Somewhere in the middle of my preparation for the upcoming season, I took a little break from training and headed to France for a few days of rock climbing.

I had hoped to get a lot of sun on my face while being in the south of France, but instead I had to battle a lot of cold and windy days, wet holds and even a heavy thunderstorm right when I was climbing. Most of the time my down jacket was one of my best friends. 😉

Amazed by this rainbow which came after the storm

Despite the difficult conditions, I was able to do some hard climbs and I could return home with a thankful heart.
I didn’t do any onsight climbing during the trip. Every time I tried a route, I worked it out first and then did an attempt.
In Saint Léger du Ventoux:

• Rêve de poutre 8c – 1st attempt
• Le Nabab 8b+ – 1st attempt
• Idéal chimérique 8c/+ – 1st attempt (probably first female ascent)
• Le concept  8b+ – 2nd attempt

In Les Auberts:

• L’émêché 8c – 1st attempt (1st female ascent; new route opened by Guillaume Lebret)

Check out this nice article on Grimper.com (in French) by Seb Richard. Thanks Seb for the pictures!

L’émêché 8c in Les Aubert, Drôme region

Climbing Le Concept in Saint Léger du Ventoux