Grenoblog 7 - Competitions and General Hijinks!

I have been so busy lately that I didn't have time/forgot to blog/felt bitter after losing what I'd written twice after not saving it properly to write about my 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th weeks - so here is an update on my recent adventures in which I have been mostly climbing, competing, working and...laughing! A few weekends ago (it all rolls into one at the moment!) I was off to Chamonix to compete in my second Coupe de France round in Difficulty and last weekend I was a bit closer to home in Echirolles to compete in the Coupe de France in Speed and the Isere Departmental Championships! More recently, I have been at the crag, at a mountain film festival, lurking in a cave and cutting about town at the Christmas market drinking mulled wine and eating Tartiflette and competing in another departmental event. What a life! 

The week before Chamonix I had two boulder sessions at Ablok - I had heard that the wall was short and steep, and I trusted Yoann when he said it was going to be bouldery routes: "C'est du bloc!" I trained at Ablok with Yoann on the Wednesday where I was duly informed that I have no power in my legs and I was reminded that I have a tendency to do an uncoordinated flop rather than a controlled leap when I need to move dynamically upwards or sideways. I went again on the Friday with Fred from EP and we tried a problem which featured me making a hilariously cumbersome step out left to balance myself, not the most elegant I've climbed but at least I was trying! We tried another red which started on two slopers (EP Honeycombs ;) ) which taught us a lesson in not following what other people do. I did it the static way which seemed tenuous, then after a few tries using that method Fred decided to just jump - much easier! I had climbed a lot better in this session and the highlight of the day was finishing a red project which involved some power-screaming and grunting!

On the Saturday Yoann and I travelled to Chamonix via Co-Voiturage or car-sharing. I was due to be staying the night in a gite with fellow Scots Sheila, Julianne and Sophie alongside the Briançon team and was looking forward to a good weekend at the foot of Mont Blanc! We arrived in Chamonix valley and unfortunately Mont Blanc was completely covered in clouds and mist - there were some impressive glaciers though! We watched the end of the junior event at the wall and were inspired by the gutsiness and determination of the kids. Back to the gite it was and I was kindly fed and watered by Sheila and club ICE Briançon. I was also persuaded to try a glass of Briançon's finest red wine despite my best efforts to say "Nooo I am competing tomorrow!" I was also shown up by the girls in my card playing skills - apparently I can't add up to 21? Not time for bed yet though, the obligatory dance practice to the tune of Gangnam Style ensued, which resulted in an amusing video which will never EVER surface! At least I hope not...lights went out (after flashing the boulder problem to the top-bun bed without stairs - V3 at least? Nearly lost it on the mantel..) and off to sleep...

The next day we rose bright and early and arrived at the wall. Again a great atmosphere, and my first two routes went well, topping both and not feeling too tired. After a long wait, my semi-final was marked up and it looked like a route that I would enjoy. Lots of crimps on steep ground and volumes everywhere! Unfortunately, I once again didn't put my long legs to good use and instead of taking an crucial rest in the corner of the wall I powered straight through and tired out, falling not too far from the top but also too far to make finals - I was placed 9th and the top 8 went through. A silly mistake had cost me a potential place in the final, but next time I will know better - that's the fun in competitions, you always have something to take away with you, be it a prize or a lesson learned! We didn't stay and watch the finals as our lift (thanks Clément and Meije!) was leaving and it made sense not to get back to Grenoble too late. We had a lively journey home, made even more amusing when we saw a sign saying BIENVENUE with a bit of the E missing so it read BIENVENUF. It was funny at the time...

During the next week I had a session at EV2 with Fred and Jean-Charles from EP. We tried a variety of routes which tested our brains just as much as our strength! The routesetting here is so different to what I'm used to, lots of sequences within sequences and subtleties galore! I managed to onsight a 7c+ left me knackered for the rest of the evening, and I only just managed to complete the most technical 7a+ ever (with a LOT of route-reading mistakes). Thanks to Jean-Charles for shouting "ERREUR!!" whenever I was about to do something stupid so I could correct myself!) 

