Derring Do

I've been putting off writing about my trip to the Alps because, well, it was a bit of an anticlimax truth be told.

Don't get me wrong, the scenery is incredible and the whole alpine environment is mindblowing, but I just didn't get excited by it.

There were a few mitigating factors - I took a while to acclimatise to altitude and I also contracted a fairly debilitating infection in a tooth - so I'm not sure I was in the right physical state to appreciate any of it. I also got a bit pissed off with nasty loose rock, and the faff of being roped-up all of the time. I was especially peeved at not being able to slide on my arse down easy-angled snow (probably one of the most fun aspects of mountaineering) for fear of falling into a crevasse.

But there's no need to whinge, as Chamonix was a fine place to sit about and take antibiotics, and I'm very glad to have at last seen the Alps. I'll be in no rush to go back (I think fir the same amount of money I could have a MUCH better holiday elsewhere), but I've no regrets going.

And also, on the way back I visited Fontainebleu, which is a magical playground of boulders in a beautiful forest just South of Paris. Anyone who even vaguely likes climbing should go there just to play around for a few days.

There's hundreds, if not thousands, of rocks with 'circuits' of problems to climb in sequence. Each circuit is marked out with arrows and numbers to guide you from rock to rock, and most of the circuits are designed to develop your skill and strength in a whole variety of climbing techniques. It's quite simply one of the most fun ways to climb I've ever experienced as you don't hang around in one place long enough to get bored, and you can easily choose the level of challenge you're up for. And it's knackering in the best way possible. I'll definitely go back.

So that was France - not as great as I'd hoped, but still not bad, and all the better for having had soe real fun at the end.

As for real tales of Derring Do - I've had quite a weekend, which I'll tell you about once I've managed to thieve some decent photos from. Watch this space.