A week in St Etienne
by overflow50
St Etienne is not the most charming of cities. The lonely planet describes it as "dreary" and that its only redeeming feature is the art gallery!
Luckily Damo and Mylenne (sp?) and their kitten Racket (sp?) are great company and it turns out there is a surprising amount to do just out of town.
Georgia and Damo spent a day at Presles a 2 and a bit hour drive, while I came across on the train (Georgia trained over while I was on the Tour Ronde), then we went back together the next day. Presles is the most impressive cliff I have seen in a while - something like 300 multipitch sport(ish) routes up to 250m long. Its wild (and thanks to Damo for rope gunning us up!).
The next few days we spent sport climbing at the local crag, 10 mins from St Etienne and doing the local via ferrata, oh and teasing the cat!
