Randy Carmichael
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Rock Climbing Honeymoon (abbreviated)
Table of Contents
6/14/2004 – 6:00am - So much for sleeping in, Belen and I decide to go back to Eldo for some climbing! We climb Calypso to the top of Wind Tower and then get caught in a light rain storm.
6/17/2004 – We fly to Amsterdam, N.L. After landing, I am questioned about my purpose in N.L. - “pleasure”. Belen, just a “welcome”. A very efficient airport with a major train station right under it. Bank exchange = €.83/Dollar.
6/17/2004 - We arrive at the Hotel Eden at 11am. Quick shower, then out walking. I am constantly dodging women on bikes wearing dresses, hip hugger jeans, and waist revealing shirts. At least I think it is mostly women; but over lunch Belen bets me, and we count eight out of 10 are men. Eight drab men and two dazzling women I guess. Back at the hotel, I spend 45 minutes on the Internet looking for Bikram Yoga and Climbing Gyms. No yoga, but one climbing gym - Khilmal Gym, in Sloterdijke.
Belen in Amsterdam, Randy Carmichael
6/18/2004 - Yoga in the hotel room, then out for honeymoon stuff (museums, walking, dinning, and romance). In the evening, we take the Metro (Train 50) from Waterloo to the World Trade Center (WTC) to go to the climbing gym in Sloterdijke. Khilmal has a 65ft wall, a full cocktail bar, and a large bouldering area. It is 1st class. Climbing is €9.5. I believe they are using the British Standard to rate the climbs.
Klimhal
During my first pitch, Belen is confronted by a woman. She is not belaying correctly! We are shown a new technique where you lock-off, bring your left hand over the rope and grab the rope end. Then, slide your right hand up. Very awkward, but we agree to try it. She says they don't want other climbers to see our "traditional technique" - “too dangerous”. She says they have had five climbers fall, just in the last year; which is why they use the new technique. Meanwhile, our new B52s are not working very well with the new technique and the 11mm worn ropes. Halfway up the 2nd climb, Belen can't take the slack out of the rope. I descend and flip the B52 around and it seems to work much better. I climb a 4+, 5A, 6A, 5B, and 5C. The climbs are mostly crimps/face and not too much balance or feet. We climb from 8-10:30pm.
Enjoying a Heineken in the gym bar, we consider if the fact that they have a full service bar in the gym has anything to do with the five climbers falling in the last year.
6/19/2004 - More honeymoon stuff. At Van Goh's museum I see paintings of his work in Arles, knowing that is our climbing destination. On the streets, the up-right bicycle riders w/ baskets and old black bikes look like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz tornado. Do-to-do-to-do-do, Do-to-do-to-do-do....
Van Gogh Wheat
field under the storm, Randy Carmichael
6/20/2004 - We take Tallys train from Amsterdam to Paris. It is suppose to be a hi-speed train, but we are delayed twice, and there seem to be four, five, or six “extra” stops. We never find our “reserved seats” and at each stop fear losing our seats to people with seat reservations. We move once, then seem to be ok. At the Paris train station, we buy an Orange Card for the Metro, Euro 13.50 for two days.
Train to Paris, Randy Carmichael
Finding the Hotel Bristol is easy, because they have big detailed street maps at the Metro Stations. On the streets, I am quickly sensing there are too many people in Paris. We Metro to Saccre-Cour to watch the sunset. I slab climb up the incline by the steps to the church – 5.0. A young man plays Amy Lenox's “Little Bird” on his guitar, and the crowd sings along. An alpine glow spreads across the white wash buildings of Paris. It is beautiful.
6/21/2004 – More honeymoon stuff.
Pierre Henri, Randy Carmichael
Rene Prinet, Randy Carmichael
Victory (rather chunky), Randy Carmichael
6/22/2004 – At 6:30pm, we head to the rock gym – CEE Thiais, but it is situated within a college and is closed on Sundays. Then, we head to the other gym Antrebloc in Luxenborg, but get lost. I finally find the gym, but it is closed too and it is now 9pm.
