Fontainebleau: Off-piste

The forest of Fontainebleau is one of the major bouldering spots of the world.

Thousands of sandstone boulders lie scattered over an area of some 1,200 square kilometres of forest, wonderfully-shaped boulders of superb quality rock in a wilderness of pine, beech and oak trees. The climbing style is addictive, a subtle mixture of body positioning, footwork and power that is as demanding mentally as it is physically. There are problems at every grade imaginable, from the easiest of circuits to world class testpieces.

Fontainebleau ‘Off-Piste’ reveals the locations of over 3,000 of the best problems graded at Font 6a and above, and highlights 250 problems of outstanding quality. Some problems found on circuits, others are set apart and easily missed. This guide ensures that doesn’t happen.

Covering 92 different areas across the forest, the guide lists the harder problems in the main locations, and also on many lesser-known groups of boulders around the forest. There are 120 detailed maps – both general location maps and boulder layouts, colour photographs for every area and hints, tips and anecdotes throughout. This new edition also features a comprehensive alphabetical index to all the problems in the guide with those of the highest quality highlighted in bold type.

More than enough for even the most dedicated enthusiast to go at.

Fontainebleau ‘Off-Piste’ works particularly well when paired with the eternally-popular circuit guide Fontainebleau Climbs.