Disillusioned by my ascent L’oeil du Voisin, I thought I was still on form, even with a month off before coming away. I was soon shut down by an 8a (no surprise there) but then followed by a 7a+, maybe my fitness has dropped a touch  :(

That evening we heard a friendly English hello, in the form of Jason and Claire. Not only did we find two new climbing partners, but two fantastic guides of the area. We woke up the next morning psyched for some classic problems and a guided tour of Targasonne.



As the day went on and after a couple of nights of beer and tasty van meals I felt my form starting to come back, and soon the 7s started to tumble. Towards the end of a highly successful day, ascending Bobs your Uncle 7c, and Orgasm Machine 7c+ the inevitable happened, coarse rock and pulling hard not only left me with a bleeding pinky, but bare skin all-round, and a V-shaped flapper the folks at home would be proud of. 


After a forced rest day the flapper was steri-stripped, taped and ready for action. I pootled around on 6’s and low end 7’s, great to have a day not grade orientated. Loved the classic Whale shaped boulder of the area la Baleine.

The days started getting colder, holding onto what little skin I had got harder, Targasonne’s granite is notably sharp. A few more painful ascents, including eternal flame and the next day the snow set in. we battened down the hatches for a few days, to see if we could ride out the weather, or at least sledge for a day :) but with heavy snow on the way and a forecast of 95kmph winds we thought it best to head to sunny Spain. 

We left Jason and Claire as they headed for Toulouse; happy travels take care and hopefully see you in Mello. :)