Canche aux Merciers

Canche aux Merciers is a mellow, quiet bouldering area (during the week), and the trailhead for a popular hike through the Forest. Stef and Jo once again met us for an afternoon of climbing. Nora, Roland, and Danny got sandbagged by Jo on "Le grand nez", a crazily cantilevered flat rock. There is the lip itself, which is a sloperfest, or else you can climb under the rock itself, doing a 10 foot roof section a few inches off of the ground. There are a number of variations on the boulder -- back and forth, through the roof and looping back around the "nose", and so on, ranging from 6b+ to 8a+. For us Indian Rock climbers, the contrivances felt natural.

no. 11, rouge

In the meantime, I continued my quest to complete a circuit, which I finally did. The red circuit is a 33-problem slugfest of roofs, crimpy dynos, pumpy traverses, and slabs. Short by Font standards, but nonetheless a serious workout.

Roland tops out a red circuit problem

After spending some time in France, you get comfortable with living here; the driving seems natural, purchasing items is ordinary, and so on. Then a few times a day, certain things snap you out of your daze and you realize that you are truly somewhere else. It can be the tête de veau in the meat section at the grocery or the insanely French-looking farmers you see on the side of the road. Well, this morning, it was a this gigantic house spider hanging out by our clothes.

that's the heel of my shoe in the upper left for scale