Antrebloc
Paris Rock Gyms:
Antrebloc, 5 Rue Henri-Barbusse CEE Thiais, 3 Rue des Alouettes Mur-Mur Pantin, 55, Rue Cartier-Bresson6/23/2004 – At 6am, we Metro to the Gare Du Nord for the TGV hi-speed train to Arles; but halfway to the station we realize we need Gare Lyon, 180 degrees the other direction. We have 20 minutes. Run, run, run, sweat, sweat, sweat; we arrive in record time on Platform E, just as the train is pulling out (6:45am). We catch an 8am train to Arles via Lyon. The landscape flies by and is beautiful. I spy some of the red flowers that highlight one of Monet's paintings I saw yesterday (“Two women on a hill”).
Gare Arles, Randy Carmichael
At 1:30pm, we arrive in Arles – climbing paradise. The train station is deserted, the rental car – Avis is closed until 3pm. I walk down the street to Arles and try National, but they don't have any cars. We wait in the small train station and I draw. The car rental is expensive, but my thoughts now are filled with climbing and quickly get over the 300 Euro for three days. We stop at the Monoprix Superstore for a corkscrew and climbing snacks. The Les Cabenettes motel is about 12km southwest of Arles. The hotel looks much smaller than the brochure, but is nice. We are in the middle of nowhere – we think “quiet” after noisy Paris.
We sort gear and head to Fontenville in the Alpinies for climbing via Arles. We take 14kms in wrong turns. Along the way I gain confidence driving and improve my skills at round-abouts. The roads are good and well marked. In the small town of Fonteville, I take one more wrong turn. We cannot locate the exact location to stop on the road using the vague description in the guidebook, be we are close. We walk north through some orchards via a tractor path. Even though there are not any “keep out” signs; we are trespassing, and shot gun shells on the path strike fear. We continue with hesitation towards the small mountains passing by a villa/farm. Then we begin bush whacking up the hill – many thorns and stickers. We realize we have taken a wrong turn. So, back to the path by the villa with a real no trespassing sign. The path becomes a real hiking trail and we gain confidence as we head east. A good path then heads north up the mountain and we take it. An hour later near the top of the mountain overlooking a beautiful vista, we realize we have taken another wrong turn. The cliffs are in the base of the valley's, and not on top of the mountains! We head back down the mountain to the original main path that went east. I think by this time Belen has had enough, but she is in good spirits to continue. About 200m north the trail comes to a dirt road. It is obvious this is the “track” the guidebook describes, and we head north again.
We quickly come to the crag and I easily find our target route “La Bistouquette”, a 5b that follows a crack. It is fun and easy. The rock feels slick. Now it is getting late. So, we top rope an unknown 6a next to our original route using the common anchor. It is 9:30pm, still light, and we head back to the car. It is about one mile down the “track” to the main road. All the bush whacking on the way up could have been a 15 minute walk on a nice road.
We try a restaurant in Fonevielle, but their kitchen is closing. In Arles we try a cafe, but there is only one waiter and the service is too slow. We are starving. We then find a one-man pizza to-go truck. One old truck, one long extension cord, one hot pizza oven, and lots of locals. This guy cranks out the pizzas for €7.50 each. We have to wait about 25 minutes for him to prepare the six pizzas ahead of our order. It is delicious. We arrive back at the hotel at 11pm. I know that I have taken more wrong turns today than all combined in the last year. Morals of the day: 1) A British “track” is a dirt road. 2) When looking for a French crag in Province, stay as low in elevation as possible – follow the water.
6/24/2004 – We struggle out of bed at 9am to get to breakfast before 10am. €10 for bread, tea, and fruit. We then stop in Arles for change and head to Orgon via St. Remy. We find a nice outdoor climbing wall along the way outside of St. Remy. The wall is 40 feet high and has routes for bouldering and leading.
