It feels amazing to be out here with so much fitness in the tank. All the training and preparation have already been worth it, yet as I write this it is only the end of the third day of climbing. Even the BIG walk is feeling good, much to my surprise!
Each morning so far we are awake early and buzzing to set off up to the crag. This place really is one of the best climbing destinations on earth and its great to finally be able to truly appreciate it. The routes are incredible, the setting a thing of beauty. The campsite is full of life as usual, packed with super friendly people from all over the world. It's been fun to get back into the scene and simple lifestyle here and again meet bunches of new and cool people.
I can totally understand now why the last time I was here the others were so keen to get up the hill each morning. When you are sending and climbing well you almost forget its often tedious nature and as you spend the time thinking about your next project the 40-50 minutes that the hike takes quickly flies by. But if things are maybe not going your way then it can become a real drag every day and your motivation quickly dissapears, which was exactly my experience on the previous visit.
The weather so far has been questionable... In fact I have only just dried out after getting totally drenched on the walk down earlier. It is certainly not as hot as 3 years ago when we wore nothing but shorts and vests for nearly a month, but conditions in general have been decent, just super cold at times. Down jackets and beanies are a must!
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| The clouds roll in... |
Once again there are a whole host of international WADS out here including Alex Megos, who has been on fire this last week on his first ever visit to Ceuse. Unfortuntately we missed his ascent of Realisation a couple of days ago by 5 minutes! But then saw him cruise up one of the crags more recent routes, Mr Hyde (8c+) in absolutely baltic conditions. Very inspiring for sure to see people so strong!
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| Waiting for shade to arrive with the German crew |
The amount of quality routes here can sometimes be overwhelming. Every sector has classic after classic all within a few meters of each other. So far the goal has been to just try to get through as much of the routes I failed on last time out, and then we'll maybe see about trying something a little harder after.
Favourites so far have got to be L'ami de tout le Monde (8b) and Les Colennettes (8a)! Both are world class lines and so much fun! Clipping the chain on L'ami was surreal as the mist was so thick you could barely make out your belayer on the ground! Climbing in the clouds! It was also pretty special on a personal level being my 100th 8th, nothing significant really but a nice landmark to reach.
Today is a rest day but tomorrow if the weather holds then it'll be back up the hill and hopefully carry on the send train. Off to rustle up a power curry now for dinner after a quick hitch down to Gap earlier to pick up fresh veggies! Rollin'
Cheers for checking in!
E
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