Tout nu dans la secretaire

Last weekend, I flew back to France to visit my Mum and nip over to Annecy to do a bit of winter mountaineering with my friend Oliver. But the bad weather and high avalanche risks meant that I stayed in Montpellier all the time.

Still, I managed to clock in a couple of days climbing. Antoine needed a break from studying and was very happy to do a couple of multi-pitch routes with me at a crag called "le Thaurac".

From the car park...	Antoine at the first belay

The first route was very enjoyable, straightforward bolted climbing with a pumpy, overhangy exit. With lots of other parties around us, we aimed for a quieter part of the cliff for our second route. Antoine chose an "old classic" called la voie de la secretaire.

Old school climbing: ledges and chimneys	Me at the start of the second pitch

Then it was my turn to lead. With two old pitons and a sling around the tree, the difficulty was to find where the route goes. The climbing was easy, but without my English rack of nuts and friends, i felt naked, as we say in French.

The following day, I met Guilhem at a crag half way between us: "La Clape". We choose a different cliff than our usual choice and enjoyed good rock, in a sunny, sheltered spot with view of the nearby beach.

View from the bottom of the clif	Guilhem