This is the frequently asked questions (FAQ) list for rec.climbing concentrating on the boulder area near the french city of Fontainebleau. It is maintained by Nico Veenkamp (nicolas@stam.nl).  Improvements to this list are welcome. As english isn't my native language, pointersto better descriptions are also welcome. You can mail me at nicolas@stam.nlFirst edition: 7 july 1994Version: 2.0Last updated: 1 june 1995Changes: major addition of information and some revision.Table of contents.1.   Introduction2.   General Information2.1  Geological Formation2.2  Shops, Banks etc.3.   Travel to Fontainebleau3.1  by car3.2  by train 3.3  by bus4.   Places to stay4.1  hotels4.2  campsites5    Maps, guides and literature6    What gear to bring along7    Explanation of colour coding that is used7.1  description of directional markers8    Description of various boulder areas8.1  Trois Pignons8.2  Apremonts8.3  Franchard8.4  Rocher d'Avon8.5  Calvaire and a large roof9    Favourite routes10   What to do on a rainy day10.1 Au Vieux Campeur10.2 Fontainebleau11   Addresses12   ThanksFontainebleau FAQ1. Introduction After several questions in rec.climbing asking information about the boulder area near the french city of Fontainebleau I decided to puttogether a FAQ with relevant information. Most information in this newsgroup is heavily american centered so some balance was to be brought into play by giving more information about european climbingsites. I hope you enjoy the FAQ and see it as an incentive to go climbing there if you have never been there before or go back there again if you have. I visit 'bleau at least once a year. So Ihope to see you there.Information in this FAQ was gathered from various sources. Some are mentioned in the maps and guides section of this FAQ. This FAQ is posted on a regular basis in the newsgroup rec.climbing.You can also find it on The Climbing Archive. The URL ishttp://www.dtek.chalmers.se/Climbing/Guidebooks/Europe/fontainbleau.html2. General InformationThis part has a sort of general introduction to give you some idea. It was written by Quang-Tuan LUONG (qtluong@robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu) as an answer to a question about climbing near Fontainebleau. The various parts in the article below are more extensively explained in the rest of the FAQ.Fontainebleau ("Bleau") is the name of a forest and a small town with aclassical castle which are about 50km South of Paris. It is probably one ofthe finest bouldering sites in the world. Climbing started there in the 30sand at this time moves equivalent to 10+ where already done there. Theclimbing is on sandstone, generally with friction problems, very tiny edges,and lots of overhanging moves which are generally quite mysterious to theclimber which is not used to the place (the ratings are two grades more severethan on french cliffs). The boulders are organized in "circuits", which arethe enchainement of several boulders (30 to 100+) with a consistent level ofdifficulty. There are several hundred circuits, from the easiest, to the mostextremes, featuring a total of tens of thousands problems.On each circuit, you follow the markings arrows, which are of a specificcolor, and each time there is a significant problem, there is an arrow anorder number. So it is relatively easy to follow a circuit, however, it isuseful to have the guidebook. It is mandatory in order to find the beginningof each circuit, too.  The most pleasant way to climb is to choice one circuitof your level, which gives you the best of an area (at a given level), howeversome people work only on very specific and hard problems. Typically, you doone circuit per climbing session.The factors to influence the choice of a circuit:- difficulty: coded by color. - whether it dries quickly or not, if you go on wet days- exposure: in some places the boulders are 3 meters high and you land   on the sand, in some places they are 10 meters high with landings on other  rocks. - access: some places are more or less accessible by train (after a  hike in the  forest), whether for some places you need a car. It may be  tricky to arrive at the good parking lot.Normally you do not need a rope (if you don't climb exposed boulders beyondyour level). Chalk is supposed to be avoided as much