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Tips for solo bouldering Font?

Original Post
qumhh oeisk · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2024 · Points: 0

Hello, I am solo traveling France and I am stationed at Paris rn. I’ve always wanted to climb in Fontainebleau but have no buddies to climb with. Do you guys have suggestions/advice for solo bouldering at Fontainebleau without a car (FYI i have 0 experience/knowledge but tend to do p well finding my way around)? Suggestions on specific accessible areas as well as getting a crash pad over would be awesome.

landow 69 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 20

From Gare de Lyon take the train to Bois le Roi and walk to Rocher Cannon. Lots of circuits that can be done without pads. You could also take the train to Nemours. Good climbing when dry. 

Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 984

Get the boolder app (yes that’s spelled correctly) It will let you find the boulders easily.
I think if you google it, you can find a way to pick up a rental pad at the train station.
Definitely visit Font, you won’t be sorry.

We flew with a metolius double without any problems. Just removed the waist belt and taped up all the straps 

Mark OB · · PA · Joined Apr 2018 · Points: 50

I rented a pad from Climbing District Bastille which is very close to gare de Lyon and took the train to  Bois le roi like Iandow mentioned.

Mike Grainger · · Waterloo, ON Canada · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 636

I bouldered solo for several days in Font without a pad, just a bar towel to dust sand of the starting holds and my feet.  Lean into the circuit experience and forget projecting. You can have great fun doing 40 or 50 “easy for you” problems daily. I found the Jingo Wobbly guides to be a great resource in circuit selection   Lesser known somewhat out of the way circuits will be less polished and make for a more pleasant solo experience. 

Mike Grainger · · Waterloo, ON Canada · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 636

I looked up my notes for areas I enjoyed.  

Le Calvaire is a fairly short walk from the Avon train station and has a fun Orange Circuit.  

You can take a train to Nemours and then a longish walk to Petit Bois which has Yellow, Orange and Blue circuits, unfortunately in a damp woodland setting, so a spell of dry weather is necessary to make them worthwhile.  Nearby, Mt. Sarrazin's Orange circuit occupies a higher and dryer hillside.

It is about an hour walk from Avon to Mt. Ussy which has popular Yellow and Orange circuits, as well as a less well known but highly recommended Yellow circuit starting near the Roche de Hercule that feature a lot of continuous movement on rock features that link many of the problems.

You can take a bus to the Buthiers Recreation Centre that offers a Yellow and 2 Orange circuits.  I managed to send 73 problems in a single day here.

Rocher de Avon is about an hour's walk from Avon, but being more popular, is more polished, and in my opinion less fun.

I did a lot of easy highball problems where, without a pad or spotter, a fall could be quite consequential.  I enjoyed the challenge, but I realize that this is not to everyone's taste.  I wore a helmet - a broken leg isn't any fun, but it is a lot easier to recover from than a fractured skull.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Bouldering
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