| Fontainebleau | |
|---|---|
 Dave Graham bouldering in Fontainebleau | |
  Location of Fontainebleau in France | |
| Nearest city | Paris |
| Coordinates | 48°25′N2°37′E / 48.41°N 2.62°E /48.41; 2.62 |
| Climbing type | Bouldering |
| Rock type | Sandstone |
The region aroundFontainebleau inFrance is particularly famous for its concentratedbouldering areas. French alpine climbers practiced bouldering there since the 19th century. It remains today a prime climbing location. It is the biggest and most developed bouldering area in the world,[citation needed] and is where theFontainebleau grading system originated.
At the end of the 1800s,Aldolphe Joanne, the president of theClub Alpin Français, invited foreign visitors to visit the sites ofFranchard andApremont.[1] In 1900, the Club Alpin Français organised a meet to ascend "the Gorges d'Apremont range" and then go to Larchant, whose huge rocks constitute the "usual practicing area of the Paris Section ofCAF."
SeveralBleau boulders or routes are named after famous climbers of the beginning of the 20th century: Prestat, Wehrlin, Maunoury, Gaché, Labour, Paillon, Souverain, and the famousPierre Allain, the inventor of the smooth-sole climbing shoe (namedP.A. from his initials). Before World War II, most of the areas that are popular today were already well known to Parisian climbers, except for LesTrois Pignons, which was not easily accessible by public transport.
At the time, people would climb in Fontainebleau primarily to train formountain climbing. Thus, the 1936 French expedition to theKarakoram included severalBleausards (Bleau climbers).BleausardsRobert Paragot,Lucien Bérardini andRené Ferlet made the first ascent of the South Face ofAconcagua in 1954.
Initially, there were no formalised routes; climbers would choose the most remarkable boulders, aiming for the highest and most committing ones, as a preparation for the mountains.
The first guidebook appeared in 1945, written by Maurice Martin, providing a map of blocks and routes with their names and ratings. The first painted route was created in 1947 byFred Bernick in theCuvier Rempart area, followed by routes at LesGorges d'Apremont painted byPierre Mercier in 1952. The standardisation ofroute colour by difficulty (Yellow = PD, Orange = AD, Blue = D, Red = TD, Black = ED, White = ED+) dates back to the 1980s.
In 1984, French climberJacky Godoffe established the first 8A in Fontainebleau when he climbedC'était demain atCuvier Rempart.[2]
Today, mostBleau climbing areas are owned by the French state and managed by theOffice National des Forêts, in cooperation with the local governments and with climbers' federations.
The Fontainebleau climbing areas are located in a forested area south ofParis. They are colloquially known as "Font" to English speakers, and asBleau in France. They are located mostly within theForêt Domaniale (National Forest)de Fontainebleau, near the town ofFontainebleau,desTrois Pignons (nearMilly-la-Forêt) andde laCommanderie (nearLarchant).
Some of the major areas are:
Although at a farther distance, the climbing areas of Beauvais (Nainville-les-Roches, north ofMilly),Nemours, Buthiers-Malesherbes (west ofLarchant) andChamarande are similar and are considered part ofBleau.
The boulders in Fontainebleau are erosive remnants from theOligocene age, relatively young in geological terms. Their appearance may have been accentuated by localised mineralisation (silicification) of thesandstone rock, forming large nodules.
Two complementary grading systems are in use.
This is now widely used also in other bouldering areas around the world. However, theBleau grades are generally more severe; thus an 8A route outside ofBleau is significantly easier than an 8A boulder problem inBleau.[citation needed]
The typicalBleau landscape is a "chaos" of rocks (no more than a few meters high) spread over a sandy plain.A climbing route threads its way from boulder to boulder.
Routes (circuits in French) are numbered within the restricted area (say, within LesGorges d'Apremont).Routes are colour-coded according to theiradjectival grade:
| Colour | Abbreviation | Adjective | Translation | Typical Numeric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Enf. | Enfants | Children | none |
| Violet, Salmon, Light Green, ... | F | Facile | Easy | 1–2 |
| Yellow | PD | Peu difficile | Little Difficult | 2–3 |
| Orange | AD | Assez difficile | Fairly Difficult | 3–4 |
| Blue | D | Difficile | Difficult | 4–5 |
| Red | TD | Très difficile | Very difficult | 5–6 |
| Black or White or fluorescent pink | ED | Extrêmement difficile | Extremely difficult | 6-7 |
(TheTranslation column is a literal translation of the French adjective; do not assume any relation to any other grading system.)
A small number of routes have retained their historical, non-standard colour, notably at LesGorges d'Apremont (La bleue outremer = marine blue) and LaDame Jouanne (La mauve = purple). All the boulders used along a given route are marked the same colour. The difficulty of each individual move can be found in guidebooks.[1]
The first rock of the route (le départ) carries a white painted rectangle inscribed with the route number and its grading (e.g. AD+) in the appropriate colour (orange in this example). On each individual boulder, an arrow indicates the general direction of climb. Problem boulders are numbered in sequence (number 1 is typically the boulder after thedépart); easier, transition boulders are marked with an unnumbered arrow. Alternative problems are marked with an arrow and ab (bis) or at (ter), or with a small triangle (variante). Where the same route crosses a boulder twice, the first arrow is markedA (aller) and the secondR (retour). The final boulder is marked with a circledA (arrivée).
The body is positioned such that the arrow is atnavel level. Generally, all holds within reasonable reach are allowed; occasionally, a forbidden hold may be indicated by a dashed line. A lone dot indicates a suggested foothold. A dot within a broken circle indicates a jump. A dot with a triangle indicates the general direction of the next boulder.
Some routes, calledparcours montagne, intended to emulate a mountain route, are bi-directional and are indicated by a line rather than an arrow.Very few of these remain; there is one, for instance, at Franchard-Cuisinière.[citation needed]
