Climbs 40
Rocktype Gneiss
Altitude 234m a.s.l
Faces W
Chris Craggs on the pleasant La lune sur la montagne (4c) on Tower 1 at Fenouillet. © Sherri Davy
Something a little different, a gneiss crag in a 'gneiss' setting with a good spread of grades, and only minutes from the car. Although only a minor venue, its accessibility makes it worth including here. Some of the rock is a bit loose, but all the routes listed have been well cleaned and well-travelled. There is also some bouldering (mattresses in-situ) on the blocks passed on the way to the cliff.
The crags face pretty much all directions of the compass so sun and shade should always be available. The cliffs take no drainage so dry fast, though the trees around the crag base encourage humidity and insect life.
Fenouillet is situated on the crest of the hill of the same name, 3km north west of Hyères. This is 18km due east of the centre of Toulon and is most easily reached via the A570 motorway which branches southeast off the A57 heading for St. Tropez. Exit at junction 7, signed 'La Bayorre and La Crau'. Turn left over the motorway and then right onto the Route de Toulon. 1.5km along the Avenue de Toulon (Route de Toulon on its western end), just west of Hyères, a minor road (the Chemin du Fenouillet) turns northwards uphill. This is signed to 'Notre Dame Chapelle' (4km) and is to the right of the cake shop/bakery of 'Le Moulin de la Poterie'. The minor road weaves up to the top of the hill, where a left turn and undulating section of road leads to parking on a col. The towers with the routes on are northeast of the parking (back over your right shoulder), about 5 mins walk though the trees.
The last 1.5km of road to the crag is sometimes closed to cars in dry weather due to fire risk. There is a small parking spot just downhill from the barrier, if you're up to the walk. timhewison - 23/Jul/16 |
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