UKC

Hi

Got a trip planned later in the year. . Can anyone recommend a good guidebook please?

In reply to jessica-h:
What sort of grades do you climb and how long are you going for?

EDIT: Just found this site, http://www.rockrun.com/wp/font-which-guide/ , probably answers your question better than I could have. The 'Essential Fontainebleau' guide that the site mentions is the old one, there is a new version out but I have no idea how it compares.

In reply to jessica-h:

This is the best guide I've come across- photos in this one!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fontainebleau-Fun-Bloc-Bouldering-Photo-guide/dp/18...

In reply to spidermonkey09:

Fun Bloc is brilliant for finding problems and is my go-to guide. I've flipped through Bleau en Bloc which looks like a brilliant guide if you speak German.

In reply to jessica-h:

We've never found a really good guidebook to Font, but we've never really needed one either - we basically just use it to pick an area with a circuit or two that we want to have a bash at and that's suitable for the conditions (ie quick drying, sheltered or shady) and to find the blocs. We've got the Purple Guide (the previous edition of what's now the White Guide) which gives you the information you need to make a choice and has a lot of circuits in, although it's worth getting the IGN map of the forest as well if you get that one because the maps in it are truly dreadful.

In reply to spidermonkey09:
(Fun Bloc) Seconded - 7000 problems should keep you going for a while.

In reply to jessica-h:
Depends what grade you climb. If you're interested in the lower grades the newly released Au grès des trois pignons is the most up-to-date (lots of circuits have been overhauled these past few months), but it only covers the Trois pignons area. The English "translation" is poor but I assume it does the job. On the bright side it was written by Jean-Jacques Naëls, aka Pépito, aka one of the few Bleausards who relentlessly refresh the circuits, so the topo pays for the paint and the many hours spent in the field.

If you're interested in the 5th and 6th grade problems, the guidebook I use everyday is Bart van Raaij's 5+6. Perhaps a tad expensive since you'll have to buy one for the Forêt domaniale de Fontainebleau and one for the Trois pignons but it's probably the most comprehensive and the one with the most accurate maps. The only times I struggled to find an area was because said areas were overgrown. One criticism: Bart "forgot" to exclude some areas where any foot traffic is now prohibited as they're now part of so-called integral biological reserves. Also like I said many circuits have been repainted and modified since Bart's topo was published so it can be confusing.

If you want to climb 7s and 8s, Bart's 7+8 is very good too, and Jean-Jacques Naëls' and local strongman Sébastien Frigault's Sept à + is also worth mentioning, though again it covers areas where climbing is forbidden.

Had a quick look at Fun Bloc, didn't like the layout.