as possible, but sap isgenerally recommended instead, to improve friction. Another piece of equipmentwhich is *needed* is a small piece of carpet to stand on without getting sandon your shoes, and also a small piece of cloth to clean them. When in Paris,go to a climbing shop such as Au Vieux Campeur (rue des Ecoles, near LaSorbonne) to find the guidebook. There used to be several, but one of them (itwas blue) is supposed to be a bible. The salesman knows it off course. Thechoice of your shoes is important. Since the climbing is highly technical,you may want to have tight shoes. But it is very boring to have to take them off often, and since you will have to walk from a problem to another, youalso may want something which has acceptable comfort.2.1 Geological FormationAccording to an abstract I read the boulders originate from sandstonedunes that were formed in the Stampian (Oligocene) era. Theconfusion of boulders can be explained by the fall ofsandstone slabs which rolled down the slopes. Various explanationsare discussed for the formation of the balls: falling blocks whichhave been eroded, balls that are the remains of an eroded sandstonecarapace, or balls that are the remains of the original formation.reference:TITEL    Les problemes des gres de FontainebleauAUTHOR   Marescaux, G.SOURCE   Association  Geografique France, Bulletin, No. 334-335,          p. 48-57, sketch map, Publication year: 1965.2.2 Shops, Banks etc.Milly-la-ForetIn Milly-la-Foret there is a cashmachine/ATM that accepts all major credit cards. You will find it at the Place du Marche, 10 meters to the right from the corner.Also on the Place du Marche you will find a baker, butcher, grocersand other shops. This used to be the major marketplace signified by a 14th century wooden roof construction that spans the marketplace.>From the Place du Marche turn into the Grand Rue. On your left thereis a bikeshop that rents bikes. It's open from mon-sat 08.30-12.30,14.00-19.00. A pushbike (5 or 10 speed) rents between FFr. 45 and FFr. 250 for half-a-day to two weeks. Deposit is FFr. 1000. An ATBrents between FFr. 90 and FFr. 390 for half-a-day to 4 days witha deposit of FFr. 1500. They charge you FFr. 60 for cleaning whenyou bring the bike back dirty. Mastercard and Visa are accepted. Next door to this shop you'll find a pharmacist.3. Travel to Fontainebleau3.1 by car>From northern France:Follow the Autoroute du North to Paris. After exit nr. 6 (Airport Charlesde Gaulle) take the highway number A104/N104 (La Francilienne ) around Paris. Follow direction Lyon. The number will change from A104 to N104 and back sometimes. At Evry the number changes to A6 on the signs but along the roadit still says you are on La Francilienne. The A6 is the Autoroute du Soleil.Keep following the direction Lyon until you see Fontainebleau mentionedon the signs. After a while you'll see the exit nr. 37 to Fontainebleau. Take this exit.Keep this road to Fontainebleau. If you want to go to the campsite La Musardieretake the exit a kilometer down the road to Milly. Keep following direction Milly-la-Foret. Just before Milly-la-Foret there is a roundabout. Follow this three-quarters (esssentialy turn left here). There are signs to the campsite here.Follow this road until you see on your left hand side Hotel-Restaurant Coquibus.A few hunderd meters further the road makes a turn to the left. In the turn thereis a road turning sharply to the right near a sign 'Noisy-sur-Ecole'. Turnright here. Further down the road the campsite is at your right.Remember that you have to pay toll for large parts of the Autoroute.Autoroute du North, section Lilles-Senlis, is FFr. 40,- (1991). This isone way. Lille-Paris is FFr. 60,- (1995)3.2 by trainThere is a train leaving from Paris to Fontainebleau almost every hour. The trainride takes about three-quarters of an hour. You depart from Gare du Lyon in Paris and arrive at Avon Gare SNCF. If you have access to the french Minitel system check the SNCF section for latest information on departure times. 