Friend: An ex-colleague is going to Targasonne around the end of August, you wanna go?
Me: Do we need a car?
Friend: Nope!
Me: Count me in!
Me: Do we need a car?
Friend: Nope!
Me: Count me in!
Day 0: Fast forward to August 25… The trip went without a glitch. Train (Paris → Perpignan) + bus (Perpignan → Targasonne). The one-euro bus left us 400m from the camping site. My first impression of the scenery: damn! After settling in, we found some time to visit the sectors adjacent to the camping and checked the moisture and, above all, the texture of the rock.
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I would describe the granite as quite pebbly. Definitely nothing like the fine sand found in Font'. Here, we had small, rough crystals that were harsh on the skin and slippery at the same time, a frustrating combination. The colour of the boulders, however, was uplifting, a definite change from all the grey boulders in Font.
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| The typical form and colour of a Targasonne boulder. |
Note: it has been four months since our trip to Targasonne and I do not remember the order in which we visited each sector. Therefore, I will present each sector separately.
On our first day, we explored the sector near to the camping site, Chapeau. I had low expectations to begin with but tried to be optimistic. As soon as we finished breakfast, we started climbing. I took the topo guide in my hands and started sending everything in front of me. I needed to get a good feel of the rock. It took me the entire day to get used to the crimps and the footholds. Everything kept slipping.
After a few easy boulders, we moved to the main project of the day: L'Ecume des lourds (7A+). We spent a lot of time on this problem but we did not go far. A few days later, we went back and I fell on the last move.
I also tried out a nameless 7A+ traverse, did all the moves quite easily but was not inspired to go back to send it. |
| L'Ecume des lourds (7A+), Chapeau sector. |
The Arche sector is a minor area with only 50 problems, two thirds of which in the 3A-5A range. After a few 5's, we concentrated on the main projects.
The first one was a nameless 6-meter wall (6C+). Pure magic... I gave it a try and fell towards the end. Given the light colour of the rock, the ruthless sun hitting it and the precarity of the holds --- good foot holds but minuscule nail-size crimps --- I was not able to find the right beta and flash it. I sent it on my second or third attempt. The first part was quite easy but the second part... rather a 7A+ in my opinion. And had it been a part of a sports climbing route, it would very possibly have been at least 7b+/c.
Rêve-errance (7A+) was more of my style: a sitstart, a difficult arm lock and then a ledge to crimp. It took me less than four tries. Great boulder. After sending it, I spent another three hours helping and encouraging one of my climbing partners who came sooooo close but did not top. :-(
L'aliéné (7A+) is all about biceps... I was able to do all the moves but fell on the final one four times. The last hold was very far and each time I was too exhausted to pull that hard. Not sending it bumped me out a bit but I wanted to visit other sectors and projects.
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| Eric the Magician, proud for having found a way to protect the slopers of L'aliéné (7A+). |
Baleine is a compact sector with more than fifteen problems in the 7th degree. We only spent a few hours there but that did not keep us from trying some beautiful projects.
La Baleine (7A) is really cool. The first move is a dyno: you get a right shoulder, left heel hook and dyno to a left-hand crimp. Everyone could do it but me. True, the hold was rather far but I should be able to do it. I just suck at dynos.; they make me feel uncomfortable. I kept trying the first move and could reach much further in static mode (weird, isn't it?). The second part is a beautiful mantle that I flashed without a problem.
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| La Baleine (7A). |
Hey yop (5C) was easy but five meters is not a laughing matter. We sent it just for the rush.
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| Eric in Hey yop (5C). |
Taz was one of my two favourite sectors. Packed with hard projects for every taste.
Buda build (7A+), that painful, crimpy nightmare, surprisingly took me a mere four tries. During the first two tries, I thought the pain was unbearable but I never step away from a crimp. The third attempt was almost successful. And then... check!
Cabale (7A), Le conte de la neige noire (7A+) and Body in decay (7A+) were definitely my style: crimps and arm/shoulder locking. I should have flashed them but at least I sent them in less than five minutes each.
