annot

We just got back from Annot: 1.5 days of bouldering before the rain shut us down. It felt great to pull down on sandstone again. We first went to Annot way back in 2002, on our way back up from a climbing and canyoneering trip to Nice and Antibes and immediately fell in love. It has appeared a few time in this blog, but the summary is that it is a small town in the Alpes de Haute Provence which is surrounded by countless sandstone boulders and cliffs (and limestone cliffs too. There is a farm fairly high up the bouldering road, called "La Rouie", which is a bit rustic, but perfect for bouldering. The rooms are spartan, but equipped with refrigerators, hot showers, ovens and gas heat. After quickly leaving our stuff at "the farm", as we call it, we headed up very slowly on the dirt road to one of our favorite sectors, and after spending a lot of time trying to keep the kids comfortable, managed to actually climb a few boulders. I was happy to do the "Toit du cul du loup" first try, with minimal pain (compared to the last time I was here), and then "Kung Foot". I also was very happy to discover that with proper technique, you can use a crash pad as a very effective two year old carrier!

(photo by Ian)
After only grinding the undercarriage of the car a few times on the way back to the farm, we headed to the Madness sector to do a few laps on old favorites like Bachotage and Bacalauréat and Le gymnasium (sit start), Ian and I wandered over to the La Baleine sector, where we found a nice project and a scary highball which I did not manage to send (and I came back the next day to try, too! The top out is just too goddam scary). Finally, it was time to get back and eat some raclette. It was a pretty full day, what with the 4 hour drive down, but the weather report was for rain on Saturday, so I wanted to get as much as possible in.

The next day, it was back to Madness and La Baleine for the whole crew, and then Ian and I tried to get to La Ruche, but the road was covered in snow. We walked for a little while before realizing that it was hopelessly far. Instead, we went to place Vendome, where we both fell pathetically off of things before the rain finally arrived. From there, we ran into everyone else and went to a cafe/off track betting place in town. I was dismayed to see that one of our favorite sectors (Dragonball) had been turned into a hillbilly boot camp: road carved into the hill, camo trailer parked against a boulder, trees chopped down, terrible plastic furniture everywhere. I guess the bright side is that it's not just America that has backwards ass yokels willing to destroy beautiful things without so much as a backwards glance from their quad. Anyway, next came dinner, beer, scotch, and the drive back home the next day. I have very little skin remaining on my fingertips now, but am very motivated to get down there again as soon as possible.

One logistical note, for those that care: going this early in the season means that you will be brushing the hell out of the boulders. I guess the rocks exfoliate a lot over the winter.