Ceuse and Presles

The last 2 weeks of my France vacation were whiled away at Ceuse and Presles. Two limestone climbing areas that are remarkably different, given how close together they are geographically.

10 things I loved about my time in Ceuse
1. The hike to the crag: 1 hr long, gently switchbacking trail. Pairs well with thumping beats, CBC radio DNTO podcasts or a song in your heart, take your pick.
2. The views from the crag: lush green agriculture, dramatic snowy peaks, quaint villages.
3. The stone: amazing quality limestone with pockets and edges. Great friction where it's not polished to glass. Some of the most interesting movement I have ever experienced.
4. The campground: super chill, camp anywhere on the grass atmosphere, nice trees, hot showers.
5. The nutella jar full of red wine keeping me company as I chopped veggies for another one-pot-dinner.
6. The many friendly climbers I met from all over the world.
7. Rest day yoga on the grass at our campsite.
8. TV shows on the laptop while curled up in the tent.
9. Quordy pass and play games on the ipod. If you enjoy Scrabble you may also like Quordy... check it out.
10. Our 17 Euro air mattress that filled up the whole tent and was no less than 30 cm thick.

Techy above the void on Cent Patate, Ceuse

Yup, pretty much a climber on everything I wanted to try...

but there's always happy hour back at the tent... who needs a project anyway?

We spent the last two climbing days on our trip at Presles, a less popular and less polished single and multipitch climbing area less than two hours from Ceuse! We did two amazing multipitch climbs: Canada Dry and Vue de l'exterieur. I am already excited about revisiting this amazingly peaceful, uncrowded and high quality climbing area on my next trip to France.

Presles - so much rock, so little time

So much rock with no established climbing... yet

Airy traverse on Canada Dry

To finish things up, a few days in Paris:

The Mona Lisa, who I am pretty sure is smiling with secret disdain for tourists in Paris

The best way to see Paris is on the VeloLib bikes, which cost just a few Euros per hour

The best part of the Louvre was the Napoleon Apartments recreation. Haven't seen this many chandeliers since the Ouray Ice Fest.