Fairlop Waters Boulder Park – the Severe climber

Bouldering in Fontainebleau with a Toddler

The woods around Fontainebleau have a reputation as one of the best places in the world to boulder. Thousands of sandstone boulders, with tens of thousands of boulder problems, scattered about a pretty forest that covers some 300 square kilometres. Fontainebleau also has a reputation as being a great place to take kids. That’s a … Read more Bouldering in Fontainebleau with a Toddler

Climbing a Cathedral and Ringing the Bell on the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand

A little over half way up the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand there is a brass bell hanging from the rock. If you want to ring the bell, then you need to take a detour that traverses the face of the buttress above a sheer drop. There’s a slightly tricky step to negotiate, before you stand on a … Read more Climbing a Cathedral and Ringing the Bell on the Klettersteig Pfeilspitzwand

A Little Bit of the Eiger – the Rotstock Via Ferrata

“All the Grindelwald via ferrata are closed.” The woman at the tourist information office said these words in a firm, brisk tone that indicated that she didn’t realise that I would find them disappointing. I knew that there was a risk that the long, cold winter might mean that some mountain routes would still be … Read more A Little Bit of the Eiger – the Rotstock Via Ferrata

Back to Climbing (Concrete)

Back to Climbing (Concrete)

September 2, 2020September 2, 2020the Severe climber

It was really good to get back to climbing after so long. My weekends away climbing, and weekend visits to the climbing wall all stopped with the pandemic lockdown. I’ve missed it in so many ways. Over the long weekend I took the chance to go climbing on the concrete boulders at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park, and it was brilliant. The best bit was taking my son climbing again, and seeing him climb really well.

Leo climbing up The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende.

Leo climbing up The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende.

Leo climbing The Trunk Route on the Dumbo the Elephant boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Leo climbing The Trunk Route on the Dumbo the Elephant boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Me climbing on the Dumbo the Elephant boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Me climbing on the Dumbo the Elephant boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Leo climbing up a Font 2 problem on the back of the Dumbo the Elephant boulder. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Leo climbing up a Font 2 problem on the back of the Dumbo the Elephant boulder. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Climbing on The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

Climbing on The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende

The Petit Block at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende.

The Petit Block at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. Copyright: Valerie Van den Hende.

Climbing in a Covid-19 world took a little getting used to. Using liquid chalk (with 70% plus ethanol) for the first time, putting on far too much, and managing to get it over a lot more than just my hands. Read more →

Climbing Concrete

Climbing Concrete

March 22, 2014September 2, 2020the Severe climber

A brightly shining sun and unseasonably warm weather last weekend meant that Valerie, baby Leo and I could swap our weekend climbing wall trip for Fairlop Waters Boulder Park. These are nine boulders of sprayed and carved concrete almost hidden in the trees by a lake in East London.

Valerie climbing on The Arches boulder at Fairlop Waters Boulder Park in London.