From Sweet Madness to the Quest for Energy

When Passion Erases Reality

Anyone who travels five hours just to try two moves on an unknown, unsolved boulder will surely be considered crazy. For me, it was completely normal. When motivation takes hold of you, you lose all touch with reality. After my first day of bouldering in Larchant, I was bitten by the bug. I did everything I could to get back there as soon as possible.

The Climber’s Inner Engine

Motivation is our inner energy source for every action. If you want to constantly push your limits in bouldering, you desperately need this energy. Anyone who is still “pulling hard” after the hundredth unsuccessful attempt, always giving their absolute best, will understand exactly what I mean.

However, while every athlete dreams of always being motivated, it is in the very nature of things that you cannot maintain this state permanently. Relentlessness isn’t everything: you need days to reflect, recover, define your next goals, and above all, to rekindle your motivation. (It is exactly with this idea of restful recovery in mind that the Gîtes Dame Jouanne were designed!). (https://gites-damejouanne.com/en/cottages-near-fontainebleau/)

The Wild Years: Climbing Without a Net

Once my passion was awakened, I took every opportunity to go to the Fontainebleau forest. At first, I didn’t even have a crash pad. I often risked a fall that could have had dramatic consequences. We could only climb where the landing zone wasn’t too dangerous, to avoid risking a broken ankle. But that never spoiled our fun.

A year later, I finally got my first real crash pad. From that moment on, my friends and I bouldered in all weather conditions.

The Art of the Morning Routine

We would head for the Fontainebleau forest, driving as fast as possible, overloaded in a car with five passengers, just as many backpacks, a crash pad, and a mattress. Winter offered us wild adventures and beautiful memories.

Very quickly, we optimized our daily climbing routine to make it as efficient as possible. We started as early as 7 AM, had breakfast at 8:30 AM deep in the forest, and made the most of the morning chill: that famous crisp friction essential for bouldering. It’s an early-bird habit that many visiting climbers in Larchant still keep alive today!