Fontainebleau rock climbing

The region around Fontainebleau in France is well-known for its many places to climb big rocks without ropes, called bouldering. People have been climbing in this area since the 1800s. Today, it is one of the best places in the world for this kind of climbing.

It is the largest and most developed area for bouldering anywhere, and many climbing difficulty levels, known as the Font grade, started here. This makes Fontainebleau a very important place for climbers all over the world.

History

At the end of the 1800s, a leader of the Club Alpin Français invited visitors to see the climbing spots at Franchard and Apremont. In 1900, the club held a meeting to climb the Gorges d'Apremont range and then go to Larchant, where big rocks were used by climbers from Paris.

Many climbing paths in Fontainebleau are named after famous climbers from the early 1900s, including Pierre Allain, who created the first smooth-sole climbing shoe. Before World War II, most of the popular climbing areas were well known to climbers from Paris, except for Les Trois Pignons, which was hard to reach by public transport.

Back then, people climbed in Fontainebleau mainly to get ready for mountain climbing. Climbers from Fontainebleau were part of a French expedition to the Karakoram in 1936. They also made the first climb of the South Face of Aconcagua in 1954.

At first, there were no set paths; climbers picked the most interesting big rocks to prepare for mountain climbing. The first guidebook came out in 1945, written by Maurice Martin. The first painted climbing path was made in 1947, and more were added over the years. By the 1980s, colours were used to show how hard each path was.

In 1984, a French climber named Jacky Godoffe climbed a very hard path called C'était demain. In 1998, Cathy Miquel became the first woman to complete a very hard climb called Duel.

Today, most climbing areas in Fontainebleau are owned by the French government and cared for by the Office National des Forêts, working with local groups and climbing organizations.

Geography

The Fontainebleau climbing areas are found in a forested region south of Paris. People often call this place "Font" in English, and Bleau in France. Most of these climbing spots are inside the Forêt Domaniale (National Forest) de Fontainebleau, close to the town of Fontainebleau, des Trois Pignons (near Milly-la-Forêt), and de la Commanderie (near Larchant).

Some well-known climbing areas include Le Cul de Chien and La Canche aux Merciers in les Trois Pignons, le Cuvier (Bas-Cuvier, Cuvier Rempart) and les Gorges d'Apremont in Forêt de Fontainebleau, and La Dame Jouanne and l'Éléphant at Larchant, in Forêt de la Commanderie. Farther away, climbing areas like Beauvais (Nainville-les-Roches), Nemours, Buthiers-Malesherbes, and Chamarande are also similar and considered part of Bleau.

Geology

The boulders in Fontainebleau are leftovers from a time called the Oligocene, which is relatively recent in terms of Earth's history. These boulders may look even more interesting because certain parts of the sandstone rock have turned into hard mineral forms, creating big round shapes.

Route grading and marking

Two grading systems help climbers know how hard a route is. The first system uses words like "easy" or "extremely difficult" to describe the whole route. The second system uses numbers from 1a to 9A to show how hard a single move or boulder is.

Climbers use paint marks on the rocks to show where to go next. Each route has a color to match its difficulty level. The starting rock has a white rectangle with the route number and grade. Arrows on the rocks point the way, and some marks show where to jump or which way to go. This helps climbers follow the right path from start to finish.