Yep, there was no connection made this weekend at the Cul de Claire, whether it would be French or not. The windy conditions which probably affected the sea spray in Doolin were perfect for inland bouldering. No excuse here. The place, usually quiet, was crowded with foreigners: me and Dawid Nowak. So for once I had a spotter, I will not even have an excuse for not getting that full roof traverse project. After having spent a couple of hours working the crux moves (translation: a bit of banter, a lot of smoking on the mat in the comfy warmth of the fleece and a couple of easy warm-ups), I made a couple of proper but unsuccessful attempts. This is what I love about projects; you just keep coming back and never get bored.
We also had a look around, as Dawid wanted to inspect the small crag. In a few places it looked like some cleaning had been done: some of the ivy had been cut and taken down: are there any routes being done there? There was definitely a path at the bottom of the crag but the sheep could have done this. More surprisingly in one of the smallest and easiest parts to climb we found this:
Is the Cul de Claire one of the oldest climbing venues in Ireland? Can anyone ask Calvin about this? He probably is the only one who can answer that.
Probably some pictures soon on Dawid’s gallery.
The rule no.1 for enjoying a peaceful married life is to make sure you please both mothers-in-law (unless you have successfully managed to disguise a murder into an accident). Mine being from County Clare, I usually spend Christmas in France and the New Year in Clare and the opposite the following year. This is a good way of enjoying all the good stuff from Christmas time, from Christmas pudding to foie gras. And this way I also get a chance to send my problems at the Toit du Cul de Claire (although that trickle cake can have a terrible effect on my belly weight). The place is only 15 minutes away, so I usually manage 2 or 3 sessions at Christmas.
This time I did not do any gardening, although there is probably another 3 or 4 lines that could be developed. I would also like to get rid of some of the small bushes covering the top edge: some of the lines could definitely do with a nice top out. But one has to get some climbing done sometimes to keep some motivation.
This time I decided that I would focus on the full traverse loop around the roof, linking Cold Turkey and the Grand Slam traverse. After a few tries it definitely came clear that the easiest way was to start on Cold Turkey because the deadpoint is easier going up than going down. After that there are a few jugs to campus along the roof lip. These lead you to the corner around which stands Munster rules (Grand Slam left). Campusing back down should bring me back on the long mantel traverse below the roof. I say "should" because the entire line is approximately 40 moves and I will need a little bit more stamina. But I am back there next weekend and hopefully I will have that line called the "French connection" by Monday. Video here:
I also did a bit of exploration in the Arra Mountains between Lough Derg and Nenagh. This time I had pre-checked on the aerial views from both google Earth and the OSI, and although some very interesting spots looked particularly similar to those of Glenmacnass, the place proved to be as beautiful and as boulder-free as the Slieve Bearnagh in East Clare. Next stop is the Silvermines Mountains in Co. Tipperary. If anyone has already checked the place, please do not tell me. I love a thrill of long boggy walks in the misty fog. It is the best way to enjoy a nice hot whisky by the range...
Most people drive home for Christmas. Being foreigner in Ireland usually means you will have to fly. Being French means you will usually fly not too far from a good bouldering spot. Unfortunatly I was born in the only county in France that does not have a single crag. Here's an example of what the highest crags look like round my parents place:
Yes. The French love their spuds too.
Bouldering at St-Vaast-les-Mello, Oise (60)
Anyway, this means that I usually have to do a bit of driving to the closest climbable crag: St-Vaast-les-Mello.
Being originally a chalk quarry, this place is not exactly the top of the range. To open a few routes, the locals started by chipping some holds (a french traditional climbing technique) into the blank faces of the quarry. But they soon discovered that chalk was actually softer that limestone, and that without superglue their new mono finger holds were transforming very fast into pockets and even jugs. Using that same superglue they decided that maybe they should stick some real solid holds to the chalky faces. I have a couple of these foot holds at home. I keep them as a souvenir of the fun we had in the place. Later they developed yet another technique involving glue, which I cannot describe here given the age of some of my readers.
So here is an old video of me and my bro bouldering in that awesome place one of the last Christmas holidays:
Bouldering at La Hottée du Diable, Aisne (02)
If I have a little bit more time I can push further to a much more beautiful place called La Hottée du Diable. The place is located between Chateau-Thierry and Reims, nord-East of Paris. It is extremelly similar to Font: beautiful sandstone boulders on sandy clearings in the middle of the forest. The place is obviously far less known than Font, the major reason being the size of it.
La Hottée is only a small outcrop of sandstone lost in the middle of huge Champagne vineyards. Neverless the place has a good collection of problems including some really serious ones and it will probably take me a few more Christmas holiday before to get wired on some of these lines... There is a good slideshow of the stones here.
So if you ever happen to be stuck in the Champagne region and that you are not too keen on visiting their cellars (after a few glasses, claustrophobia usually disapears), you can boulder off.