3.3 by busThere are busservices from Fontainebleau to Milly-la-Foret.They don't run frequently though.Line 284-001 Fontainebleau - Milly-la-Foret>From monday to saturday (some services don't run on wednesday and/or saturday)Avon Gare SNCF (train)               12.32          17.32Fontainebleau Jeanne d'Arc                   16.30Fontainebleau College Int.           12.35          17.35Fontainebleau Chateau         12.35  Milly-la-Foret                13.00  13.05   17.00  18.05(* not on saturday)           *Milly-la-Foret                07.45  07.55Fontainebleau Chateau                08.15Avon Gare SNCF                08.18  This busservice is run by SAMTA.4. Places to stay4.1 hotelsHotel Ibis                            18 rue Ferrare, 77300 Fontainebleau                   phone:+33-1 64 23 45 25Rates FFr. 94/1304.2 campsitesCamping de la Musardiere, route des Grandes-Vallees, P.O. Box 2791490 Milly-la-ForetFrancePhone: +33-1 64 98 91 91Fax:   +33-1 64 24 52 03Prices (1995): FFr. 24,- per person, per night               FFr. 12,- for a tent, FFr. 12,- per car, FFr. 24,- for a caravanthis campsite is located east of the village Milly-la-Foret and is very close, i.e. walking distance, from the north part of the TroisPignons area.Camping du Petit Barbeau77920 Samois-sur-Seinethis campsite is currently closed since late 1993 due to unsatisfactory sanitairy conditions. According to information received the campsite is open again (1995). I don't have additional details like pricing etc.There are several places in the forest where you are allowed to bivouack. You first have to ask permission of the Office National de Forets, 217 bis rue Grande, 77300 Fontainebleau. You also need to be a member of an associate organisation of the O.N.F. I presume climbing associations also count, but I am not sure.These places are de la Grande Vallee (D8)*, de la Croix-de-Saint-Herem (C7), des Barnolets (D4), de Bois-le-Roi (A7/B7)*, de la Solle (B7), des Huites-Routes (B7), du Bas-Breau (B5) and de Franchard (B5).The coordinates in parentheses designate the places on the number 401 map of the I.G.N.. The asterisk next to a coordinate means there is a watertap with drinkable water.Just up the N7 from Bas-Cuvier is a good bivouack site, with freshwater, and waste collection. Its a bit hard to find at 2:30 am, but isup a small road directly opposite a road to Barbizon. There weren't anyrestrictions on who can camp there, although parking was limited.Approximate map:|  |          N7|A6|          ||  |  ==========\|||  |      B---\|-*here|  |          |||  |          ||Bas Cuvier5 Maps, guides and literatureMapsInstitut Geographique National number 401 forets de fontainebleau et des trois pignons (copyright 1985)1:25000Institut geographique national107, rue La Boetie75008 ParisFranceComments: On this map the places you can climb are indicated with red trianglesA more recent edition is available as:Institut Geographique National number 2417 OT (series TOP 25)forets de fontainebleau (copyright 1991)Comments: This map ends just short of Milly-la-Foret. Guides:Title: Fontainebleau : escalades et randonneesAuthor: Michel Schulman and others2nd edition: 1986Publisher: Arthaud, ParisISBN: 2-7003-0418-7Comments: still the best description of the various areas. Some of the courses are completely laid out, so that you can follow themeasily.            Title: Rock Climbing Guide to EuropeAuthor: Jones, DavidFirst Edition: 1991Publisher:Crowood Press, Gipsey Lane, Swindon, Wiltshire SN26DQ, GBISBN: 1 85223 450 4 orISBN: 0-89886-291-4Comments: The guide is famously inaccurate in terms of the dirrections to _get_ to the crags, but it was a noble effort to list _all_the sports crags in Europe.  Trad/Alpine climbing is not touched on at all.Title: Boulderfuehrer FontainebleauAuthor: Timo Marschner and Harald Roekerfirst edition: july 1992Publisher: Rotpunkt Verlag, Weinstadt-Benzach, Germany, phone: +49-7151-65041/42ISBN: 3-928899-08-2Comments: this guide is excellent in depicting acces to the boulder areas and also uses sort of icons to describe the layout andlanding of the boulders. Be it open on sand or in the woods. If the landing is on sand or on rocks etc. Literature* Bonjour, Chaos by David Roberts in Outside (APR 01 1994 v 19 n 4, pg 125)* Fontainebleau by Dave Pegg and Jez Portman in High mountain sports (MAR 01 1994 n 136, pg 49)* The Forest by Colin Maddocks in On the Edge, issue 29, April 1992, p. 44* Only 500 miles south of Sheffield by Ben Moon in On the Edge, issue 29, April 1992, p. 496 What gear