Grenoblog 3

I'm now into my 3rd week of 10 here in Grenoble, and so far the last week has definitely been the most full-on - I've barely had time to breathe! It's getting much colder here now and this morning we woke up to snow-topped mountains over in the Belledonne Massif and across the Chartreuse. This weekend I was in the Serre-Chevalier valley and around the Briançon area, and I am still in awe at the beauty of this area of France. On a separate note entirely, I have also just got back from the supermarket and I can announce that Brie of the Week is Brie and Green Olives. Last week was Brie and 5 berries, but I forgot to mention it...

My work at the EP office is still just as enjoyable if not even more so than it was in my first week. I am now doing more creative things such as producing bigger texts for the new brochure in English and doing lots of varied translation work for both Meta and Fred in the international sales and marketing department. It sounds very big when I call it a department, but at EP France it is just Fred and Meta in their office, who work very hard in multiple languages and also find the time to help me out with the work they give me!) Today we also had some EP workers from the UK and Spain, so it was strange to hear a mix of French and English today in the office and at lunch, but also nice to see everyone crossing the language barrier. It's still very much a friendly, almost familial atmosphere and it is especially apparent at lunch when jokes and climbing chat take over. The French certainly do enjoy making the most of lunchtime and eating a big meal - I still worry everyone by not eating as much as they would :P Today, however, Meta, Léo and I went to the supermarket to get some stuff for lunch, and we came back with some raspberry tarts for me and Meta - they were a good buy indeed! On the way home Fred said that I will be appearing in the next EP newsletter, watch this space!

I climbed twice indoors last week, once on Monday when I did routes at EV2 with Meta and François, and then on Wednesday at Ablok (bouldering centre) I found the style of the routes to be very different from those at home - smaller moves with more balance and thought required. At Ablok I managed to do two red problems - the problems are divided into coloured difficulty ranges - which was an improvement on my zero red score the week before. I saw some very well-known climbers there and got talking to a few of them, all in all a good few days training! 

On the Thursday evening I decided to rest and went out with some friends from Edinburgh University, who also brought some other Edinburgh people with them and some new friends, so it turned out to be a good night out. We went to a small bar in Place Notre Dame and then Lucy and I went off to a snowboard garden party in the Parc Mistral, where we met up with some other Edinburgh students. There were many stalls filled with snowboarding equipment and some videos of snowboarders, but the funniest thing was watching people attempting to dance to the music. It looked to me as though there were quite a lot of climbers there too, you can always tell a climber from the way they look! It was a good laugh, then it started to rain very heavily and seeing as I had my medical consultation in order to get my French competition licence the next day, I decided to leave a bit earlier (getting home looking like a drowned rat: note to self - never say "I don't need my umbrella" when in Grenoble...

On my day off, I unfortunately had to get up early to go to the doctors for the examination, but it didn't take long and I passed with flying colours. I even got a print out of my electrocardiograph results! The doctor managed to guess that we have a wood fire at home just from the scent on my clothes, I was embarrassed and apologised, but she claimed that she loves the smell! Maybe a market for Parfum Feu de Bois? That evening at 7pm I took the bus from Grenoble to Briançon to go climbing with my Swedish friend David for the weekend. I was disappointed to have to leave so late as it meant it was getting dark by the time I was getting out of the city and I couldn't see any of the landscape which I guessed would be amazing! Never mind, I knew I would be able to see it properly when I would be returning on the Sunday.

Heart in working order!

I arrived at around 9:15pm and it was FREEZING! At around 1300m in altitude I should have guessed it, but it was a bit of a shock coming from the normally fairly muggy Grenoble. It was very fresh indeed, and I was glad when I  could jump in the car when David met me at the bus stop. I walked into David and his family's home and it was wonderful - like an alpine chalet with wooden beams and ceilings and a balcony. I was introduced to his wife Camilla, who I had met briefly in Ceuse, and his son and two friends from Sweden (and their lovely and very excitable dog, too!) Camilla cooked spaghetti bolognaise which was delicious and we had cheese and fruit for dessert. The topics of conversation at the table made for amusing listening and participation, and it was quite nice to hear Swedish language being spoken, of which I know a little bit and can sometimes understand what is being said. In a mix of English and Swedish and very little French the night went on and eventually it was time for bed, of which I was glad as I was very tired after the journey.