St. Remy
We eat lunch at a truck stop / steak house outside of Orgon. The guidebook says this small deserted town comes alive at night. We easily find the road to the Falaise Du Canal cliffs about one mine south of Orgon, but finding the exact crag is more of a challenge because the vegetation has changed considerably since the picture in the guidebook was taken 18 years ago in 1986. When we do find the crag, it seems so obvious and the base of the cliff is a mere three feet from the road – hello!
Orgon
As we rope up an old man with big smiles approaches us. He only speaks French, but points and talks this way and that about the climbs. Finally, I grasp that he is telling me the climb we are on is very polished - “rouge”. He laughs. I head up the vertical 5a “L'Espagnol” and it is slick as glass. I slip and fall at the first bolt. I employ some French Technique to move through the slickest spot. I now know “rouge”. Belen climbs well and we top rope an unknown 6a next to us from the common anchor. All the anchors are the same: two bolts with a chain and one locking steel carabiner. Top roping the 6a went so well, that I decided to lead another unknown 6a to our right. It seemed a little harder, but overall easy and fun. Now my confidence is growing. It is 4:30pm and we decide to go to the Orgon crag proper.
At the car, I see the old man is still sitting below the cliff reading the paper with his bike laying beside him. I offer him an apple, but he declines with more smiles. In French, he wants to know where we are from? I tell him “American”. More smiles and chatter. He points at the cliff and says “Espainia – Macabe”. I don't understand. So, he takes me over to the cliff and shows me the black Sharpie inscription below the big roof which says “Richard Macabe” in fresh letters. I now realize he is pointing out a 5.14 or 5.15 test piece. He then goes on to tell me all of the famous climbers he knows. His mannerisms indicate he really “knows” them.... Lynn Hill, Richard Macaba, Ron Kauk, Robyn Erbesfield, Christian Griffith, and Chris Sharma. He is very happy talking to me. I have him write his name in my journal “Madier Pierre” of Orgon, and bid him farewell.
We find the parking lot for the lake/park at the base of the Orgon crag proper - “just at the end of the paved road going south out of Orgon. Several groups are swimming and picnicking at the lake. The water looks enticing, a deep green. We proceed up the jeep trail to the north of a closed camp ground for about 1/4 mile. Many young climbers are at the cliff. I spot the anchors for my target climb “Wall Street” 6a. It appears to be a long way up the vertical wall to the anchors. I walk over to one of the other climbers to confirm the anchors are only 30 meters up. He didn't speak English. So, he called his friend over. I pointed at the anchors and ask if it is 30 meters. He says yes, “30 or 35 meters”. He asked, “which climb?”, and I show him “Wall Street” in the guidebook. He pointed to another climb and said it was “very excellent and easy”. He seemed to doubt our ability to climb “Wall Street”. I said “merci”, and he said “your are welcome”.
“Wall Street” is intimidating for me. Steep with a bulge, and everything looks sustained from the start; but I am psyched. The first section is slabby and run-out. On the vertical, the bolts are reasonable. About halfway there is a small roof and I can see there won't be any rests for awhile after that. Patience is a good virtue for limestone climbing and I use it to maintain my composure while I figure out the sequence of moves. At one point I almost give in and grab a quick draw, but my inner voice says “this is classic, you can do this”. Then, I am on to the fun and easier upper section. From the top, the view overlooking the valley is breath taking. I leave the quick draws in with the confidence that Belen will make the top, which she did with ease. It is a five star climb!
We drive home via Salon de Provience. In looking at the map, I believe Salon would be a better staging location for the next climbing trip. It is more in the center of things and closer to the bigger areas in the eastern side of the Provience. Salon also looks like a nice town. We make it back to the hotel in time for a swim in the pool. We enjoy it even though the misquotes are out in force and we are able to get to bed by 9:30pm.
