It seems that perseverance has been the general theme the last few days. I woke today to blue sky and the best temps in a couple weeks. It was my penultimate day in the forest and although eighth day on, I was keen to wrap something up. We started off at Dame Jouanne at a tricky 7A+ called monumendal and then moved on to L'angle Parfait, a high 7B+. The mega line climbs up a laser cut arête with poor smears. For an hour or so we experimented with many sequences, barn doored off and felt the frustration of poor footholds. We decided to move on, when I pulled on for one last go. I was not going to let a technical 7B+ get the best of me. I climbed up, opposing the strong barn door effect, pushing with my feet insuring they did not pop off. I reached a new high point, only the last move remained. I built my feet high and jumped for the top jug. I was pleased to have had one last go, and after being shut down for so many tries, completion was very satisfying.

We then spent an hour trying to find an obscure area to no avail. Our psyche was lost and we proceeded to blow some more time in the super market. It was now 5 and I was cold. We were far from most areas and a small rain storm had just passed leaving many things wet. 

On the impulse, I decided to go to Buthiers, a great area five minutes from the gite. At Buthiers, there is an old school 8A+ called Big Bang. It was done by Christophe Laumone sometime ago, and climbs out a steep barrel, that starts off a roof and ends in a vertical wall. Its style is compression, slapping between a slopey crack with the right hand and edges for the left hand. The feet are very stretched meaning you must have supreme tension to keep them on, and that you must, as the holds aren't that positive. Oh, and might I add, this boulder has not been dry for many many years, spicing it up to the maximus. The bloc is now inhabited by some green patches, and the two key holds are perma-saturated. A couple weeks ago, I had had a short night session on the mysterious climb, but I could not handle the wetness, and by the end of few attempts my skin looked as though I had just had a four hour bath. Today, I had nothing to lose. I was ready to try my hardest and lose all my skin, but I hoped that my thoughts of ascension were realistic. I rewarmed and repeated some of the moves. The holds were wet as always but I continued working out the positions. I figured out a slightly new sequence, using one of the lower wet holds as an intermediate, creating a new hard move but to a drier hold. I took a short rest and prepared for my first redpoint attempts. Any sane man would have thought I was crazy (maybe I am?), but I was sure that I could fight through the wetness and do the problem. After several attempts, the new sequence was causing problems. The blind stab into the slopey pocket was very low percentage but at least it was a dry hold. I was not even getting to the crux though. A couple attempts later, I broke through the start roof moves, hitting the slopey pocket perfectly. I dug my left foot in under the roof and slapped around with my left hand to the sopping key hold. Trying to stay as light as I could on the hold, I compressed my right hand up to the sloper, only for my left hand to wet-fire off at the speed of light. I was annoyed, but I now knew I could do the problem. I could pull on there and go to the jugs every time. All I had to do was hold the key edge as though it was dry. I had to crush with all the strength in my body, meaning that my muscles were doing as much of the work as possible, and my hands as little. I sat down and pondered for a second as I looked up at the dripping holds. I was climbing on a wet 8A+, what was I thinking? Anything is possible, the other side of my brain replied. I pulled on and went for it. A cold air of belief blew through the roof. I hit the blind hold, jammed the toe in, moved to the wet hold. I was back at the same point. All I had to do was trust it. I held on with all my might, tensing every muscle in my upper body. My right hand slapped to the next hold, my foot stayed and so did my hand! This was my chance. I released my foot from under the barrel, cutting loose as a lion let out a noise from deep within me. I slapped again with my right as hard as I could hitting the final hold. I took my time on the moderate upper moves, topping out the huge boulder with a sigh of both surprise and relief. I had done the unbelievable. I had made an ascent of Big Bang for the first time in years. I had held onto wet holds and done hard moves between them. Most importantly I had persevered and tried as hard as I have in years, showing myself that really anything is possible, so long as you're willing to try. And that I was, and so it paid off.