Chapter 50: They come and go / Ils arrivent et partent.

They came and they are gone. As I am writing this, I suspect John is back in Calgary and my bro. is somewhere over the Atlantic ocean.

As I was cooking spaghetti sauce, Sarah and Chris showed up. A few good stories and a bottle of whine later, they are both down for the count. Jet lag and alcohol is a dangerous mix.

Tomorrow, I am meeting with one of the locals who's been cranking in Font. for 36 years. The Dude is in his sixties and pull harder then me. I just hope that he gets in a training session tonight or tomorrow morning so I can walk away with a little bit of pride left. Hope is all I have.

Anyway, the temps are good for cranking. Days are cool and nights are cold. The wind is blowing and we are not expecting rain till the end of the week. Perfect.

Ils sont venus et sont repartis. Actuellement, Mathieu est quelque part au dessu de l'ocean Atlantique alors que John est probablement revenue a Calgary.

J'etais tranquillement a cuisiner une sauce a spaghetti quand Chris et Sarah sont apparue de nul part. On va avoir du plaisir. Quelque histoires et une bouteille de vin plus tard, les deux nouveaux arrivants dorment a point, victime du decalage horaire.

Demain, j'ai rendez vous avec un local d'une soixantaine d'annee qui grimpe plus fort que moi. Je vais en avoir plein les bras et surement plus rien dedan demain soir. Je vous tiens au courant.

Chapter 49: Fontainebleau.

France ain't so kind to us so far: We have one climber out of commission, one digital camera in the hands of thiefs, 30 degrees on the red bar and Thailand like humidity. Last night, it rained enough to fill up the Fontainebleau castle 1200m long canal. What is next? I wonder. John is getting here today. Hopefuly, his karma is stronger then the Peartree brother's one.

Yesterday, we visited the Fontainebleau castle. Exuberance and almost disgraceful display of richness awaited us. I'd love to show pictures but like I said earlier, my digital camera is no longer mine. O well. Anyway, many French monarch spent summers at the Font. 'secondary' residence. Learning about each one of them and there influence on the art work was very interesting. I kind of wonder what else the main castle has more then this one. I will make it to Verseille and let you guys know.

Back to the climbing now. As I expected it, bouldering in Font. is a mind numbing experience. With lines everywhere, you get on everything. Slightly overhanging boulders makes it all happen with the fingers. The style is unique, like I've never seen before. Not even 7 months of full time climbing can prepare you for it. All is to be learned from scratch. I got baffled on 5+/6a and pulled 7b+ in a few goes. It comes down to 'feeling' the problem. The bas cuvier is by far my favorite spot. I still have to visit l'elephant, les trois pignons, isatis, le cul du chien and so many more.

Bon, a date, la France joue dur sur le moral des combatants: On a un guerrier hors service, une camera digital en moins, 30 degree au mercure et une humidite comparable a la Thailand. Hier soir, il a plue a en remplir le canal du palais royal de Fontainebleau long the 1200m. John, un ami de Calgary, arrive aujourd'hui. J'espere qu'il nous amenera du beau temps dans ses bagages. Umm, il s'en vient de Londre donc faudra pas trop espere.

Hier, nous avons visite le chateau Royal de Fontainebleau. Richesse et exuberence a en perdre la raison. J'aimerais bien aime prendre des photos mais ma camera digital a trouve nouveau proprietaire. Bien entendu, fallait bien que je me la fasse vole. Bienvenue en France. Bon, peut importe. Plusieurs monarche Francais on reside au chateau tout au long de l'histoire. Il fut tres interessant d'apprendre comment chacun ont influence les courants artistiques des oeuvres d'art du chateau. Si Fontainebleau fut une 'residence' secondaire, je dois absolument alle faire un tour a Verseille.