6/25/2004 – We are up by 7am and head to Mouries. We have chocolate croissants and juice in the small clean and expensive looking town of Maussane-des-Alpilles. Another hot sunny blue day. Again, the directions to the crag are nebulous for our simple navigating minds. Everyday I feel like the route finding starts in the car itself. On the small paved road heading north out of Maussane-des-Alpilles, you stay left of the forks and follow the arrows to the golf course and hostile. “Auberge“ means hostile in French. You will pass the fancy golf course gate (closed to the public) and within a 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile come to a “sharp left turn”. The crag is on your right, but not visible from the road. Arrows are painted on the road indicating the “sharp left turn” - duh. We only drive by it twice before zeroing in.
Mouries
We park at the curve, ever mindful of possible thieves; but hoping for the best. Mostly I just don't want the hassle of dealing with the rental car company if someone brakes a window to get in. Another 95º day. We walk down the “track” heading East about 1/4 mile and arrived at the west side of the Mouries crag. Now the real route finding begins! None of the names that are legible in print on the rock matched my book, the vegetation has changed considerably in the 14 years since the guidebook pictures were taken, and most of the main sections of crag look remarkably similar to each other and do not easily match up to the guide book photos. Finally, I clearly identify two climbs, but they were 7As – no good.
The rock is steep and featureless. Lots of 7s abound. I settle on two climbs that appear to have many nooks, small cracks, and I can clearly see the anchors. Surely these must be on the lower side of 6. I head up the steep slick rock, but at the 3rd bolt it becomes small and pumpy. I don't want to retreat to the 2nd bold to rest. So, I traverse right 10 feet over reasonable ground to the 3rd bolt on the climb to the right. Not the best rope work, but for bolts and quickdraws it is ok. From there up it is fun. Belen does a good job on this right side climb and it feels similar to the other 6As we have done so far.
I then top rope the original left side climb and I am glad I didn't go any further, because the crux is thin and complicated, and I fall once. Above the crux is fun climbing. On the way down, I practice the moves a couple more times and try to ingrain the sequence in my memory. Belen declines her turn, because it is now blazing hot. The climb is still in the shade, but a foot from the cliff the sun is coming straight down. I am determined to lead the climb. So, I head up with little rest. The moves felt positive on the practice run, but now are tricky. I think “patience” even though my strength is going and my legs are shaking. I go for it with success! I will call the climb 6a+, but will be interested to ultimately find out the true rating.
Time for leisure! We head to Arles for lunch and find a nice cafe by the Ancient Forum that features salads. They also have very cold beer, which is even better!
We take a drive to the next town past our hotel – St. Gilles, and through the even smaller town of Saliers by our hotel looking for a possible dinner spot. St. Gilles has several cafes, but little signs of tourists. Arles has many American tourists on the main boulevard. Saliers does not have any restaurants. Back at the hotel, we discuss options for tomorrow. Climb another day at Fonevielle, relax in Arles, or leave earlier for Cassis. We decide to leave at 8am for Cassis and eat tuna fish and canned green beans for dinner. I am bummed that this was the last day of climbing, but thumb through the guidebook after packing and realize Cassis has a great crag that may possibly squeeze into the planned "beach" schedule.
6/27/2003 – Trains, car return, and travel to Cassis work out well despite a bomb scare in Marselle and a 3km walk with all the baggage from the Cassis Train Station to town (in the hotter sun). The first hotel I go to and ask about available rooms says there are few rooms available anywhere and recommends going to the tourist Information office, because it is the “easiest way and they know about all the available rooms”. At the Information office, they say there are no rooms available anywhere and recommend going to the next town – Torilon. The info-lady shows me lists of hotels with big yellow “X”s indicating – full. Then, one of the other info-ladies tells her one room just came up. The only bad news is that it is 4km out of town and it is only a one star hotel. We are happy all the same.
