Our Epic Rock Climbing Staycation in the Pyrenees (Bouldering & Horseback Riding)

Our Epic Rock Climbing Staycation in the Pyrenees (Bouldering & Horseback Riding)

Alex and Lucie here. For the next 
two days, we’ll be rock climbing, riding horses, eating local food, 
all within 20 minutes of our home in the French Pyrenees. Stick around. 
It’s going to be a great staycation. [Music] Today we’re in Targasonne, which a lot of you 
guys already know is our home bouldering crag. We’re kind of at the point of the summer here in 
the Pyrenees where the summer heat has arrived. Today it is highs of 30° C, so mid-80’s 
Fahrenheit. And we’re not going to lie, it’s kind of hard to stay motivated with 
all the the summer heat. Our whole idea behind this staycation was to kind of freshen 
things up and find a little bit of motivation to get us through this summer slump. So, all 
the activities and boulders we picked out in this video are going to be completely new for us. 
To start our day off, we’ve got a 6A and a 6B. Come on. Oh, come on. Trust it. [Music] Nice through the leaves. Look at that technique. 
This boulder is called La Couleuvre. It’s a 6B. It’s a traverse problem that has really 
good hand holds going through this kind of like slopey crack, but I think there’s 
going to be a tricky move here right at the beginning coming on feet as you’re trying 
to kind of like round out through the corner. [Music] Woo. The mantle’s a little bit tricky here because 
you’re kind of like off balance. Other than it being kind of like a low ball start, it’s pretty 
smooth climb. It’s way too hot to climb today. This boulder is a 6C called Glenoid. Lucie thinks 
she sees the sequence. I’m not so sure about that. We’re going to start down low on two juggy holes. 
And then we’ve got to do some kind of traverse going through these kind of like slopers. And 
then as you work your way out over this bulge, you’re going to lose your feet that are 
down low. And I think the whole boulder is basically a mantle. Lucie thinks she’s got 
a lot more confidence that she can do it first, so she’s going to give it the flash 
try and see if she finds the beta. [Music] Come on. Ouch. Oh, overconfidence. I was not expecting that either. I was like, I’m definitely going to flash this. 
I’m going to do it. Oh no. Classic. A double-digit boulder doesn’t always flash 
6C’s. Never take the numbers for granite. Nice. Come on. Go for it. Come on. Come 
on. Come on. Come on. Bitma. Come on. No. Me voy a pegar una. I just 
said that I was going to eat it. I was right. It’s a mantle. Slopey mantles 
on granite in summer. Really good idea. Ow. [Applause] That’s a lot of suffering for a 
6C, man. I don’t know if it’s the summer heat or if I just picked terrible 
beta, but that was a struggle up there. [Music] Come on. [Music] I’m going to try this 6C. It’s a 
stand version because the sit version is a 7B+ which Alex is going to try and this is the 
main objective of today session. So let’s see. Come on. Come on. Come on. There’s that little 
knob just above. Yes. No, it’s not good. Come on. High foot. Come on. Oh, 
nice. No, this one. Neither. Come on. I’m stuck. Nice. Come on. Come on. Yes. Foot up. 
Foot up. Yep. Trust it. Trust it. And that one. A little I’m going. I’m going. 
Come on. Little higher. The left hand higher. Left hand higher. And it’s a jug. 
It’s a jug. You can do it. You can do it. Summer slopers. Lucie was here and she just 
had to go there. My version’s going to start from this crimp underneath the roof. And I’m 
going to try to get a little sneaky toe hook here. Lift off the ground. Grab this kind of 
like intermediate and make a long move out to the sloper. Do you think you can do it flash? 
I do not think I can do this boulder flash. Come on. Oh, I think I grabbed it. Just 
like believe a little more. From here, I guess I need to figure out how to change my 
toe hook to a heel hook so I can kind of like back flag around the corner and get out into the 
6C that Lucie’s trying. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Looks like it’s going to be a two 
mover add-on to Lucie’s problem. Come on. Nice. Come on. Come on. Go big. 
Come on. [Applause] Come on. Yes. Trust it. Oh no. Esta. Yeah. Come on. Come 
on. Foot up. Come on. Keep going. Keep going. You got it. You got it. You 
got it. I’m going. Come on. Come on. That was miserable. [Applause] I feel 
so tired with the heat today. [Music] Nice. Keep going. Nice. Trust 
it. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Nice. Lower is 
better. But yeah, this one. Nice. [Music] Nice. Come on. Yeah. Yeah, [Music] nice sand. I totally 
should have flashed that. But that’s cool. My shoe came undone. I had to fight for it. Lucie started 
the send train. It is really hot. I’m glad I ran the top out because I was going through these 
slopers. Everything was just sliding off. Nice surprise send. We’re pretty stoked that we’re able 
to finish up that other climb so quickly because we’re able to do one more for the day. This 
highball behind me is a 7A+ called Acid Attack. In pure Targa style, this thing is vertical, just 
a little bit slabby on micro crimp razors. I’m wondering if the skin’s going to be a little bit 
too soft to send, but we’re about to find out. [Music] I think it could be possible, but I 
might need to tape up for this one. Those guys are sharp. This is 
one try. Welcome to Targasonne. [Music] Come on. Oh, no. Nice. 
Come on. That’s nice. Come on. This is Alex getting frustrated. I just 
lost it. I should have done it right there. Breathe and go slowly. 
Slowly, slowly, slowly. Ouch. What’s so funny? Your face. It’s very close. Nice. Breathe. Nice. Good job. Nice. 
Take it easy. Nice. Yes. Nice. Come on. Trust your feet. Come on. Easy. Come on. 
Breathe. [Music] Did it. Well, not yet. Please. I felt a lot better that time. I don’t 
know. My hands felt a little bit cooler. Cool climb. I’m really glad I saw this one 
out. We have a big day planned tomorrow. We’re going to fold up the pad and we’ll 
see you tomorrow in the morning. We’re really excited this morning because we’re 
going horseback riding. This is going to be my very first time horseback riding ever. 
And I think Lucie has been horseback riding uh many, many years ago, but what happened? 
I was scared. One almost bit me. So, no. So, Lucie had a bad experience, but I think 
