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Font sector advice

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 Twiggy Diablo 19 May 2022

Hi folks, off to Font with our toddler next week, staying in Trois Pignons, and after a little advice on sectors… i’ve got a guidebook but it doesn’t tell you everything…

Perhaps easiest might be to ask any areas best avoided: high car theft, prostitution, mosquitoes, very highball, polished…

I’ve been once before but only visited a few areas and was pre-kids!

Thanks

1
 SimonStyan 19 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

Rocher canon is busy and has plenty of smashed window glass scattered around the car park (including some of mine 🤬)

L'elephant is very highball generally speaking, but there are some quite good low-balls around a nice sandy area (good for kids running around in) but not aware of a kids circuit there

I think sabots and mercier both have dedicated kids circuits but could be wrong. The climbing at both crags is great, not too tall and has pretty good access for pushchairs if needed.

95.2 is great but if you're dealing with pushchairs might be a pain

Bas cuvier is generally very good but has a lot of polish around

 Offwidth 19 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

Loads here:

https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,14764.75.html#msg653199

The pink heart circuit at  La Feuillardière  (Telegraphe) is a great for toddlers. 

 Ramblin dave 20 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

I've mostly climbed in the Trois Pignons area, and most of the areas around there are fairly clean and pleasant without too many scary highballs. I think most guidebooks should be able to give you a clue as to the gibber-factor, too. The area where I really remember finding unsavoury litter is across the autoroute at Bas Cuvier - the areas near to the laybys seem get used for a lot of the things that people stop in laybys for, and they don't seem to be good at cleaning up after themselves.

I think polish is pretty much everywhere, but I've never gone to one area where it was particularly intolerable. And I don't know about car break-ins - it's not really the sort of thing that's well advertised! We've not had a problem so far but that might just be luck.

 TheGeneralist 20 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

> i’ve got a guidebook but it doesn’t tell you everything…

I'm deducing from this that you don't have the Jingo Wobbly book based on your questions... it answers them all beautifully (apart from the prostitution one)

For example, every single path is mapped and coded with a picture of a pram. The colour and orientation of the pram picture denotes the ease of getting along that path with a buggy.

http://www.jingowobbly.com/ROC7/ROC7-main.html

Picking up on some specifics from above:

> l'elephant is very highball generally speaking, but there are some quite good low-balls around a nice sandy area (good for kids running around in) but not aware of a kids circuit there

Elephant is very high in general. The black circuit is world beating, but generally high.

There is a kids circuit there

> I think sabots and mercier both have dedicated kids circuits .

Yep

> The climbing at both crags is great, not too tall and has pretty good access for pushchairs if needed.

Yep. Mercier is great.  Sabots is really really polished. (But still good)

> 95.2 is great but if you're dealing with pushchairs might be a pain

SPOT ON. Great climbing but pita with a pram

> Bas cuvier is generally very good but has a lot of polish around

And prostitutes 

Post edited at 13:42
 Ramblin dave 20 May 2022
In reply to TheGeneralist:

> I'm deducing from this that you don't have the Jingo Wobbly book based on your questions... it answers them all beautifully (apart from the prostitution one)

I'm almost surprised that they haven't got a little pictogram for that as well, to be honest.

 TheGeneralist 20 May 2022
In reply to Ramblin dave:

> I'm almost surprised that they haven't got a little pictogram for that as well, to be honest.

Indeed.

So much so that I hesitated to type it in case I was inadvertently wrong.

 supersteve 20 May 2022
In reply to TheGeneralist:

I navigate the forest by them. When the wife asks where I am going climbing - 'you know where the hooker in the red car parks.....'. We have nicknames for them too - Blondie, Mumsie, Skeletor, The Skank,.....

Got caught out recently after a dog walk - returned to the car to find a hooker (Skeletor) stood nearby. Popped the dog in the boot, then had the longest 3 second walk to the drivers door, clearly to the passers by looking like I was walking away from the lady back to my car. I ensured the dog lead was visible....

