Snow and Rock or just Rock

No idea about skiing but Buoux is great. I would stick there if conditions are good. Was 20years ago when I was last there though.

La Plagne off piste skiing is incredible and fairly accessible 

Also, not sure what the weather is like in Buoux right now, but if you need a warmer/sheltered venue, Chateauvert is good. Nowhere near as good as Buoux though imo. Hope you like pockets!

Check all the campsites too if you are camping. Some might not be open yet. For Buoux we stayed in one in Bonnieux - good hill village spot and a short drive to the crag and later on when Buoux was nearly out of season, also stayed in the town campsite in Apt. Sheltered, but further away. Standard town campsite stuff.

For Chateauvert there was a municiple / sportsground campsite just at one end of the valley. I don't know if that's still there though as I am aware that Chateauvert has had some infrastructure works done since bitd - new formal parking areas, access paths etc. No random roadside parking up under the sector you want anymore. 

Mountain collection (rental agency) might have something worth looking at if you decide to head into the snow, we used them via sunweb this year and the place we stayed was pretty decent. 

La Grave? Climbing and skiing area innit? Only ever driven through though myself 

Thanks all.

Was considering la grave, but I think the cost of a guide would cripple us.

I'm not sure you need a guide for la grave. I've always been  with folk who knew there way around, but the regular 'runs' are fairly obvious.

Posted by: nealc

↑

I'm not sure you need a guide for la grave. I've always been  with folk who knew there way around, but the regular 'runs' are fairly obvious.

Oh FFS piece of shit website.  Perish the thought I might want to quote more that one reply in a post.

FFS

Posted by: nealc

↑

I'm not sure you need a guide for la grave. I've always been  with folk who knew there way around, but the regular 'runs' are fairly obvious.

Hmmm. Much as I hate the expression it's also the optics. Not sure I fancy a full on destination with my son without a guide.

Posted by: FunkyDunc

↑

La Plagne off piste skiing is incredible and fairly accessible 

Sorry, lost my long reply to this. Short version:

Yep, agreed. Wonder if Champagny is a good base to allow us to ski LP but avoid the insane snow forecast for the day we leave,..

Posted by: Yak

↑

No idea about skiing but Buoux is great. I would stick there if conditions are good. Was 20years ago when I was last there though.

Problem is that I'm back on the downward fitness/ weight curve and I don't think I'm up to my Buoux goals (Rose & Diamants).  But then maybe I should treat it as a projects week and plan to go back in autumn for the RP 😆

I like the commitment to a second trip! 

I think Buoux is quite good for on-sights and mileage too. Not as tricky/beta'y as other sport venues. Lehn in Switzerland is a good example of a tricky on-sight venue I think. I got my arse handed to me on a plate there for quite a few days, then started to get it.

Maybe it depends on both of your on-sight levels and redpoint expectations? 

At Buoux, I remember lots of really good 6s. Then upwards, lots of great routes in the 7a region (as per your ticklist). Add in TCF too for the 3* mega hits! 

We always went to Valloire on the school ski trip as it was over Christmas and the height meant a better chance of snow. Might be worth a look

Don't know about current conditions but Tigne and Val d'Isere have excellent lift accessed (or short plod) off piste.

I liked Buoux a lot.  Good for onsights as its not so sleep, you can work things out.  Stiff grades tho' and some decent runouts at the top of some routes. 

1st went in 1988! Eric trip on the train!

No idea about skiing but Buoux is great

Yes indeed I hadn't realised just how good it was even in the lower grades. In the end we stayed in Bedoin as it seemed to be sorted of equidistant from the good climbing. As it turned out it was only equidistant if you were a flying crow. I'm reality it was tiny windy roads to get anywhere at all. But worked ok.

First two days it rained a fair bit so we dodged showers at Ubrieux, Malaucene and somewhere else. Very bitty, but at least it allowed time to recover from the 3am departure on Saturday.

Did a stunning 3 pitcher to the top of St Julien and then some excellent single pitch. But blimey it was runout. Not a place to push the grade.

Rest day then Buoux, which was fantastic. Did some lovely easy stuff then got on Rose des Sables, even though I knew I didn't have a hope. And so it proved.... Got to the main arete moves and just bottled the distance between bolts. Was no way I felt good with my feet above the bolt, let alone doing sketchy clips. When I caught myself giving my belayer a " watch me" with my knot about 30cm above the bolt I realised just how out of condition my head was. In the past I'd happily climbed 7a above 2 completely knackered rusty bolts, safe in the knowledge that it was overhanging, I was 30 metres up and the other bolts would hold me even if the top ones did pop. Such a difference to being properly in that amazing zone that you get when your head is right.

Anyway, we binned that and just went and did more easy routes. Had a great time linking together the first two pitches of a pair of 5+ and my son lead his first outdoor 6a. Think we did ten pitches in the end.

Steadfastly resisted the strong urge to hire an eeb and play on Ventoux, having learned my lesson in Norway about doing rest days properly.

Then off to Champagny. First day was absolutely minging. Shit visibility. Rain, wet chairlifts and no idea WTF we were due to the shit signage. Anyway, still had a great day.

Second day started grotty but then we noticed the glacier was poked above the temperature inversion, so went there and then moved lower as the day cleared. Absolutely fantastic. Bazzing about the numerous easy pistes and then doing bits off piste as it softened in the sun.

