Hey everyone, it’s Emma here and this is XP’s May newsletter. May started out pretty fun for us because the bouldering (1) trip we had been wanting to take for a long time finally happened!
1 Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses Fontainebleau is a famous climbing area south of Paris. Hidden in its beautiful forests are thousands of sandstone boulders with countless problems (2) to climb. Since the 19th century French alpine climbers practised bouldering there, as a ‘playful form of training’ for climbing actual mountains. We had been playfully training on the artificial rock walls near XP since 2019, and felt ready to climb actual rock formations, so we drove out to France with a bunch of friends and pitched our tents.
(2) Problems is boulder language for routes The climbing was so fun, and standing on top of the rock after finishing it feels a-ma-zing. But for me, the best part was having a crew, supporting each other, feeling like a team. Sure, you do the climbing by yourself, but when you look down your friends are standing there with a crash pad, cheering you on, shouting advice, spotting (3) you in case you fall. Very XP, if you ask me. |
