Before printing think about environment!15-10-1999
Fontainebleau.... what's in a name. Very few climbing areas are as well known as Fontainebleau, and if you say Bleau you say bouldering. It is normal that a lot of French climbing sites have Fontainebleau as their main subject.
I chose one for you ... Escalade à Fontainebleau de 7 à...
As the title says, this site provides an overview of problems above 7a, along with additional information about the area, style and opener of the boulder. 7a.... it may sound somewhat elitary: a lot of climbers dream about climbing a 7a boulder.
I doubt that a lot of climbers that master 7a, would use this site as a topo.... in most cases, they will have bought a paperback topoguide (wich is a lot better than this site). But why is this site so interesting?
First of all, we've got the pictures: it contains a lot of pictures that outnumbers every other bleau-site (except bleau.climbing.nl). Such things are always an excuse for a visit.
Second: this site follows the Bleau-activities, and has at least once a week some news on new problems, ratings and repeats of extreme boulders.
As an extra, the site covers some other interesting things like a bibliography (topo's), well-known openers and the obligatory links-list to other bouldering related sites.
If you aren't convinced yet, "Escalade à Fontainebleau de 7 à...." is part of "l'anneau des grimpeurs", a so-called webring, that links a lot of French climbing-websites. If you don't like bouldering, or have seen enough, you can always visit another french site. Be warned: you'll be online for hours!
If this website would have the ambition to replace paperback topoguides, it has missed its intention. The author obviously knows this, and succeeds in offering a very nice site
A sober lay-out, and I don't mean that it looks professional (does it have to??)... very clear and almost all pages are only a click away. A must for picture-addicts!
You can visit Escalade à Fontainebleau de 7 à .. on http://www.multimania.com/bleauelu
Maarten