Retour a l'escalade maintenant. Fontainebleau est absolument superbe meme si les conditions sont loins d'etre exceptionelles. Les blocs sont partout. Des lignes a profusions. Le style de grimpe est completement different de tout ce que j'ai vue jusqu'a date. Meme 7 mois de grimpe temps plein ne peuve preparer a ce qu'on retrouve ici. C'est une question de 'sensation'. On me l'avait bien dit mais bon, il faut en faire l'experience soit meme.

Chapter 47: The verdict / Le verdict.

O well, nothing is broken but no climbing for a while for 'le Deux'. It is a very bad twisted ankle. At the moment, what used to be an articulation can be entered into a pumkin contest. It is big. Getting a pair of crutchess was a test of will power and patience. WoW! Lot's of stories to tell on that one.

Bon, et bien, rien de casse mais une tres tres mauvaise entorse pour le frere. Pas de grimpe pour longtemps. L'articulation est enorme et commence a prendre de belles couleurs. J'ai juste hate a demain, ca va etre encore plus abtrait.

Chapter 48: Here we go.../ On y va...

Hi all,

We are in France, my Bro. and I but not all are healthy: Second day, third problem, Math. mangled his right ankle. This morning, we are testing the French health care system. Will keep you all posted.

Bon, nous sommes en France mais la sante n'est pas au rendez-vous: Deuxieme jours de grimpe, troisieme probleme et le frere se defait la cheville. Ce matin, on fait un test du system de sante Francais. Je vous tiens tous au courant.

Chapter 47: Not much to report / Pas grand chose de differents.

Not much to report except that it's been raining for the last 4 days. We might see a bit of sun tomorrow. For sure, the pics surrounding us will be wearing a coat of white. It get seriously cold at night.

My shoulder is still bothering me. I made a lot of progress but all seems to stagnate at the moment. A bit frustrating. Anyway, I am still optimistic that it will be ready to go for France. That is in two and a half weeks. Wow, time goes by so fast.

Pas grand chose de nouveau en Suisse. Ca fait maintenant 4 jours en ligne qu'il pleut a boire debout. On nous annonce un peu de soleil pour demain. Quand les nuages se disperseront, on devrait voir du blanc sur les pics qui nous entourent. Il fait serieusement froid la nuit.

Mon epaule me fait encore souffrir et meme s'il faisait beau, je ne pourrais pas grimper. Les progres furent tres rapide au debut de la rehabilitation mais actuellement, le tout stagne. Un peu frustrant mais bon, qu'est-ce que je peux faire d'autre. Je reste optimiste et espere que le tout sera rentre dans l'ordre pour la France.

Chapitre 46: Happiness at work - Des gens heureux.

Voici une photo du chantier de construction pas trop loin du camping. Des gens tres fier de leur profession de travailleur de la construction. Les gars sifflent, sourissent et saluent les automobilistes au passage.

Sur l'heure du diner, les gars se font du B.B.Q. et entretiennent leurs 'jardin'.

This is a picture of the construction site not to far from are campground. The workers very pround of their profession. They are always smiling and saluting people driving by.

During lunch time, the boys are cooking on the B.B.Q and take care of the 'garden'.

Chapter 45: It had to happen...

Little riddle this morning:

When a climber is on the road, what is it that is harder to accept then a week of rain, happens when it is beautiful outside and makes minutes feels like hours?

Then answer: An injury.

I have to accept it, there is no other way around it. My left shoulder is very unhappy about it's working condition. I had to say, it's been pulling overtime since January. Of course, it complained a bit through the last six months but I decided to ignore the requests. At the moment, it is impossible for me to ignore the protest. It hurts, even at night.

O well, I remain optimistic. The plan is to get better before the troops from Calgary get to France for the final assault in Fontainebleau. I found an awesome physio who accepted to help me rehabilitate. I'll keep you posted.

Joined are a few pictures taken in Zurich.

Finally, here a super cool line that we found. We always walk right pass it. Last time around, we gave it a second look and decide to give it a go. So good.