We take a $10 cab ride to go check in. The cabby speaks zero English, but it is very apparent that he thinks we are crazy to be staying at this one star hotel. Along the way, he points at each hotel we pass and asks... “complete?” We say “oui” and he just shakes his head. Since we may not even be able to get another cab to come out to this remote location, we talk him into waiting 10 minutes to check-in. The Hotel Joli Bouis is literally in the middle of no-where.... no restaurants, no other buildings, no view of the ocean, and no trees. It is never-the-less a beautiful spot in its own way.
Joli Bouis
A quick change of clothes and back to town ($20 round trip). Belen has the grand idea of renting a scooter. We eat a good lunch at the restaurant overlooking the main beach and go back to the Information office. The lady at the counter first has a look of fear and asks if the hotel is OK, and then laughs when we tell her the hotel is good and we need a scooter. We locate a scooter for €56 for 24 hours. We decide to maximize scooter time by waiting until 7pm to rent it and go for a cool swim on the hot beach. Many topless women.
The scooter guy is nice and our fear sets in as we realize we will soon be riding this machine on the French roads and round-a-bouts. I take it as cautiously as possible and try to stay ahead of the tail gaiters in my mirrors, and assert my right-of-way in the round-a-bouts.
Scooter
We take a ride down to the trail head for the Calaques “canals”, and check out the possible hike in for tomorrow's climb. We walk in to the 2nd canal, which takes about 30 minutes. The guidebook says the hike is 30 minutes, but he cliffs are nowhere in site. We take a swim in the beautiful blue / green water. Then, I continue hiking up the trail for another 15 minutes. Still, no cliffs are visible. I return and declare we definitely will be taking the boat to the climb tomorrow. We ride the scooter back to the hotel at 70km/hour before it gets too dark.
6/28/2003 – We are up by 7am to try and catch the first boat to the Calaques. We find a place that serves "fortified" breakfast – omlettes, and take the 9am boat to “En Vau”. They say they will pick us up at 4pm and the last boat is 5pm. Seems like a long way off on a hot scorching day. The canal is beautiful. It is too hot for the one pitch 5a. So, we decide to scramble around the rocky rugged shore to the three pitch 5C, which appears to be some what in the shade.
En Vau
Again, the guidebook photos bear little resemblance to the actual rock, but I am reasonably sure I have found the 5c and not its sister climb the 6c (months later I find out we were on the wrong climb and it is actually 6b, see 10/14/2003 entry below). Our climb follows a vertical crack up a pinnacle. Three pitches, 5c, 4c, and 3c. We rope up and decide to give it a try – at least the first pitch appears to be in the shade. The moves off the deck are steep and the holds have a glossy glaze. I do ok initially, but quickly have to grab a convenient piece of webbing. I am spooked by the shinny glass and cannot find anything positive for fingers or feet. The next challenge is the hangar which is missing on the 3rd bolt. The glass diminishes a little the higher I go, and it appears that past the 3rd bolt are reasonable holds. I brought four tri-cams, but the cracks are too slippery to hold the pro and it pops out with little effort. I didn't bring any stoppers to place the wire around the bolt without a hanger. So, I tie off a loop on the end of a piece of webbing and settle for marginal pro. I cuss the jerks who removed the hanger. I then begin moving through the crux and it is thin, but all goes well. Sure enough, after a couple of moves I find a positive hold. The rest of the pitch is fun and even has a great hand jam. The anchors are good and the view of the blue/green water, white rock and yachts below is even better. I realize the first pitch in its current condition (glass) is now way over 5c and in its own category. I encourage Belen to freely use the French Technique and she climbs efficiently.
Doigt de Dieu
En Vau - Doigt de Dieu Integral
The 2nd pitch is pure fun and still pretty steep. I am glad I brought my four cams, because there is only one bolt. The 2nd belay is shaded and feels great. The crack has about 2-4 inches of shade while climbing and the breeze blows cool air once in awhile – tolerable.
