The First V6 (7A) Boulder | Robert Paragot and The Joker

Perhaps the most powerful force in the early years of Fontainebleau bouldering history was the consistent changing of the guard. Every few years a new group would supplant the old, bringing new ideas, updated ethics, and stronger fingers. But when a brash group of climbers, formed from the best of several groups, the difficulty standards of the previous leaders, Pierre Allain's Convicts of Cuvier, were left in the dust. 

Led by Robert Paragot, a young climber who often wore only his PA's and his underwear and climbed while smoking a cigarette, this new group would do battle for several major projects, resulting in the world's first V6 (7A) boulder, The Joker. 

And just as suddenly as they'd shown up, they'd disappear from Cuvier. 

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

French Alpine Club Paris-Chamonix Bulletin

New York Times Herald 1948

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