Delving through the archives I realized I had not shared any images from a trip to Fontainebleau I made last spring with friends. The trip was set up to be a disaster with rain forecast every day of the week. This was not surprising given the time of year but it certainly quashed our initial hopes of chancing on the dry, cold sending conditions we had dreamed of. However, there were several upsides to our bad luck. For a start, though our spirits were high, our expectations were low and we would be grateful for any opportunity to climb. As such, any break in the rain was seized upon with true delight, rambling up and down the famous sandstone boulders - adding our names to the ever lengthening list of climbers to rub their fingerprints smooth on these monoliths of climbing history. The weather also provided a much needed excuse to rest and let our skin and muscles recover. And rest days in font mean chateaus, baguettes and brie.
The grey cloudy days created the best possible lighting for most of the day. I had the camera out often to capture our climbs and the in-between moments that make such journeys unique. People are always the main protagonists of such moments and so I'm reminded of the extraordinary company that formed our party. A group of four, relatively diverse in age, gender and colour for a climbing crew out of Cornwall and, more importantly, the best of friends.