The 3rd pitch is fun too and has some good exposure as we gain elevation, but the 3rd belay is in the scorching sun. Belen can't climb fast enough for me as I try to cool my mind. There is one more short section over the top and then we short rope each other and head down the steep gully. The anticipation of the cool plunge into the water below is unbearable. We are able to rap the last 100 feet. We scramble for 25 minutes to the beach and are finally able to dive in.
Belen Doigt de Dieu Integral
I spy some other climbers on the other side of the canal on a steep climb that looks difficult. We swim and sit in the shade for 45 minutes and then decide to get to the boat landing (rock) well in advance; which was good because it came 1/2 hour early.
A cold beer in town tastes great. We scooter back to the hotel to change and go out for a nice dinner. I drop off the scooter before dinner – happy not to have to worry about driving it any more. Belen had seen a nice alley cafe on the first day in Cassis, and she perseveres waking all over town in her heels and summer dress until we finally find it again. Which is good, because it turns out to be the best dinner at a restaurant I have ever had!!!! Belen says it is because the chef prepared the meal with lots of love.
Minced olives on dried bread
Stewed artichokes in tomato sauce with basil
Escalapene with fish, lobster, crab and raviolis
Three cream dessert: one pot of lavender flan, one pot of crème brule, and one pot of chocolate mouse
Coffee
Red organic wine from Cassis
and the most beautiful date in the world.
Dinner in Cassis
After dinner, we take a stroll around the waterfront then try to find a taxi to head home – which didn't seem to exist (a taxi that is). Finally, a nice taxi driver, who doesn't speak any English comes by. He laughs when I call the hotel “Jolly Boy”. He corrected my pronunciation with “Goe-Lee-Boise”. The taxi driver is only available for a 7am pickup the next morning, which works just fine for us considering we are in the middle-of-nowhere.
6/29/2004 – The cabby is punctual and we take an early train to Marselle. Then, we find an early train to Paris. I have to exchange the tickets and we make the train with five minutes to spare. The high speed train blazes across the country side. In Paris, I again have to exchange the tickets and make the mistake of choosing the train that leaves in 50 minutes which is at the Gare Nord train station. Another mad scramble across Paris to successfully catch the train to Brussels with two minutes to spare. You would think I would have learned my lesson the first time in Paris about time allocation and planning, but NO!
While on the train, I realize I only got one ticket exchanged – oh well too late. The conductor says the old ticket is not good, I plead "I tried to get two tickets". Finally, he hands me back my ticket in disgust and waves his hand. I reply “merci”. We struggle walking to our hotel in Brussels with the vague directions given by the hotel, but finally find it. The room is actually quite nice and the weather in Brussels is nice and cool. We find a great African-Italian restaurant for dinner. I have Captain Fish cooked in aluminum foil and vegetable soup (strained).
The honeymoon is over:
10/14/2003 – I discovered that the climb we did in the Calaques was not the 5c “Pilier de la Sirene”, but was actually 6b “En Vau - Doigt de Dieu Integral” on a completely different cliff:
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 From: "Alasdair" To: goclimb511@yahoo.com Subject: Re: Callanques Question:Howdy Randy, Well no definite answer for you on the callunque question... (finally i remember to check the guide book). the area is "doigt de dieu" (is that part of the boat in the bottom right corner?), and it looks suspiciously like "doigt de dieu integral" (6b,4c,3b,3b,6a) but at the same time it seems a bit to the right of that one (unless it is the angle of the photo) so the only other options for a long climb is week-end a rome (7b, 6c), unless you created a new finish off mort pour la transe (6c)... personally i would claim it was the 7b,6c and make all my mates buy me a pints of beer because of the impressive grade, but i guess you can tell which climb it was by the relative strain on your fingers at the time... hope this was of some help keep ticking those grades and enjoy the upcoming season of ice in Denver :-) al
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