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DemolitionRed
Nov 7, 2012, 4:19 PM
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Yesterday we went along to a French indoor gym for the first time.
There are a lot of outdoor climbing walls in France and so long as you have the gear, they are free to everyone.
There is also plenty of rock where we are but its all getting a bit cold and wet and so an indoor gym is the way to go until we get some decent ice.
This gym was bigger and taller than anything I have ever seen. Hundreds of routes from 4s through to 9s and an entire area set out to practice multi pitch and rescue. Not a single route was top roped and so each pair of climbers had to lead climb.
Nobody asked us if we could climb! No forms to fill in. The only thing they insisted on was a chalk ball and not a chalk block.
This place has to be the busiest gym we have ever set foot in. There were entire families climbing and even with so many routes we had to wait our turn to get on the wall.
One little guy climbed a 8a overhang and roof whilst his little sister belayed him and kept calling out to him, you better not fall because I may drop you!.
The French are a perhaps a little too laid back when it comes to health and safety!!
(This post was edited by DemolitionRed on Nov 7, 2012, 4:21 PM)
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jomagam
Nov 7, 2012, 4:58 PM
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Sounds reasonable. There's no belay test when you climb outside.
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acorneau
Nov 7, 2012, 5:18 PM
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What was the gym?
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DemolitionRed
Nov 8, 2012, 10:30 AM
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The gym is in Grenoble but I don't know which one it is. We just came across it after visiting Ikea and happened to have our climbing gear with us.
The other thing they had was huge boxes of used climbing holds (still in good condition) and a notice saying 'free to anyone who wants them'
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DemolitionRed
Nov 8, 2012, 1:15 PM
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Thanks acorneau but no. We tried to look this one up but so far we haven't been successful. The one we went to is much older and it doesn't have a shop.
Looks like we are going to have a few good places to play on those rainy days though.
We are only here for a few more weeks before moving further along the mountains. Its a shame as there is a ruddy great waterfall just dying to freeze over right outside where we are staying 
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djlachelt
Nov 8, 2012, 4:05 PM
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Just a note... the word is "sublime" not "subline".
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jorgegonzalez
Nov 8, 2012, 6:06 PM
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Ditto, I thought the thread was going to be about post-Sandy Manhattan.
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FriscoWilderness
Nov 10, 2012, 11:04 PM
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Its not that they are laid back about health and safety. They are probably not lawsuit crazy like the States.
(This post was edited by FriscoWilderness on Nov 10, 2012, 11:07 PM)
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gypsy-infantry
Nov 11, 2012, 5:58 AM
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In other news what are the chances you're willing to mail some holds?
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DemolitionRed
Nov 12, 2012, 7:57 PM
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Frisco, you’re right of course. The French shrug their shoulders if someone has an accident because they didn’t read the cautionary warnings.
There is a lake just down the road from us that is beautiful to swim in during the warmer months. Its surrounded by overhanging willow trees and the local council has had steps cut into the trees so that people can climb up them to dive off.
In the UK it’s hard to find a river your children can paddle in because health and safety now deems it dangerous or the environmental agencies deem it unfriendly to nature.
Personally I love the way the French think.
We went and tried that ‘Espace Vertical’ gym and although it was good, it was so crowded. The grades were much softer than the other gym and I managed to climb an 8b+ haha, there is no frigging way I can normally climb that kind of grade!!
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