By visiting Fontainebleau for over 400 times he created the biggest catalogue of Fontainebleau boulders: bleau.info and wrote multiple guidebooks. This gave him so much authority about this topic that even the French Bleausard accepted Bart van Raaij as the Dutch Bleausard.
In short
| Name | Bart van Raaij |
| Profession | Graphic designer, specialising in typography |
| Passion | Bouldering and Fontainebleau |
| Guidebook author | Author of multiple Fontainebleau guidebooks; 7+8 was his first |
| Boulder designer | Designer of the Blok op Zuid outdoor bouldering block in Rotterdam |
First steps into Fontainebleau
Bart first travelled to Font in the 1988. It was a whole other experience those days without the apps and topos. Imagine walking into the forest without knowing where to find the boulders and what kind of boulders to expect.Even though the forest welcomed climbers for over 80 years most of it was still unexplored.
From that point on Fontainebleau was his go to destination. Traveling 500 km from the Netherlands to climb a few days on the sandy rocks. Some years he would make this trip over 20 times. The crag Cuvier would be his most important spot, here he would climb his first 7a.
Bleau.info
In the 90ies Bart van Raaij would wander around this magical place looking for new 7a projects. Along this search for new climbs he would document his findings. Listing the projects and sends and where to find them. These lists became some kind of booklet at some point. Boulderers do they talk and the list appears many times. Talking with his fellow boulderers this list would be more and more admired. And even people would start asking for a copy of the list. Such that friends suggested to put it on the internet.
Jos Leenen and Adwin Timmer created direttissima.com in 1998. This was Bart’s list of boulder problems graded 7A and above. The site later merged with 7ableau.com becoming the combined database: Bleau.info. With the years passing the database grew with all possible grades and crags. Bart took over the database and rebuilt the website from scratch in 2016.
Topos
Bart continued to document the forest. Not only in database form but in topos/ guides. Using paper, compass, his own money and a lot of time walking and discovering the forest he designed and published multiple books.The first one was 7+8, documenting many boulders graded font 7a and higher. A big gamble as the market was small and he did not know if he would make his money back. Yet it was a fitting project as he is a graphic designer by trade.
The investment paid off, he published his first edition in 2002 and within three years he sold all the copies. So a revised edition appeared in 2007. Followed by a third edition in 2013 and a forth in 2016. In the 2008 crisis Bart was looking for ways to monetize his skill further. That is how he came to the idea of create new guides. Guides with easier climbs, and that is how the guides “5+6 part 1” and “5+6 part 2” originated, Two books as all of his findings would not fit in just one.
The French Bleausard did not take it easy on him. Bart van Raaij mentions that they regarded him in a distant way, making money off this sacred forest. Also accused him of using the site bleau.info for his books and publishing it. Not realising that Bart was the owner of that site. Tension was added when French climbers Sébastien Frigault and J.-Jacques Naëls published a guidebook named “Escalade à Fontainebleau”.
He is still thinking about guides to publish even easier climbs. So who knows, maybe the guides 1+2 and 3+4 will see the light some day…
Bart van Raaij Historian
These days with more competition taking over the market of topos he focusses on the history of Bleau. He is now collecting old maps, guidebooks and other materials that were used to navigate the forest. All this with the plan of writing a new book describing the history of Fontainebleau.
Ethics
Bart can’t deny that his lifes work writing guidebooks poses ethical dilemmas. On one hand he enjoys the idea that more people can find boulders and the joy of climbing. On the other hand he sees that more people are visiting Bleau and therefore nature has to pay the price.
He also advocates that not every boulder has to be climbed. As rock naturally would be covered with moss. This is often the first part of nature to pay the price, being removed to gain grip on the rock so that it can be climbed.
Bart van Raaij The Dutch Bleausard?
History tells us that in the past a Bleausard was to camp in the forest for a specific amount of nights or to be part of the group for a specific amount of time. Yet these days are over, and now with laws not being able to camp in the forest anymore and modern mode of transport to get in and out within a day these guidelines are gone.
So what makes a true Bleausard?
Is it the one who has spent 400 trips? Should the person be French? Climb a specific grade? Or a specific understanding of the forest?
Bart’s opinion is that a Bleausard should have an understanding of the forest, the sandstone and how to climb it, and a passion for climbing. In other words, thinking about it day and night.
“I don’t understand this problem.”
Bleausard
“I cannot do this problem”
Boulderer
According to Bart Fontainebleau-climbing is not all about strength. It’s about understanding friction, sandstone, weather conditions, body positioning and sequence. Therefore a true Bleausard can not say “I cannot do this problem” but would say “I don’t understand this problem”.
Bart van Raaij’s tips
If you ever would visit Fontainebleau, Bart would give you the following advice. Go to Bas Cuvier, Apremont, Isatis, Éléphant, Cul de Chien or Sabots these are busy for some reason… enough problems and circuits for every level. Yet if you dont mind walking a little more and have more privacy visit Rocher Canon, Cuisinière, Petit Bois, Buthiers, RocherGuichot, Potala, Canche aux Merciers and Bois Rond. Or if you want even more privacy and dont care about circuits: Gorges du Houx, Mont Aigu, Rocherd’Avon, Rocher des Demoiselles, Restant du Long Rocher, RocherGréau, Rocher Fin or Roche aux Oiseaux.
And if you ever feel like climbing a 8a, try Amok in Fontainebleau… The most finger friendly boulder at that level.
4 decades of climbing Fontainebleau
And still not finished. That is the magic and extent of Fontainebleau. Bart a true Bleausard even if he is not French but Dutch. He will endure as an example of passion for this beautiful forest and rocks that provides these playgrounds for adults.
Sources
- Written in Stone: Climbing History — Bart van Raaij interview — 2026 interview about Van Raaij’s climbing, Bleau.info, guidebooks and interest in Fontainebleau history. Watch the interview on YouTube
- Bleau.info — Fontainebleau bouldering database and information about its history and development. Bleau.info
- 7+8 / 5+6 — Van Raaij’s Fontainebleau guidebooks, including information about editions, coverage and the history of the guides. 7plus8.com
- Bart van Raaij — Personal website and graphic design portfolio. bart.vanraaij.net
- Norte Bouldering — Profile of Bart van Raaij and his work documenting Fontainebleau. Norte Bouldering interview
- Paschnampook — Article and photographs about the Boulderkei in Rotterdam. Paschnampook
- NKBV — Background on the outdoor bouldering block in Rotterdam and Van Raaij’s involvement. NKBV
- De Klim — Information about Blok op Zuid in Rotterdam, including its bouldering problems. De Klim — Blok op Zuid
- NKBV — Fontainebleau information and an interview/profile featuring Bart van Raaij and Joost Hofman. NKBV — Fontainebleau
- Climbing History — Profile and historical record for Bart van Raaij. Climbing History — Bart van Raaij