The following Saturday I competed in an event called "Nuit de la Vitesse" in Echirolles - a night of speed climbing which included the Coupe de France in Speed and the Championnat Départemental Isère for speed (Isère is the department of France which I live in for anyone unclear) I have dabbled in a bit of Speed climbing at Ratho and even won the British Speed Climbing Championships (but not very speedily!) so I was wondering how I would fare here. France has a very strong speed climbing set-up and is gradually gaining more and more interest as a discipline, thanks to the work of Sylvain and Jerome Chapelle and of course Mr "Scoot" himself, my housemate Yoann! I really enjoyed the evening and met more new people and recognised some from the other competitions. I was honoured to get a club L'ALE Escalade t-shirt from young Margaux, French speed champion and 3rd placed in the European Youth Speed Championships in Gemozac a few weeks ago! I climbed as quick as I could up the 13m official speed route but I didn't manage to put my legs to good use once again and felt like I was always relying on my arms - my best time was about 14 seconds, not bad for a lead-climber with a reputation for being slow (on the wall, I hasten to add!) :P Afterwards there was a fun mini-comp on the slab walls where I didn't do great but still had a good time trying to scamper up as fast as possible. We left quite late and went for an after-competition feast at McDonalds with some of the Chambery club. Congrats to Margaux and Margot from L'ALE for coming 1st and 2nd in the Senior event and to Yoann for coming 2nd in the Men's. I found out last week that I was placed 7th in the French Speed Cup and 3rd in the Departmental championships - not too bad at all :)

The day after I went to Pierrot Beach with "the other" Fred who I know from previous climbing trips. It was unfortunately a bit too wet and we were both tired and had sore skin after the speed event. I onsighted a 7a+ and worked an 8a+ and a 7c which were way too wet, but it was good to be out on rock again. I also took some nice pictures!

In week 8 I went out two evenings to the Grenoble mountain film festival - Les Rencontres du cinéma de montagne de Grenoble! The first evening I went with Lucy and Cecils from Edinburgh. It was unbelieveable - over 3000 people had turned up for the event, pretty much the entire climbing community of Grenoble and the surrounding area were there. I've never seen so many climbers in my life! We ended up having to sit on the steps as it was so packed, but it was worth it to see a range of exciting adventure films featuring climbing, alpinism, skiing...a bit of everything! My favourite film of the evening was by far Nico Favresse and Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll's film Jungle Jam - featuring their first ascent of a new multi-pitch route in Venezuela. It was hilariously funny and had me in stitches at almost every scene! I really admired the attitude that the team had for climbing - it's no good if you're not having fun with friends, so enjoy it! I also liked listening to the musicality of the Belgian accent which I've acquired a taste for!

On the Friday I had a session at EV2 with Fred (EP) which certainly tested my forearms - they had inflated threefold and even when belaying I was still pumped! I tried an 8a+/b which was very very powerful but not miles off, and a 7c+/8a which I couldn't really figure out in the middle. I got a bit stuck in a corner and couldn't get back out again. Seems I'm not having much luck with corners recently! I struggled a bit throughout the session as I had run out of lenses - climbing in glasses is completely alien to me so I was either climbing short-sightedly or a bit disorientatedly - either way not climbing in a very co-ordinated manner!

In the evening I went once more to the film festival with Mathieu (Of Edinburgh University Mountaineering Club fame!) where there were even more adventure films  - featuring climbing and mini-voiling in Ceuse and Riglos, mountaineering and the story of Lionel Daudet who toured around the circumference of France, sticking to the frontiers and using only non-motorised methods of travelling! It was also nice to see some images of Patrick Edlinger all along the walls to pay hommage to the great climber who sadly passed away a few weeks ago. 

The next day I went shopping in town and met up with the Edinburgh Girls to do a tour of the Christmas Market on its opening night. Lots of tartiflette eaten, some vin chaud drunk and plenty of gifts bought - all in all a very Christmassy evening! A magic moment was when Kate came out with the most Scottish phrase ever to be heard in Grenoble (or at east since I've been here!): "Was it pure jumpin' here earlier like?" Brought a tear to my eye - amazing! :P

After lots of food I woke up the next day ready to go back to Pierrot with "the other"  Fred and his girlfriend Aurelie. We made the usual trip to the Boulangerie beforehand and arrived to an almost fully dry crag! A quick warm up and I was ready to try and do Pan Bagnard 7c, the route I had tried the week before when it was wet. I managed to do it straight off and felt happy with how I had climbed it. Feeling strong, I had a go at Extreme Noise Terror 8a+ and finally worked out how to do the one niggly move that has been stopping me. A big shouldery throw with a high egyptian. I went for an attempt to complete the route and got past the crux, felt calm, until...my right hand slipped from a still-damp tufa. Oh well, next time maybe! I was very happy to have made so much progress with that move, and am keen to get back to the crag before I leave to finish the route. Afterwards, we did a bit of caving in the dried-out waterfall behind the crag - so many tunnels with amazing rock formations!