to bring alongFor most area's the only thing you need are a pair of climbing shoes, a piece of rug, some easy wearing clothes and either resin or chalk (in europe better known as pof). There is an area where the height validates usage of a rope. This is Dame Jouanne, north-east of the village of Larchant.Also a small rucksack for carrying comfortable shoes like trainers and some food and water is also very handy. Some circuits are very long. The best thing to do is bring your stuff with you for a rest halfway through the course.7 Explanation of colour coding that is usedThe colours that are used to describe the difficulty of the course are white, yellow, orange, green, blue, red and black.                                                       UIAA    Frenchwhite     Enfants                E   Children                      yellow    Facile                 F   Easy                  2       2          Peu difficile          PD  Bit difficult         3       2orange    Assez difficile        AD  Some difficulties     4       3green     Assez difficile        AD  Some difficulties     5c      3blue      Difficile              D   Difficult             6a      4red       Tres difficile         TD  Very difficult        6b      5black     Extremement difficile  ED  Extreme difficulties  7b+     6-7white     Extremement difficile  ED  Extreme difficulties  7c+     6-7Be careful though. Some routes in Franchard and Gros Sablons are coded white/black while routes in Apremont/Gorges and Bas-Cuvier are coded white. These are all ED. The start of a circuit is depicted by using the letter D as in Depart. When you see the letter A then that is the end of the course. A means Arrivee. The order is shown by using the numbers 1,2,3,... etc. Some routes are difficult to find and you will find yourself sometimes searching for the next number in the course. Search for little arrows or dots in the colour of the circuit to find your way between the boulders.7.1 description of directional markersD                 beginning of the circuit (Depart)/\    /\||   //||   ||           direction or easier beginning/\||||1               number of the boulder/ \ o o o                variation====>40           walking distance in meters to next boulder in the circuitA /\  ||  ||====>         first follow direction A, then follow other direction  ||   _  (_)             point has to be touched, mostly by feet   _  (_)>            direction  ___ / _ \( (_) )           jump point \___/   A              end of circuit (Arrivee)8 Description of the various boulder areas [under construction]8.1 Trois Pignons8.2 Gorge d'Apremonts8.3 Franchard8.4 Rocher d'AvonOrange circuit AD- (french guidebook, pages 124 and 125).Just south of Fontainebleau there are the Rochers D'Avon. It has anorange circuit. From the Obelisk at Fontainebleau (south-east of thecity) go for aprox. 2.3 km along the N6 until on your right youfind the Route de la Percee. In here till Carrefour de Mayenne. Walk onsouth for about 100 m and turn left on the bleu path nr. 10. Followthis path until the Depart of the orange circuit at the feet of the Dame Jeanne d'Avon. The circuit is some 20 blocs. The route isalmost a circle and the finish is close to the start.8.5 Calvaire and a large roof>From Fontainebleau take the D137E to Avon. After passing a graveyardon your left turn left and then straight on till the next crossing,passing a place where they play Jeu de Boule. At the crossing turn rightto the next larger crossing (trafficlights). Cross the N6 and after50m turn right. Parkingplaces are on the right hand side.Follow the road to Avon till the next trafficlight. Turn left andafter 600 meter (near Hotel 'le Terminus' but before the railwaybridge)again left. Follow a winding path up and turn left to a large cross.There is some parking space here too.The large roofproblem is on the lefthand side when you look backtowards the road. There is a small path going there. Follow the samepath to Calvaire (Orange, AD/AD+, 33 boulders, page 96 in french guide). The roof is rated something like french grade 5. It has several possibilities, even when it is raining. Even has some traverses. 