this is going to be a lot of fun. [Music] It is so big. [Music] Yummy. [Music] We just got done horseback riding. I’ve 
been trying to get Lucie to do this for probably 2 or 3 months now. So, what did you 
think of the experience? Was it worth it? Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it was worth 
it. I was on the biggest horse of them all and my horse wouldn’t stop eating and 
they were telling me, “Pull on the reins, pull on the reins.” And it kept just pulling me 
forward. But it was a really fun experience and I think it’s time to go grab some lunch. 
Yes. We just drove 5 minutes over to the ski station town of Formigueres where they 
do a weekly farmers market. Here in France, it’s really traditional and typical that on 
the weekends or at least one day of the week that you’ll find an open air farmers market. And 
we got a lot of local products including these beautiful tomatoes, cheeses, pate, ham, baguettes. 
The quality of the products you can find at these open air markets are really incredible. And 
we’re about to make some killer sandwiches. [Music] [Music] We’re back down in Targasonne for 
another bouldering session. We have another list of boulders that are brand new for us picked out. Starting with two 
V4s aptly named A Boy and A Girl. Uh-oh. There’s nothing. Find feet. Come on. 
I mean, nothing. Trust the foot. Stand up hard. Stand up. Stand up. Stand up. Stand up. 
Push your bottom. Push your bottom. Come on. Oh, that wasn’t easy. You have to stretch 
your feet and the rock is very hot. That’s not a warm up. This is the foot that Lucie 
just trusted. Me with the camera was like, “Yeah, it’s pretty easy.” Huh. 
Nice work, Lucie. Good flash. Yeah. Trust it. Come on. Come on. Little off balance here. I think there was supposed to be a cool 
little gaston move coming off this shoulder, but it felt kind of awkward. So, I ended up 
doing off these kind of like crummy slopers that have been baking all afternoon in the 
sun. It’s pretty spicy. This is a 6C slab. Let’s see how it goes and if it’s not as warm 
as the first boulder we tried. Come on. Solid. right hand start hold. Oh god. Or this one. And you’ve got an undercling. And there just 
no feet. No, they’re not that great. No. Woo. [Music] Come on. Nice. Trust your feet. Oh no. Oh shoot. 
I was not trusting this little foot jib. I was just like feeling my shoes sliding off. And 
the right hand hold that I thought was really good isn’t that good. Black undercling. Yes. Come 
on. Come on. Trust it. Trust it. Stand up hard. And then trust it. Yeah. [Music] Yeah. Oh, so 
hot. This is definitely not a 6C today. This is really hard. I’m trying so hard right now. I don’t 
know if we can do it today. What do you think? I honestly don’t think we can do it today. That’s 
one of those things you kind of got to remember in the summer that you’re trying something 
that’s a lot lower than what your max red point grade would be. And with the temperatures 
and poor conditions, it feels a lot harder. So, you can still be trying really hard, even though 
the numbers don’t say you’re trying very hard. That’s part of the fun, though. Get to explore 
and try some new things out. My foot again. [Music] Yeah. Nice. Trust it. Nice. Take your time. 
Okay. Come on. Come on. Nice. Nice. Yeah. Got it. Cool. On paper, that’s not going 
to be the hardest end of this video, but I’m really happy with that. As I got in the 
middle, I kind of like breathed and relaxed and I felt more weight on my feet. And I know a 
lot of people don’t like to climb with tape, but I put preventative split tip tape on my 
finger and I was really able to crank down on that like last crimp and pull as hard as I 
could to go out for the lip. Future Classic and Targasonne. We’re really stoked to have you here. 
If you’ve made it this far in this video, we’ve set a goal of trying to hit 5,000 subscribers 
on this channel. If you haven’t subscribed yet, consider hitting that button and let’s get over 
to the next boulder. Come on. This one. Come on. Nice. Come on. Solid. Come on. Yeah, that. 
Oh, that’s bad. Come on. Yes. There you go. Come on. Stand up tall. Yeah. I think 
it’s going to be trust in your feet, Lucie. Okay. There’s something here. Come on. Come on. I’m scared. Stand 
up. It’s It’s a really good foot. Come on. Come on. I think 
that’s good. Come on. Yeah. No, I’m not fine. Trust the foot. You’ll be all 
right. You got it. Yes. Just like that. Come on. Oh god. Oh, look at that. That was a bit 
scary. I don’t know how to down climb [Music] first. That was interesting. Maybe if we have 
looked before wouldn’t have been that surprised like uh oh. Oh god, how do I go down now. But 
I like it this one. The holds on this climb are really cool cuz we got these like knobs, crimpy 
knobs with the summer heat. Probably a little bit easier than the climb that we tried before 
because there’s a little bit more kind of like surface to get your your skin on and to pull on 
than the the slab that we just did. Looks like it should be a future classic also in Targasonne. 
Find lots of great climbs today for this grade. I really enjoy it. It’s a bit high if you’re a 
beginner, but definitely worth it. We just made our way over to another sector called Gaia after I 
gave a couple of miserable attempts on a 7C called Oasis. I think I was really underestimating 
just how hot it is outside and the state of my skin after trying all those sharp slabs. 
So, the boulder we got here is a really cool compression climb called Physic Quantic, and it’s 
a 7A. I think it looks a little bit more doable, and the hand holds are definitely bigger, which is 
going to feel a lot better for those fingertips. Come on. Trust it. Come on. Come on. Nice. Come on. No. Oh, I just barely 
missed it. Yeah. No. Well, you wahhh. That’s super reachy. [Music] I think it’s going to be finished if you 
get there. That move is really big. [Music] Come on. Trust it. Come on. Come on. Oh, 
that was not enjoyable. [Music] Someone is tired. Too tired to even say anything. 
It looks like this guy is going to escape me. But on a positive note, that means 
I have a project to come back when I’m either a little bit more well-rested or the 
temps are a little bit colder. Really hope you guys enjoyed this climbing staycation. 
If you’ve ever had an experience like this, definitely share it in the comments below. 
And until next time, happy climbing. [Music]