They do leave a lot of mess behind trees, although as I have been unfortunate to witness more than once, doing the deed behind a tree is fine, as long as they are exactly behind the tree. Otherwise you see things you can't unsee. That's how Blowie got her name - LoL. 

3
In reply to SimonStyan:

> Rocher Canon is busy and has plenty of smashed window glass scattered around the car park (including some of mine 🤬)

> L'Elephant is very highball generally speaking, but there are some quite good low-balls around a nice sandy area (good for kids running around in) but not aware of a kids circuit there

> I think La Roche aux Sabots and La Canche aux Merciers both have dedicated kids circuits but could be wrong. The climbing at both crags is great, not too tall and has pretty good access for pushchairs if needed.

> 95.2 is great but if you're dealing with pushchairs might be a pain

> Bas Cuvier is generally very good but has a lot of polish around

There's too many condoms around at Bas Cuvier for a toddler I think. Haven't been to any other crag at Font and seen them about.

I think the rest of the suggestions are spot on though. I've added the crag links to help the OP find them.

OP Twiggy Diablo 20 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

Thank you all for taking the time to give such considered replies, very helpful. 
 

sounds like bas cuvier well avoided then!

In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

Rocher canon seems to be where everyone gets a window smashed.

Cuvier is basically fine once you're away from the road but you'll step over a lot of Rhyl jellyfish in the first 50m.

Canche aux m., Roche aux sabots and Isatis are the places people seem to take kids. And elephant but I guess only along the bottom. Pretty sure there's a kids white circuit there.

Rocher guichot would work but does get busy.

Buthiers piscine I think has a kids white too. It's a bit of a trek but no more so than elephant.

 greg_may_ 20 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

Roche is deffo worth a day, L'elephant as well.

Enjoy, we've had several great holidays there with daughter since she was 18 months! 

 Jon Greengrass 20 May 2022
In reply to Longsufferingropeholder:

The kids white circuit at elephant listed in the jingo wobbly guide was very faded and hard to folllow when we there in 2018, it’s been “decommissioned” now according to one of the French websites I was reading, painted arrows and numbers removed possibly? The map in the guide is quite good so you could still find your way around it.

Feuillardiere is excellent for all ages, crawlers to pensioners when we were there.

 TheGeneralist 21 May 2022
In reply to Jon Greengrass:

> The kids white circuit at elephant listed in the jingo wobbly guide was very faded and hard to folllow when we there in 2018, it’s been “decommissioned” now according to one of the French websites I was reading, painted arrows and numbers removed possibly?

Hmmm. Group I was with 3 weeks ago did it.

 greg_may_ 21 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

Rocher Fin is good with kids.

In reply to greg_may_:

> Rocher Fin is good with kids.

The walk in/out though.... Long way for a pram/toddler

 greg_may_ 22 May 2022
In reply to Longsufferingropeholder:

We've used a carry bag in the past for youngling. Or once, on the shoulders with bouldering mat on my back! 

 jcw 22 May 2022
In reply to Ramblin dave:

> I'm almost surprised that they haven't got a little pictogram for that as well, to be honest.

yes, I stopped and asked one the way, before I realized who I was addressing!!

 Offwidth 27 May 2022
In reply to Twiggy Diablo:

Just been to two areas new to us in the last two days:

Chamarande has two kids white circuits, and a yellow, orange, blue and red. Pretty unpolished in the main on the yellow, so only a few sandbags . Mosquitoes were a real pain in the dense and shady chestnut forest. Maybe a good place in a hot dry spell. Also has a chateau to visit.

Today at Padole (Cent Marches). Pleasant open woodland but a bit more polish on the yellow circuit (a few would make f4) and 17 was OK climbing but exposed (eroded landing) and had a tricky descent. The white kids circuit was a bit reachy for kids and high in places:  quite a good adult beginners' circuit. Not a mossie in sight despite similar weather!


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