An unusual family trip of the Stráník brothers

3 min. 27. 02. 23

We don't need to introduce Martin and Štěpán Stráník. For many years they have belonged among the strongest and best Czech boulderers. This hasn't changed even when they both started a family. In the autumn, together with the family, they went to Fontainebleau for bouldering.

This whole trip is about countless attempts on hard boulders, but also about time spent on the rocks with the family. On a popular climbing YouTube channel called EpicTV, you can watch a short documentary about their autumn trip to Fontainebleau, where they went with their families and succeeded in topping a lot of hard routes.

Both brothers climbed a lot of really difficult routes and also left quite a few unfinished for next time. The most valuable climbs for both are definitely Opium 8A, Trojan War 8A and Ubik Assis 8B. Štěpán also climbed several valuable seven-grade ones. Martin then climbed Conviction 8A and added the local classic Mécanique Élémentaire 8B+.

The fact that my brother climbs better doesn't bother me at all, actually it motivates me.
Štěpán Stráník

Why Fontainebleau?

It is the cradle of bouldering and probably the world's most famous area for rock climbing enthusiasts.

The climbing area itself is located about 70 km southeast of Paris and consists of several different sectors spread around the village of the same name. Thousands of boulders of different grades can be found here, and the boulders on the local sandstone are suitable for everyone.