L'aquarium envolé (7A+) is considered a classic and is even depicted on the cover of the topo guide. To send this mantle, you reach for and pull on a tiny "hole" with your left middle finger while pushing with your right triceps. Once your hips are high enough, you match you right foot with your right hand, which is really high. I did not think I could do it so I did not set the camera. That was my biggest regret.
Kebab traum is a roof/overhang boulder with many versions. I flashed the 6C version and worked on the sitstart (7B). During my first session, I could not get one single move. I had not yet learnt how to crimp the granite. I went back and was able to send all moves but linking was not in the stars. I needed to dyno to a sharp crimp but I did not want to get my skin torn; I had another day of climbing before the end of the trip. I also flashed a left version which is not clearly described in the topo but it should be a 7A+.
Dieux païens is my other favourite sector. I spent three sessions up there and had a blast.
Androgames (6B+) is much harder than it looks. We thought we would flash it but it took us three or four tries. The underclings were large but the foot holds were unreliable and the mantle was quite unconfortable and high from the ground.
Agathe the poison (7B+) is a nice little roof but due to the topo's lack of clarity, I think I did not follow the imaginary line. My beta would be around 7A+/B. Right next to it was the best project I tried in Targasonne. It stands nameless and according to the topo, it is a 7B+ but the writer must have made a mistake. I spent more than 2 hours during two sessions and was able to link the second half. The first three moves were as hardcore as it gets. There is a tiny horizontal crack in which even my fingers could not fit and flat footholds. On every single hand move I made, my feet would go away so I had to control the momentum and find another position. There was only one move I could not send entirely; I needed another two hours maybe, a day's rest and another sesson to link. A damn super project. I would give it at least a 7C+/8A. I had never tried moves that hard, even in 8A projects in Font'.
Pleasure dome is also a must-do boulder with a standing (6B+) and a sitstart (7A+) version. The second part is a bit high so I was cautious. The sitstart was quite homogeneous; most of the moves were tricky and of equal complexity.
Day 8: After six straight days of climbing and perfect weather, I got to find out what climbing in high altitude is all about. The rain started early and went on and on for the entire day.
Fortunately, the moment I got back from the grocery shop, I stumbled upon a friend from Paris and his friend so the rest of the day went away pleasantly. I left Paris, traveled 900 km and ran into a friend. A small world after all...
After consulting the weather cast for the whole week, we decided to cut our trip short. I found a cheap train ticket and armed myself with patience. I always lose my motivation when I see rain so I knew I was not going to climb anymore until our departure.
Day 9: The sun was up but everything around the camping site was soaked. I got convinced, nonetheless, to give it a try and went back to L'aquarium envolé to film it. From the first attempt, I felt the rock was too wet but tried not to lose faith. On my third try, I slipped. My fourth try was the worst: my left foot slipped so abruptly that my jaw hit the rock hard. My beard saved me from getting a very nasty scar. I immediately packed my things and left disgusted and frustrated.
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| The beauty of nonstop rain. |
Day 10: Time to leave. The bus would arrive at 1 pm so we could pace ourselves. Unfortunately, the rain would not stop for us to start packing. We had to move everything to the bar/kitchen and then pack. Everything we owned was getting wet and muddy. The rain stopped for a few minutes and I was able to pick up my tent.
Everything went as planned and I got home around midnight.
I am definitely going back there to work on some projects. I did not have the chance to visit half of the sectors due to time restraints and the topo's lack of clarity. I really want to work on my roof project (the 7C+/8A one). All in all, a great experience. I had never climbed on sharp granite holds so I learned a lot. The camping site was great, moving around was easy and the mantles were unbeatable. The one thing I did not appreciate was the lack of climbers. Apart from us, there were hardly any climbers.
I am currently finishing up three longer videos. For the time being, here is the youtube playlist of the short videos already edited. Feel free to come back and check the extra footage in a day or two!
I am currently finishing up three longer videos. For the time being, here is the youtube playlist of the short videos already edited. Feel free to come back and check the extra footage in a day or two!
Update: Since I wrote this post, I edited some of my footage. This is the first video I came up with.
