Despite the monstrous cock up potential of organising a substantial bunch of the MMC to negotiate the channel and hit a campsite in the black of a French night everyone seemed to make it to La Musardiere with a minimum of fuss. The nearest thing to a balls up was Nick’s car erroneously going North from Dunkirk and doing an embarrassing U turn 300 metres short of Belgium, Freyr anyone?

It was a similarly large group as had been present in 2006 but interestingly only with three Font vets among them namely Simon “Maverick” M-C, Nick “Iceman” Kemp and A “Cougar” G. For some reason at lot of the class of 2006 had swapped Font Sandstone for Cornish Granite, perhaps because the rain that year sill resonated in their collective memory. Happily the weather forecast for 2007 was clear and dry and so it proved to be. Simon had arrived first and managed to stake out exactly the same corner of the campsite as before so there was a comfortable feeling of deja-vu for some.

After the obligatory coffee and croissants everyone went off to Gorges D’Apremont as this was anticipated to be significantly quieter than the more obvious areas such as Trois Pignons. As soon as they got to the car park they got word that Beatriz was due at Font station imminently as she had just flown on from Chicago (jet setter). Having been collected from the station she joined the team for the bouldering.

A pleasant afternoon’s sport followed however the day was marred when it was found that they had been visited by some thieves while bouldering. Fortunately nothing of huge consequence was taken but it still left a slightly sour taste in the mouth. This taste was washed away by a couple of beers in Milly la Foret before returning to the campsite, showers and a cook-up. The slack line also proved a great diversion though Simon proved by far the most competent on it. It also distorted quite alarmingly under the weight of “Big” Jim Lucas.

The next morning was similar to the first except the bread van queue was longer and Debbie and Beatriz both complained about being cold in the night. It should be remembered that though the days were clear, warm and bright the nights were close to freezing.

That day was spent in the Diplodocus area which boasted blue, yellow and orange circuits and so could cater for all tastes. The day’s climbing rounded off with some anarchic volley ball which was particularly interesting for Paras who was working a problem on the court, so to speak.

A dash into Fontainebleau seemed on the cards after that and despite rumours of a Decathlon superstore nearby Debbie, Michael and Beatriz managed to buy some fleecy blankets in the supermarket to augment their scant sleeping bags. Debbie and Beatriz then further insulated themselves by lining their tents with carpet from the backs of cars and borrowing a down jacket. Debbie reported the next morning that the overall effect of this was excellent. Meanwhile Darija spent all her time saying how nice it would be to have a bonfire. It was explained that this was forbidden and there were notices:
On the trees
On the campsite office
Engraved on their counter
On every toilet/washing up block
Despite this “Pyro” Darija would not let the matter drop

Easter Sunday arrived and everyone went off to crucify themselves in the Cul de Chien area. AG decided that it was too busy and scuttled off to a remote area that he later described as excellent. The Cul de Chien area also boaster a proper pukka beach volleyball court that was put to good use by several people. In the afternoon the team upped stakes to 91.1 (the name is the spot height :“Mr Trivia”) where the big, the bold and the butch were put to shame by the delicate, the dainty and the deft on the balancy slabs.

The day rounded off with a sharpener in Milly and further drinks and dinner in the campsite. Some people seemed to develop a convenient (for them) habit of popping off for a “quick shower” before dinner and reappearing just as it was ready to be dished up (names available for bribes). It should be remembered that you don’t have very long evenings in April so there was pressure to have all the cooking completed in daylight. Slacklining had declined in popularity by this stage, in no small part due to the line having been turned into a washing line, sacrilege!

And so all too quickly it was Easter Monday and the last day. Bas Cuvier is always a good last day area. It’s very close to the road and is pure classic Font, though a little polished so it has the reputation as a bit of a sandbag area.

There was a lot of good bouldering with mutual encouragement and tips and Paras even managed to crack the Marie Rose (first 6a at Font) eventually, to Simon’s secret envy.

And so it was time to hit the autoroute North, the only incident of note being that Debbie spotted the elusive mythical Decathlon outside Dunkirk where a shopping trip saw her equipped with a decent sleeping bag and almost miss the ferry.

Loads more pictures available here

Thanks to Simon “Maverick” “ The Ming” Menzies-Conacher for organising.