We had planned to go to St Leger or Ceuse over the next two days, but due to weather and time availability we thought it would be best to stay local. On the Saturday we went to Les Freissinières, just past Briançon. The valley was breathtaking, and David filled me in on all the best climbing and ice climbing spots. We made a bit of a blunder on the walk in (David had never been there before) and took about 40 mins or so to get up a 15 minute walk in, but it was very good exercise! I was also starting to get a cold which made the walk more taxing but we made it to the crag eventually! At the foot of the cliff we met some friends of David and Camilla's and it was good to be able to speak a bit of French at the crag again. Their friend Fred was with a group of Club Alpin Français kids who looked very strong - this was one of their weekly crag jaunts to a local area! Fred helped us pick out some good routes and we started on a 6a, then we went on an ungraded route (about 6c we thought). I rested a while and decided to go for a 7b+ round the corner which we were recommended. I would be putting the clips in and trying to give it my best go on the on-sight. It followed a dihedral corner and then crossed the arete and into a flat section just below a roof - I thought it looked ok but the corner looked like it could have some hidden surprises! I started calmly and eventually found myself over the corner section and resting on the flat bit. David's encouragement was very helpful as I tried to keep a cool head. I find that when onsighting, it is very much about keeping your calm and not panicking if you misjudge something or if you are slightly out of your comfort zone. There were some very technical moves but I overcame each one of them slowly but surely, and finally I could see the final roof and slab just before the chain. One last hard move, I took a deep breath and went for it. I was well recovered and hit the move first time, and then creeped my way up the slab to finish and clip the chain. I was happy with a 7b+ onsight, a grade that can be very difficult to onsight, yet I am always happy with whatever route I onsight as even in the lower grades there can be moves which will spit you off if you get complacent! We had been lucky with the weather - quite hot in the sun and just a bit cool in the shade.

 On a 6c at Les Freissinières

For the rest of the day I tried a desperate 7c with two massive moves that I couldn't get past. I tried it twice and still couldn't get past them on the second go, so decided to give in and do some easier mileage. We finished off on a 6c and then took the - much shorter than before - path back to the car. We walked past crags where there have recently been some 9a's and other hard stuff bolted, and we even saw a well-known French climber (according to David, anyway :P) Apparently there are 5 or 6 climbers in that valley that have climbed 9a, crazy! That evening we had another great meal cooked for us by Camilla and we settled down to watch a movie before bedtime. It was a very long day and we were knackered...

6c at Freissinières

The next morning the weather looked just as good and we decided to go to Mont Dauphin, Secteur Raph to do some onsighting before catching the bus at 4:30pm. Mont Dauphin is a bizarre island of conglomerate rock surrounded by limestone cliffs - it really was quite a strange formation, but as I had never climbed on conglomerate before I was eager to give it a go. The valley was beautiful and just opposite us was a waterfall that seemed to be coming out of nowhere, just rolling off the edge of a flat plain. I warmed up on a 7a and quickly started to fall in love with the type of climbing on the conglomerate formations. There was a massive pebble/stone sticking out like a volume in one place, and lots of fiddly pockets complete with thousands of footholds. It was quite difficult to source the holds but eventually I got used to spotting where they might be. I topped out and felt very much warmed up, with some help from the sun too! I rested for a while and decided to go for a 7c which david said was good and reasonably onsightable if I climbed the way I did the 7b+ the day before. I tied in and started up the via ferrata (the start is about 8m of via ferrata/an easyish scramble until you reach the proper start). It was quite scary/strange to switch onto the lead rope after completing the via ferrata but once I put the first quickdraw in I was on my way. I knew it would be harder putting the clips in too but I was willing to take on the challenge. The sun was out and I climbed the first bit slightly quicker than normal - it was 40m long and vertical to slightly overhanging near the top, so I knew I had to move reasonably fast. There were a few tricky sections at the bottom but afterwards there was usually a poor rest which allowed me to get something back. If there's one thing I'm not too bad at, it's finding good body positions to rest in! The holds may not have been great but I did my best to take my weight off my arms and onto my feet. Peu à peu, I was edging towards the final section. I was managing the pump better than I expected but was starting to feel generally fatigued and a bit trembly - I must have done a LOT of moves by then! I kept breathing and tried to keep thoughts of success or failure out of my head and just focus on each individual move. I started to get more pumped in what I think was the crux just near the top. I powerscreamed and crossed over a bit awkwardly to a hold, thinking I would be off as I had no idea how good it was, latched it and managed to curl my fingers around a good minijug inside a pocket. I was surprised to say the least and looked up - the chain was in sight - the next clip! The top looked tricky and there was no chalk. I have a tendency to fluf f the top of routes, especially on the onsight, as I get tired and nervous and in my frusttration sometimes just give a half-hearted effort. it's easier to give up trying than to lose a fight sometimes, but this time I was stoically determined. I tried to climb up to the chains but couldn't see any holds. I climbed back down to recompose myself and then convinced myself that the only way was to get my feet high and bear down on some small slopey crimps...I did it! My first 7c onsight, putting the clips in at the same time as well! I was shaking with fatigue and nerves and had to rest before cleaning the gear out. I lowered down and David was very happy for me. Thank you so much to him for the support and belays! Afterwards I did another 7a and then decided that was enough for the day, so we went back to the house for lunch and then it was back on the bus home...

Eyeing up the route/camera

The views from the bus were fanatastic and I was able to reflect on what had been a great weekend of climbing. It was intense but I am so glad I went, especially considering I was feeling a bit rough with the cold on the Friday I left. I am now looking forward to the next week, some more climbing, more work and more fun! 

 View from the bus