UKC

Hey.
Thinking of travelling to Font in the Summer with at least two others. Should have a car and we would all like to make the trip as cheap as possible!
So some questions:
Where to stay - cheap, would like access to showers and some electricity it can be camping I guess;
How much diesel will be needed;
Food I guess is pretty obvious.
Also is there anything else we need (got pads and shoes) ?!

Aswell as this I've been to Font before but this was in February. Has anyone climbed here in the Summer? Will climb early and late work?

Any information is appreciated.
Thanks
James Oswald

In reply to James Oswald:

Some great prices for B&Bs here:

http://www.bonadresse.com/alist_bed-breakfast-fontainebleau.htm

Hope this helps .

Chris

In reply to James Oswald:

check out Formula1 just outside of font, seem to remember it being a cheap place to stay.

In reply to James Oswald:

Motorway trolls can add up


No problem and probably a good idea - it gets very hot in the summer.

In reply to Dr Sidehead:


But a bit like a plastic prison cell.

In reply to James Oswald:

Book early for the ferry crossing or Eurotunnel. Plenty of info on here about the cheapest way of doing this.

Tolls aren't too expensive from Calais to Font - check out the 'Itineraire' section of http://www.mappy.fr and it'll tell you how much exactly, under 20€ I think. This website also works out rough fuel costs.

Bring cheap food from the UK.

Camping is probably the best option - again loads of info in other threads.

Don't worry too much about it being too hot - just pick areas with tree cover. Obviously though, you'll be sweating so you won't be able to climb to the same level that you would in February.

That's all!

In reply to Trangia:

Yeah, make sure you keep an eye open for those motorway trolls

In reply to jimbo g:
Any idea how hot it would be from say 6-10 in the morning?
James

In reply to James Oswald:

If you're there in July/August, it's not going to be all that much hotter than a sunny summer's day in England. There aren't too many days over 30 degrees (unless you happen to come in the middle of a heatwave). At that time of year I tend to avoid areas without trees and I wouldn't climb from, say, 12 to 2pm. You could also get several days of rain!

In reply to jimbo g:

Their arithmatic might be good but they are careless when it comes to checking for typos

In reply to James Oswald:

I don't suppose you're the James Oswald who went to Hunter High School, East Kilbride are you?

In reply to Paul Milne:
Sorry I'm not.
James

In reply to jimbo g:
"Bring cheap food from the UK."
Sorry it's been a couple of years since I went. Is food more expensive over there?
James

In reply to James Oswald:
I've stayed at the free Cuvier campsite in the past, but not for a few years so not sure if still possible to do this (ie a field and a tap, but the area's a red light district at night so you may want to consider this a bit, tho not the campsite itself, I should add).
Since this is a bouldering question, why don't you try asking some boulderers?

In reply to mrjonathanr: The cuvier campsite is shut (unless its reopened in the last few weeks which seems unlikely).

As for the price of food, it depends what you buy, beer & wine is cheaper, most things much the same.

In reply to James Oswald:

Try looking for a gite, maybe? More pricey than a campsite, but has a few more comforts. The price can really come down if you get a larger one and have a few more people, and go in "mid" rather than "high" season (eg June or the first week of July).

http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/fr/gites_ruraux

We climbed there at the end of June - it was hot and sunny but pretty perfect under the trees.

In reply to James Oswald:

Food is a similar price, but if you have room in a car it's just easier to bring a load of cheap stuff from the UK rather than trying to find out where the nearest supermarket is over here.

In reply to James Oswald:

You can get 3 in a room of a Formule 1 hotel for about €25 per night which is probably comparable to camping? There are Formule 1 hotels in Nebours and Ecuille.

Depend where you are driving from, but a long weekend is about 1000 miles from Northampton I think

Many supermarches all over the place

A good guidebook and an OS style map of the area are invaluable since in some guides the location descriptions can sometimes be a bit vague

I have always gone in spring, winter or autumn but I am told it is delightful in summer too. There are plenty of shady spots if it is too hot.

In reply to James Oswald:



Carpet/mat for shoe cleaning. You can get it ready cut in the little climbing shop in Fontainebleau.

In reply to James Oswald:
I was lucky to spend just over a year living in the Fontainebleau area and found it ok to climb year round - this was in the summer of 06 when they had a real heatwave. As mentioned you can easily find shady areas, maybe avoid midday (even if you are a mad dog) and you can always go cool off in one of the open air swimming areas (Buthiers and Nemours).
Ian W

In reply to James Oswald:

I've called in a couple of times in August and it was not ideal - too hot and/or high humidity and thunderstorms. I did get one good seession in once starting at 6am.

In reply to James Oswald:



I've been to font a couple of times in the summer, and really enjoyed it. It won't be any hotter than the UK and with it being a forest there are plenty of places to find a nice shady boulder. You may not be able to climb as hard as you would in the cool, especially on slopy problems, but you can certainly get some mileage done and explore different areas.

In reply to James Oswald:

milly la foret campsite - showers, swimming pool, and electricity. plenty of other climbers

summer is going to be sweaty, usually get a rainstorm every couple of weeks but usually at night and dries up by morning.

climb in a shady area like roche au sabot or climb early, long lunchtime siesta and get back in to the forest for an evening sesh

food from a massive champion in fontainbleau or market in milly la foret.

pads, shoes, chalk and tonnes of finger tape, headtorches if camping, don't go without a guidebook, slack line for passing time on the campsite/hanging out clothes.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fontainebleau-Climbs-Bouldering-Circuits-Mountainee...