font

font was good, felt brief and i came back with tips on my fingers which points to someone not giving it their all. mostly did circuits this time, was torn between the enjoyment of all the little gems and wanting to be climbing hard stuff. hard stuff as being practised by the lads seemed to mostly consist of overhanging lines involving core and finger strength which i knew i wasn't bringing on this trip.

isatis -came dangerously close to finding a line up beurre margot (sp?). in fact a climber/guide book present said it was a 7a line troubadours (rhs) but that seemed like nonsense. did the usual greats in the first area then wandered right down the end of the ridge. came pretty close on a 7a the lads were trying but that was pretty much it for my grade whoring for the trip. good long day.

91.1 - did first half of the red circuit, very enjoyable if a little too marbly at times.
cul de chien - did the latter half of the blues, much nicer rock and provided some almost missed gems.

95.2 - a mish mash, warmed up in the area at the end of the red circuit on some lovely lines. very briefly tried some hard stuff the lads were working then headed to half heartedly work the blue/red circuits not helped by occasional spits of rain. found our zen again in the core of 95 on the big slab and surrounds.

franchard sablons- perhaps not the best destination for a damp morning but inertia kept us there and it mostly dried as day wore on. some lovely lines, a place i'd like to return to dry. the irish mobs descended here and i found it interesting how strong a lot of folk were. the country is obviously getting stronger. meanwhile me and james climbed lots of blue slabs. (though it takes considerable strength of mind to use some of the credit card holds on the slabs.)

things i (re)learned
- generally speaking climbing outdoors regularly in ireland is insufficient preparation for climbing >6c in font.
-sat navs save lives.
-Formula1 is 60% the price of Etap. (Though Etap have very tastefully refurbished and the cute girl still works there.)
-FUN fm is the future of music. Or if the mood takes you, FIP fm is.
-Hertz are shit.
- There's a large population of Andorans in Paris.
-Flying pads over is too stressful. I think the pad rental market in font has to expand but still must book early next time.
- Don't join in halfway through someone else's trip. The wind down mindset can be infectious, so instead of "day 1" it's "3 days left."
- Maintain cell independence.
- Nurofen.
- Leave everything in the car.
- A climbing trip and a climbing holiday are two different things. Increased alcohol/buttered pastry intake & near pointless carrefour trips are the trademarks of the latter.
- Get the Frenchy burger in the Taverna in Font but only on the last night.
- 2-4 day trips can work very well if weather behaves.




a beautiful little line between a red and a blue in cul de chien.