle juice’ a problem at Franchard Cusiniere, last year, so we headed off for another look.
She’s definitely looking stronger on it now, and what was previously looking slightly out of reach for her, is now looking a lot more achievable. It might take a couple of trips to get it all linked up, but it’s another one i’m sure she can do. Her training is paying off for sure.
All too quickly though, our weekend together drew to a close and we had to head back to the airport for Steph to catch her flight home. I drove back to Maisonbleau, feeling slightly subdued and thoroughly shattered after what has been a brilliant weekend. So thanks again Steph, and keep up the training – you’re looking strong!

This morning I took a well deserved lie in and then spent some time doing some household chores. It was another hot one today, so after lounging around in the heat of the afternoon, I headed out with a few hours of daylight remaining, to go and check out a new area. The hunt for new projects continues!
Coquibus Rumont is an a small area only recently developed. There’s a couple of problems mentioned in the 7+8’s guide that take a line up the left side of a big prow, that I was keen to check out, and I wasn’t to be disappointed. ‘Serenite’ is the name of the problem. It’s quite cruxy, with the moves past a small crimp providing most of the difficulty, but it’s a really cool line. There’s a hard problem round the other side called ‘Conviction’ (which I think Tim might like to take a look at in April if he gets the chance), and wandering round to look at this I suddenly recognised the piece of rock I was standing under, and that all these problems are dwarfed by. It was ‘The Island’ - Dave Graham’s Font 8C test-piece. I can confirm that there are starting holds, and finishing holds, but there’s a whole lot of blank looking, upside-down, compression moves to be done between the two. It was chalked up too, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Tyler’s been working this recently. Maybe we’ll find out soon, as he’s certainly in-form at the moment, and he’s only here for another couple of weeks.
Anyway, after a quick play on Serenite, a gawp at The Island, and watching a stunning sunset from the hilltop, i’m back at the gite, beer in hand, looking forward to another great day in the forest.