UKC

This week's Friday Night Video takes us around the notoriously difficult black circuit at Franchard Cuisiniere, Fontainebleau. Nalle Hukkataival sets himself the challenge of climbing the circuit in one push, a stern challenge considering no one has ever completed all the climbs. The circuit features everything from technical slabs, to terrifying highballs and whilst the circuit doesn't feature any single climb that would be considered at the top of the difficulty scale, climbing them all in one push requires world-class ability.

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In reply to UKC News:

I don't understand why it's such a big deal for someone who boulders 8C+ and maybe 9A to climb 32 small boulders between 6A and 7A+.

I'm pretty sure I've done better than that, and I'm rubbish.

Am I missing something?

Si.

*Edit. 6A to 7B+, but still, surely that's an easy day out for him?

*Edit again. "These were done before pads existed, you just stepped off a towel. That's how I wanted to do it..."   Next shot he's walking through the forest with two gigantic pads. What?

In reply to simes303:

Isn’t that kind of like saying “I can’t undersatand why climbing Freerider is such a big deal. I redpointed a 7b+ in Kalymnos the other day”

In reply to simes303:

Did you watch the film, or pay any attention to it when you did? Your questions imply that you didn't. Cuisiniere to me is la foret encapsulated, it's rarely busy and very special. This is soul climbing, and it's lovely to see the circuit finally get done in a oner.

In reply to simes303:

Plenty of reasons your post is stupid, but the most obvious is that the hardest problem isn't 7B+ - the circuit finishes with Duel (8A).

In reply to UKC News:

Nice to see this one finally available for free. I paid for it when Neil first put it out and it really is an excellent little film that gets across the sense of what he's doing really well along with conveying how hard it is despite how easy Nalle makes it look.

In reply to UKC News:

Great video, really inspired me to head back there at some point... it’s been 15 years!

I’m guessing those that don’t understand the difficulty of this have never climbed at Font! It’s not like down at the indoor wall...

In reply to Valkyrie1968:

Fixed that for you :-D

In reply to Smelly Fox:

I've been to Fontainebleau nineteen times.

In reply to danm:

Yes, I watched it all.

In reply to simes303:

Nice vid. I see your point, it's not really ground breaking stuff but not every climbing vid has to be. Nothing wrong with a short film, showing some great problems, in one of the best bouldering areas in the world.

I haven't been to Font for 7-8 years but the vid definitely gave me the itch th go back. 

In reply to simes303:

Then I’m even more confused!

In reply to simes303:

I wouldn't be surprised if people who climb font 8b couldn't touch Duel... @realfontslabs are something  different... I think back in the day Pat Ament said about John Gills problems, "I could grasp the holds but not the problem"... on Duel I think one would be just struggling to grasp the holds!

In reply to Valkyrie1968:

If he'd made a statement then maybe the post could be considered "stupid" - but he didn't, he posed a question  and received a response.  On the basis of there being "no stupid questions" then why beat him up about it?

Lovely video, I'm off for my first proper trip there in couple of weeks with the family even more excited now. 

I sort of agree with the poster getting slated. The film perhaps over Eggs the whole "carrying everything you need all by yourself" aspect. Surely that's just normal with bouldering? Your shoes, chalk, food and mats? 

In reply to UKC News:

I really enjoyed this film. Nice to see an 8C wad also enjoying a circuit with some 6a problems on it too. 

In reply to GDes:

Yeah, I thought that was funny - like climbing 30+ blocs up to 8A is no big deal but carting a couple of mats a hundred meters from the car park is an epic test of fitness and determination.

Presumably the actual point of this was that he was climbing with just a couple of mats and no spotter, which makes the highballs a bit more serious than they would have been if he'd had a bunch of mates carrying in enough pads to build a bouncy castle underneath them...

In reply to GDes:

I would suggest you try to complete a circuit if you haven’t already- it sounds easy but is surprisingly tougher I thought . I have tried an easy one and it took about 4 hrs+ my tips were all through and I was a sweaty mess. Finished thrashing around on a f6a. Moving around in between was also a lot of effort. 

In reply to UKC News:

Great video,  god awful music

In reply to UKC News:

I mean, yes, they're easy - but flashed (or at least retro-flashed?) all but one of them - and as we all know, Font's a fickle beast.

In reply to simes303:

The black circuit at Cuisiniere has been a notional challenge since before it was retraced in the 90s.  Up until Nalle no one had achieved this, it may have been tried by locals although the last problem, Duel 8a, being one of the hardest slab problems in the world may have put them off.  Before attempting this final exam any suitors will have climbed 11 x 6a, 4 x 6b, 4 x 6c, 2 x 6c+, 9 x 7a, 2 x 7a+, 3 x 7b, 1 x 7b+.  Mosquito Coast 7a and Trois Hommes et un Coup Fin 7b have top rope bolts in place, are very highball and not ones to fall off.  The notion that any of the problems are ‘easy’, does no justice to the technical difficulties and physicality of these problems (it’s easy to get stopped by one of the 6a problems if you don’t know ‘the way’.  Any doubters should go try and complete the 6a’s in a day!  In the 2000s when I was visiting Font regularly, I was trying to pick off the 7a’s and 7b’s on this circuit, suffice to say some of the ‘warm ups’ ended up being sieges.  It’s a great spot and was always quiet despite starting so close to the parking.  Excalibur 7a is brilliant problem hiding under the noses of the masses who turn left when leaving the car park.

In reply to UKC News:

Great video, but the music... jesus.

In reply to UKC News:

Where is it actually documented? Bleau.info didn't have it noted, as far as I could see, and my comprehensively unecessary library of Font guides also doesn't mention this circuit. Thus increasing the curiousity/appeal.

Can see some of the obvious classics (Moondance highballs etc.), but wondered if it is mapped anywhere...

In reply to matthew jones:

Is this it?

https://bleau.info/cretesud/circuit50.html

In reply to tjdodd:

Great, thanks. I was on the main Cuisiniere overview.

More fool the guy who says this is no big deal in a day! What a list...

In reply to granticus:

Now that sounds like a challenge. I suspect surprisingly few people would be able to do it.

In reply to TonyB:

I tried it on a tired 'rest day' once, but was defeated pretty quickly. A really worthwhile challenge in a lovely part of the forest.