9 Favourite routes (send me your favourite routes)Nico Veenkamp (nicolas@stam.nl)One of my favourite routes is an orange circuit (AD/AD-) in Gros Sablons (centre of Trois Pignons). See Orange AD/AD- nr. 2, page 168 of the french guide. It has some 38 boulder problems with a few very nice traverse climbing. Also one block with an interesting foothook problem. I forgot which number but it is somewhere in the beginning. For me the interesting problems are block 2 (traverse around the block), block 14(pied-a-main in a large hole on the right), block 22 (also traverse),block 29 (a block that looks like the Matterhorn with some nice frictionclimbing, especially if you do the alternative route on the right) andblock 38 (the last one in the route, with the solution in an undercling)>From the entrance of the camping La Musardiere, turn right along the road.At the first crossroad turn left in the direction of La Croix St. Jerome.At the Cross keep straight on until at a T-crossing turn left. After a few meters turn right to a dirt road. This is the Chemin de la Valee Close. It's all forest here. At a bifurcation keep left until you get to a large sandy area. You pass a cross on a hill to your left. There is a very nice yellow circuit to the left and a bit more difficult yellow to the right. The orange one is at the end of the area on the right. Follow a dirtpath for about 50 m. Then turn left to some boulders. Here is the start of the orangeroute. Walking distance from the campsite is some 20 minutes.10 What to do on a rainy day10.1 Au Vieux CampeurThis shop in Paris is one of the largest shops that I know with gear foroutdoor activities. Their climbing section is a seperate store by itself andIMHO excellent. The french gear is cheap to reasonable priced. Non frenchgear is also reasonable priced or not much different from what I wouldpay in The Netherlands.>From Fontainebleau the best way to go there by car is to take the highwayback to Paris and leave your car somewhere in the vicinity of Porte d'Italieor Porte de Choisy. Take the metr, change at Jussieu and then leave at eitherMaubert-Mutualit or Cluny/La Sorbonne. Rue des Ecoles is close by.10.2  Fontainebleau Fontainebleau is a city of some 30.000 people. It is wellknownfor its large palace with the same name. The palace was where Napoleonsigned his abdication in 1814. The tourist information office is justacross the street from the entrance to the chateau in Fontainebleau.There you can get a booklet with a map of the forest showing the location of all the "Rochers d'escalade". There are also two outdoor shops in Fontainebleau; Sport-Globall and Appalach 77.11 AddressesAppalach 77Avenue Marechal de Villars77300 FontainebleauFrancephone: +33-1 60 72 86 58Aux Vieux Campeur48, rue des Ecoles75005 ParisFrancephone: +33-1 60 11 63 62       +33-1 69 81 47 47fax:   +33-1 60 11 89 66       +33-1 60 11 70 38Institut Geographique National107, rue La Boetie75008 ParisFranceOffice National de Forets, 217 bis, rue Grande, 77300 Fontainebleau,France.Office de TourismePlace N. Bonaparte 3177302 FontainebleauFrancephone: +33-1 64 22 25 68open: mon,wed-sat 0900-1230,1345-1830, sun 1000-1230, tue closedOffice de Tourisme60 Rue Jean-Cocteau91490 Milly-la-ForetFrancephone: +33-1 64 98 83 17fax:   +33-1 64 98 94 80open: mon,wed-sun 1000-1200, thu-sat 1430-1730, tue closedSAMTA35 Rue Faubourg de Melun91490 Milly-la-ForetFrancephone: +33-1 64 98 85 21Sport-GloballRue Grande 8377300 FontainebleauFrancephone: +33-1 64 22 15 8012 ThanksPeople that have helped making this FAQ an even better resource are:Russ Hersch (sibit@datasrv.co.il)Stefan van der Leede (v932355@si.hhs.nl)Steve Loughran (slo@hplb.hpl.hp.com)Quang-Tuan Luong (qtluong@robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu) Stewart Maxwell (stewartm@bnr.ca)Manuel Serrano (serrano@savigny.inria.fr)Robert Wall (robertw@yarrow.wt.uwa.edu.au)----------------------------------------------------------The Fontainebleau Frequently Asked Questions List is Copyright (c) 1995 by Nico Veenkamp, all rights reserved.This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, or BBS  as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes this copyright  statement.This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain.This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations   without express permission from the author.----- End Included Message -----