Join us for an epic rock climbing staycation in the French Pyrenees, exploring world-class granite boulders in Targasonne, riding horses through stunning mountain landscapes, and savoring fresh local food from a French farmers market.

On this staycation adventure, we spent two days trying new bouldering problems from 6A to 7C with crazy the summer heat on tricky mantles and crimps, and discovering hidden gems right in our own backyard.

Living & climbing in the Pyrenees feels like a dream, and in this video we bring you right along for the ride. We hope this mix of climbing and local culture gives you a little glimpse as to why the French Pyrenees should be on every climber’s bucket list!

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— Featured Clips & Boulders 👇 —

0:00 Our Pyrenees Staycation Begins
0:30 Warmup for bouldering in Targasonne
2:31 Climbing on slopers in Summer?!
4:50 Lucie starts the send train
8:49 Slab climbing on crimpy 7A+
11:12 Horseback riding in the Pyrenees
12:44 French farmers market lunch
13:39 V4 Boulders – A Boy & A Girl
15:22 Technical 6C slab climb
18:26 More Targasonne Classics

This video is all about outdoor boulders having a climbing staycation in Targasonne and the French Pyrenees. Featured climbers include Alex Tighe and Lucie Allard.

#climbingvlog #climbing #bouldering #staycation #targasonne #rockclimbing