The History of Fontainebleau Bouldering Circuits
Bouldering began as a way to train for the mountains, but by the mid 1940s in Fontainebleau, it had started to form it's own identity. A Bleausard named Fred Bernick had an idea that would continue the tradition of preparing for those mountain routes: Circuits. He laid out the first two, and inspired by a piece of Fontainebleau history from the late 1800s, he marked them with painted arrows.
They were instantly popular. 80 years later, there are over 370 of Bernick's circuits.
Support the restoration of Fontainebleau: https://www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-projets/sauvons-la-foret-de-fontainebleau-/105641
REFERENCES:
Fontainebleau: 100 ans d'escalade by Gilles Modica and Jacky Godoffe
French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs Documentation Center
French National LIbrary, Le Bleausard and La Montagne Magazines
The American Alpine Club Library https://americanalpineclub.org/library
Alpinist Magazine #12