This week I climbed with Meta (my EP wifey :) ) at EV2 where we had to battle for a free line - so many climbers on a Tuesday night! I chose to do lots of mileage to keep moving through the routes as it was very busy! I also met Marlee who I had seen at the Chamonix competition, so it was nice to bump into her here! On Thursday Meta kindly invited me back to her house for soup where I met her adorable daughters - Femke had even made me a Percy Pig picture with the stickers I had given her! Afterwards we headed to Ablok for a boulder session but both of us were very tired so mileage was on the cards. I was due to be competing in the Departmental difficulty event on Saturday, so I didn't want to push it too hard either.

On the Friday evening I went to a Soirée Britannique (British party!) organised by Alice from Edinburgh and some of her friends. It was a very fun evening with Pimm's, trifle and Toad-in-the-Hole on offer. I met lots of new people from different countries and even ended up joining in on the conga line! I didn't leave too late as I had the competition the next day, up at 6:30am!!!!

Feeling as fresh as a daisy (or rather as fresh as a daisy that has been trampled on) I arrived at the climbing centre in Crolles, a pretty town not far away from EP's office. The wall was built by Entre-Prises and although it is an old gym I really liked its features (can't go wrong with a bit of Imprint panelling ;) ) My first 4 qualification routes went well and I topped them all, finding the last route (about 7a+/b) tricky at the top but not getting too pumped. I helped Margaux with her German homework - very hard to describe a German text in French, I found out! I went into the finals alongside a lot of L'ALE Escalade club members and isolation was good fun - Sylvain and Jerome bullying poor Yoann into submission and throwing his kit out of the iso area (which was taped off) to try and get him disqualified - awesome coaches! :P ) It was a long wait and card games, gymnastics, skipping and a bit of climbing helped take our mind off the waiting. Eventually we went out to view our routes and Margot and I read ours together. It looked do-able, but there was a section we weren't too sure about near the top. Back into iso and it was time to climb - I knew I had to climb fast in order to win due to the new time regulation, as I knew Margot would top out. As a member of the French Speed Team and a former member of the French Junior Team in Difficulty, I had seen Margot climb and knew she would be tough competition in the final. I also have a lot of admiration for the mental strength of speed climbers -it's not easy being head-head directly with another competitor, so I knew I had to keep confident in this situation. 

My turn came and I knew I had to climb fluidly and not hang around, but equally I didn't want to rush and make a mistake. My tactics worked out well and I topped the route fairly quickly. I had made one or two small errors but in all I was happy with my climb. I watched Margot who came out after me and as I expected she easily topped out and I had no idea who had won - it would be a close call! We didn't know until our names were read out on the podium - I had managed to win, but not by much I don't think! I won a nice trophy, a 15 euro voucher for Au Vieux Campeur climbing shop, a day ski-pass for Les Sept Laux, some Crimp Oil and a GriGr2 (which I gave to young Margaux, as being sponsored by Petzl I don't really need it!) Yoann won the Men's Senior category, so our house is home to the two Isère Difficulty champions! We also (quite randomly) got a frying pan off Sylvain and his wife - now we can eat well! Another fantastic French competition with a fun and friendly atmosphere - so glad I got my licence to compete here in France, I have learned so much! 

A trip to the supermarket to buy some celebratory drinks and dinner followed and we watched the live feed of the Legends Only event in Sweden, sponsored by Entre-Prises! 

Today I went bouldering at Ablok and had a great session - I managed to complete my first grey problem (by the skin of my teeth!) and had fun joining in with the locals and getting inspired by some well-known climbers.

I realise I haven't talked much about my work with EP in this post, but I'm saving that for another post later on. I've been having a lot of fun in the office and even had fits of the giggles the other day and couldn't stop! Lots of funny stories including chicken bones, apples, rats and genies. I will tell no more. It's Top Secret! 

Also.....IT'S SNOWING!