Did you know that you can create an account to record, track and share your climbing ascents? Some routes, called parcours montagne, intended to emulate a mountain route, are bi-directional and are indicated by a line rather than an arrow.

You'll find a beautiful landscape, perfect rock and the need for a wide variety of climbing skills!

Trains to Bois-le Roi and Fontainebleau-Avon leave from the Gare de Lyon in Paris. Since then, Fontainebleau has always been on the forefront of the development of bouldering. The standardisation of route colour by difficulty (Yellow = PD, Orange = AD, Blue = D, Red = TD, Black = ED, White = ED+) dates back to the 1980s. The final boulder is marked with a circled A (arrivée). Alternative problems are marked with an arrow and a b (bis) or a t (ter), or with a small triangle (variante).

The first painted route was created in 1947 by Fred Bernick in the Cuvier Rempart area, followed by routes at Les Gorges d'Apremont painted by Pierre Mercier in 1952. Check out what is happening in Fontainebleau.

By continuing to browse the site, you accept, Generic pre-created PDF - for Fontainebleau. Although at a farther distance, the climbing areas of Beauvais (Nainville-les-Roches, north of Milly), Nemours, Buthiers-Malesherbes (west of Larchant) and Chamarande are similar and are considered part of Bleau.

The Fontainebleau climbing areas are located in a forested area south of Paris. Routes are colour-coded according to their adjectival grade: (The Translation column is a literal translation of the French adjective; do not assume any relation to any other grading system. There are too many routes to create a PDF at this node. French alpine climbers practiced bouldering there since the 19th century. Bleausards Robert Paragot, Lucien Bérardini and René Ferlet made the first ascent of the South Face of Aconcagua in 1954. Fontainebleau, also known as Font or Bleau, is situated 90km south of Paris and can be simply described as the best bouldering area in Europe if not the world. Examples are 'L'Angle Allain' 5+ (1935, Pierre Allain), "La Marie Rose" 6A (1946, René Ferlet), 'La Joker' originally 6C, nowadays a hard 7A (1952, Robert Paragot), 'L‘Abbatoir' 7A (1960, Michel Libert), 'Le Carnage' 7B (1983, Jérôme Jean-Charles, 1983), 'La Bérézina' 7C (1977, Pierre Richard), 'C‘était demain' 8A (1984, Jacky Godoffe), 'Fat Man' 8B (1984, Jacky Godoffe). Thanks. From the La Musardière campsite, the Trois Pignons sectors can be easily reached by bike (or even by foot). Their appearance may have been accentuated by localised mineralisation (silicification) of the sandstone rock, forming large nodules that are resistant to erosion. The holy grail of bouldering. In the last few decades, Font has become one of, if not the, world's most popular bouldering destinations. Personalised up-to-date PDF - for Fontainebleau. The difficulty of each individual move can be found in guidebooks.[1].

Go into the forest a little further off the track or out of the area for a 1 and dig a hole for a 2.

Campsite La Musardière for direct access to the Trois Pignons area. They are located mostly within the Forêt Domaniale (National Forest) de Fontainebleau, near the town of Fontainebleau, des Trois Pignons (near Milly-la-Forêt) and de la Commanderie (near Larchant). A dot within a broken circle indicates a jump. This is essential to limit rock erosion. Generally, all holds within reasonable reach are allowed; occasionally, a forbidden hold may be indicated by a dashed line. The area is mainly taken care of by CoSiRoc (https://cosiroc.fr/) where you can find most of the topos. They are colloquially known as "Font" to English speakers, and as Bleau in France. However, the Bleau grades are generally more severe; thus an 8A route outside of Bleau is significantly easier than an 8A boulder problem in Bleau.

Fontainebleau, often called Font by English speakers or Bleau (pronounced blow) by French speakers has been the centre of bouldering since the 1800s. A lone dot indicates a suggested foothold. If you have any changes or additions that you think would be good to include, just let me know. Two complementary grading systems are in use. The body is positioned such that the arrow is at navel level. The majority of the bouldering is to found in the forests that surround Fontainebleau, which makes for a magical and unique setting.

Clean the bottom of your climbing shoes removing all sand and dirt before any climb. The sandstone is fragile.

Coordinates: 48°25′N 2°37′E / 48.41°N 2.62°E / 48.41; 2.62, Escalade à Bleau, Tome 1: Les Trois Pignons, COSIROC, Escalade à Bleau, Tome 2: Forêt domaniale de Fontainebleau, COSIROC, "Site d'escalade Fontainebleau - Les Trois Pignons (La Canche aux Merciers) - info, topo, localisation...", Federación Española de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada, Fédération française de la montagne et de l'escalade, International Federation of Sport Climbing, International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, South African National Climbing Federation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fontainebleau_rock_climbing&oldid=968624188, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 July 2020, at 14:27.

The bouldering quality is world class. Several other campsites are around, but they require a car to reach the sectors. Several Bleau boulders or routes are named after famous climbers of the beginning of the 20th century: Prestat, Wehrlin, Maunoury, Gaché, Labour, Paillon, Souverain, and the famous Pierre Allain, the inventor of the smooth-sole climbing shoe (named P.A. 1908 the Paris Alpine club marked the first parcours to practice techniques for the higher montains.

The first guidebook appeared in 1945, written by Maurice Martin, providing a map of blocks and routes with their names and ratings. It remains today a prime climbing location. Whether you're into hiking, running, mountain biking, rock climbing or simply looking to chil out with the family and kids and have a picnic in a stunning environment, the forest of Fontainebleau is certain to suit your needs. From them, several sectors can be reached by a short hike of about 30min. [citation needed], First rock (départ) of AD route #3 (Roche aux Fées area, Trois Pignons), and move #1, Normal move (upward-pointing arrow) and alternative (bis, right-pointing arrow marked "b"), "Arrivée": last rock of a route (Pignon Poteau). The first rock of the route (le départ) carries a white painted rectangle inscribed with the route number and its grading (e.g. This is now widely used also in other bouldering areas around the world. At the end of the 1800s, Aldolphe Joanne, the president of the Club Alpin Français, invited foreign visitors to visit the sites of Franchard and Apremont. Initially, there were no formalised routes; climbers would choose the most remarkable boulders, aiming for the highest and most committing ones, as a preparation for the mountains. AD+) in the appropriate colour (orange in this example). It is the biggest and most developed bouldering area in the world. It’s one of the places that has pioneered climbing and where the boundaries of possibility have been pushed. The area is mainly taken care of by CoSiRoc (https://cosiroc.fr/) where you can find most of the topos. Routes (circuits in French) are numbered within the restricted area (say, within Les Gorges d'Apremont). Chalk should only be used on hands, never directly on the rock! The region around Fontainebleau in France is particularly famous for its concentrated bouldering areas. The holy grail of bouldering. All the boulders used along a given route are marked the same colour.

Thousands of climbers are already doing this. The typical Bleau landscape is a "chaos" of rocks (no more than a few meters high) spread over a sandy plain. The Forest of Fontainebleau is a mecca for boulderers from all over the world.