Bouldering

On my way to French lessons each week, I pass through a beautiful forest area. I usually do not have time to stop and take a gander at the surrounding area, but since I had unexpected time off last Friday, I decided to go and take a look at what was there. I was amazed at what I found. I knew there would be beautiful trees and nature – but I did not expect what I had actually discovered.



I found a boulder forest. There were tons and tons of giant boulders in this area and all around people were climbing them. I was amazed. I had heard of rock climbing before, but never had I thought of such a thing as climbing boulders. The people gathered in this area were rather eclectic, all pretty young and coming from all different regions of Europe.



When first entering the boulder park I saw a guy who looked like a hippie carrying a mattress on his back- my first assumption was that he was backpacking through Europe and that’s what he slept on. Nope! I was wrong!



The pad this man was carrying was actually an accessory I found at the base of every rock people were attempting to climb. They were pads for the climber to fall back upon in case they lost their grip while climbing the rock. Other accessories included- special shoes that assisted in having their feet form to the rock. A tooth brush to clean and define a rock’s crevice. Additionally, they would carry powder and dust their hands before beginning their climb to aid their grip.



I was seriously amazed at the skill of those climbing. The strength and flexibility required to climb these rocks is just insane to me. Some rocks looked like a completely flat surface, while another would have a sharp cliff, causing them to practically be upside down while attempting to continue to move upward. All the while they would need to be thinking of where to best extend their grip, without losing their balance and falling from any progress they potentially may have made.



There was one group of friends that I watched attempt to climb this one particular rock for over an hour and a half. In the end, only one of the guys actually made it to the top before they moved on to the other side, to attempt a different face of the boulder. It was fun to watch them work together in thinking through the best strategy to scale the rock, while at the same time using their own technique to get them to the top.





Once I realized the group spoke English I found out that this group had come from Holland on an extended weekend. They said that France has the best place in Europe for bouldering and advised me in taking bouldering up as a hobby because this park in Fontainebleau is one of the best. I could tell by the vast amounts of people and languages that people were traveling from all over, to come to a place that I drive right on past twice a week.





Upon taking their advice, I decided to give one climb a try. I think I’ll be skilled like them in no time. But let me assure you that this one climb was quite the challenge and pretty much took me all afternoon. I tried and tried but I kept losing my balance and grip. My legs kept shaking, making me feeble as though I was going to fall to a pit of despair with no pad underneath to catch me. Thankfully though, I did make it to the top. I was out of breath and completely exhausted. I am so thankful I was able to get a picture to capture this moment of great perseverance and strength on my behalf. Phew.