Such a good day that I dragged the kid off to a local crag and we did half a dozen routes. Finally I was in the zone and ended up climbing stuff just as hard ( to be clear, not actually hard at all!) as I had on the climbing part of the trip.

Day three was brilliant.absolutely classic spring skiing. Even though there was almost no new snow you could ski almost anywhere on great conditions. Skied a scary ridge and messed up a few easy gullies.

Did our usual race for the very last lift. We had nine minutes and I thought we had it in the bag, but I'd not taken into account just how slow and shit the la plagne lifts are. The lift up took 7:40, leaving us with only 80 seconds before the lift closed. Needless to say we didn't make it in 80 seconds, but did a respectable 170 seconds or so, which I think was exactly three times faster than the lift. Brilliant fun.

La Plagne off piste skiing is incredible and fairly accessible 

That is indeed the case. Defo want to go back .

Crap photo, but ho hum...

https://flic.kr/p/2qVf1VX

Cheers for all the advice

Sounds like a great trip! Good stuff. So then.... planning another trip to Buoux?!! 🙂

Hopefully. I've been going through a complete aging crisis these last four years and struggling with not being able to do the stuff that I used to. 

As well as trying to come to terms with it ( and failing) I'm also staging a fighting retreat to try to do as much as I can. Hence the Buoux trip so soon after my Norway trip. 

I would dearly love yo get back to onsighting f7a and if I get anywhere close then I'll go back to Buoux in autumn for another go.

The key question of course, is how to get back on ( relative) form. Step 1 is clearly doing more roped climbing at the Depot rather than bouldering. Not as easy as it sounds because the wife just likes bouldering and we have a regular Thursday session. But doable.

I then need to lose about 4 kilos. And/or get stronger. No idea how to do that as I tend to burnout a lot.

Then step 3 is getting my head back in....

But yes, autumn.....

Although I'm also wondering about taking the kids DWS in Mallorca instead. I think they'd love it.

So many options, so little time.

You sound like me, except your fighting retreat is going much better than mine.  I have visions of training like a monster and sending everything once kids are independent/older....but then I will be even older and further into the retreat..

Mallorca dws sounds good. I haven't been. My only dws is Swanage/Portland where the sea is always cold. It's good though, and I recommend Conner Cove if you haven't been before. Quite high though, definitely legs together landings. I do like the idea of dws with warm sea.

Also, whilst I have not done this specifically, I am sure you can train power endurance when bouldering. Longer problems/sets/short rests....eg 4x4 sets of boulder problems...etc.  I don't really know anything about training as we didn't 'train' bitd, but I am sure it's all been worked out. Lattice might have this on their app/website. 

The boulder versus routes issue isn't so much stamina as getting my head used to falling. I think my last Depot Trafford bouldering session was a " Cheats* 100" so stamina isn't really my issue.

What I need to do is get back used to lobbing on lead above the bolt. And that can only be done by doing more leading.

* Cheats 100 includes the easy white circuit. As opposed to a proper 100 which only includes blues and upwards 

*When I recall my Portland and Pembroke DWS days I am filled with horror/shame. Disappearing alone from family holidays and soloing dozens of routes on my own in not very calm seas. I realise now that it wasn't DWS, but really just S. 

This was brought home to me when others arrived at my Portland location after I had done a few. Some guy tried some harder stuff and swam. His mates ignored him and I ended up lobbing him a lifejacket and abseiling down to fish him out.  That was absolutely terrifying trying to grab him on the wave peak and then hold him steady as his full weight came onto me as the trough came in.

Had I fallen off one of my solo solos earlier on that day I would have been toast...

Hmmm, definitely S, not DWS! DWS should be fun sociable stuff in the sun with mates. 

Re getting your lead head back, well I don't know if mine would also just come back as I am only bouldering now. In my mind, if I tie on, I will be where I left off.... but that's unlikely to be the case and I suspect I won't be running it out above marginal gear or anything like that. I have refreshed all my quickdraws with new dogbones though, so they are ready to go.  I will attempt to persuade my son that sport climbing is the new bouldering soon. Hopefully I will feel good on the lead again.

Good luck getting your lead head back. I'm sure it will come after a few planned or unplanned lobs.

Lattice might have this on their app/website. 

I use their app on my board at home and really like it. Definitely made gains and not got injured in the process.

Honestly , going to Buoux and expecting to make a breakthrough was impossible for me 40 years ago and would be now :-).  It is tough graded, techy climbing and still has some spicy bolting.  

Managing old age is tricky.  Obviously things change physically (I'm older than you).  I don't compare myself to my 'old self', but now I'm starting to climb pretty well again.  You have a to be smart, and consistent, and work on things you don't like.  And accept you probably won't be as bold , at least consistently. 

I have a friend who is not managing well.  Despite a relatively simple life (no kids etc) he hasn't looked after his health, fitness well and doesn't understand time moves.  He consistently makes grandiose plans that either don't happen or fail instantly. If he had any brains he'd just do some simple climbing regularly (I'm trying to climboutside once a week on average this year) and going to the wall and just doing something instead of turning up and waffling on about alpine this and alpine that. Then he'll complain eerything is the wrong grade as he can't do 6a's anymore....

I'm going climbing outside in about 1/2 an hour and I'm sure it'll be plenty good.  He might go tomorrow.....