French sport climbing in August

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 Theo Moore 13 Jul 2022

My partner and I are going to France in the van in August. We're looking for sport climbing areas that are going to be cool enough to climb at in the heat.

We're looking for 6s and 7s, mainly single pitch but with some multi-pitching too. We're looking for well bolted crags without anything too spicy, which is why Ceuse is off the menu. Also happy to go to e.g the Alps but don't want to do anything that requires crampons etc.

So far I've been recommended Le Boffi and  La Saume. Has anyone got any recommendations? Also any good places to visit for swimming and general holidaying are greatly appreciated.

 GDes 13 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

I can only imagine boffi being pretty roasting in August. I'd head to briancon/vallouise/rue des masques area, with a quick visit to ceuse 

 Strife 13 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

I don't recall the bolting at Ceuse being spicy at all.

Sisteron has a lot of shade - might be viable.

 Climber_Bill 13 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

The North Face of Saint Léger is in the shade, only a 5 minute walk in and a great river with swimming spots between the car park and crag.

Possibly not enough in the 6's, but lots in the 7's.

I have climbed there in late July and it was hot, but fine in the shade.

Further down the valley is the Gorges du Toulourenc with a lot more 6's and more great swimming spots.

SD.

 mrjonathanr 13 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

I have climbed a lot in the Verdon in August. It’s hot, damn hot, but dry. You can start at 3pm, get going by 4, climb till 9-10.

 ZacMoss 13 Jul 2022
In reply to Strife:

I was under the impression that the bolting at Ceuse was famously spicy.

Post edited at 18:49
5
 dinodinosaur 13 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

I recently went to  Gorges du Tarn the bolting is slightly spaced but never worrying as you always end up on good holds with a bolt within reach and don't have to do the grip clip. It's much better in the high 6s and 7s. There seemed to be a lot of shade to he found if you were willing to climb at the ends of the days depending on which crag you went to and you could also join the trip up with  Le Boffi or  Gorges de la Jonte 

Edit: if you stay at the campsite la blaquiere (think that's how it's spelled) there is a river running though it and a private beach so you can swim.There seemed to be paddlers going down the river all day and some sort of kayak/Boat hire going on further upstream 

Post edited at 19:45
 seankenny 13 Jul 2022
In reply to mrjonathanr:

> I have climbed a lot in the Verdon in August. It’s hot, damn hot, but dry. You can start at 3pm, get going by 4, climb till 9-10.

Yikes! What’s it like on the evening shade, temperature-wise?

For the OP: Ceuse bolting is as spicy as cauliflower cheese. 

In reply to Theo Moore:

Hi Theo,

Around Briançon will suit your needs loads of sports climbing and multi pitch (none alpine)

Lots of crags that are north facing or high up. 

Rather Gafouille, Les Ayes, Fessourier, grand bois, Tournoux, rif d'oriol, most of the conglomerate around mont dauphin, plus there are a few more and some new crags in the latest guidebook.

La Saume is great but its a long trek to get to, a 4x4 is a big advantage and there aren't many 6's on the main wall, the wall with a most 6's on isn't that great. 

Briancon Climbs is the guidebook for the area.

there are a few lakes to swim in, waling, Via Ferrata and some world heritage site to visit.

Cheers 

 mrjonathanr 13 Jul 2022
In reply to seankenny:

I couldn’t tell you that, realistically. High 20s maybe? There’s an updraft that starts blowing up the cliff late afternoon/evening as temps cool.

 spidermonkey09 13 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

Alright Theo, agree that Briancon fits the bill well. Rue de Masques and Mont Dauphin are both shady with good 6s and 7s. The guide is good but don't even consider a crag unless it has 3 stars in the guide, there is a lot of a choss among the good stuff. Latelier is an amazing crag but no good 6s there, some really good 7s though.

The hill I will die on is that ceuse bolting is totally fine and everyone who says otherwise is going on reputation rather than reality! Others will obviously disagree but there are some really good 6s and 7s there with very good bolting. If you've been and think I'm chatting shit then feel free to ignore obviously!  

 Lhod 13 Jul 2022
In reply to ZacMoss:

> I was under the impression that the bolting at Ceuse was famously spicy.

True for a small number of classic routes (e.g. La Femme Noire) but for the vast majority the bolting is very reasonable

 mrjonathanr 14 Jul 2022
In reply to spidermonkey09:

> The hill I will die on is that ceuse bolting is totally fine and everyone who says otherwise is going on reputation rather than reality! 

i haven’t been to Céuse in a long time but all the Cascade routes were very safely bolted when I was there.

 James Malloch 14 Jul 2022
In reply to spidermonkey09:

> The hill I will die on is that ceuse bolting is totally fine and everyone who says otherwise is going on reputation rather than reality! Others will obviously disagree but there are some really good 6s and 7s there with very good bolting. If you've been and think I'm chatting shit then feel free to ignore obviously!  

This is my view too. Some of the old routes on Berlin are definitely run out. But stuff on Demi-Lune, Sur Pont de le infinity, Grand Face (especially the new routes) are very well bolted. 
 

It’s not as “nice” as many places in Spain etc and when I went to Briancon just after Ceuse the bolts were definitely closer, but that didn’t make Ceuse bad.

But what I would say is that for someone who isn’t comfortable leading it is definitely a bit more intimidating even if it’s not that different.

OP Theo Moore 14 Jul 2022
In reply to James Malloch:

Thanks everyone there's some really useful suggestions in there and I've added them all to the list.

It sounds like Briancon Climbs is the guide to get for the Briancon area. There's also the 3 Rockfax guides: Ariege, Haute-Provence and Languedoc-Rousillon (which I'll get for free). As we'll be travelling down to the Ariege too are there any other guides people recommend for there, places on the way, or France in general? 

 seankenny 14 Jul 2022
In reply to mrjonathanr:

> I couldn’t tell you that, realistically. High 20s maybe? There’s an updraft that starts blowing up the cliff late afternoon/evening as temps cool.

So it’s hot but okay for climbing, not too sweaty on those little pockets? I’ve been three times and it was at the colder end of spring or autumn each time, with more rain than I’d like. I’m keen to go again but couldn’t manage if it was super hot.

 racodemisa 14 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

The new Briancon topo outlines the new developments at the Simoust sector in the Rue des Masques area.This  has some of the best quality rock on the cliff .Great pitches from 5+ to about 8a (20-40m)

Post edited at 11:17
OP Theo Moore 14 Jul 2022
In reply to racodemisa:

Great, is this in the Briancon Climbs guide or elsewhere?

 Ram MkiV 14 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

> As we'll be travelling down to the Ariege too are there any other guides people recommend for there, places on the way, or France in general? 

In addition to the Rockfax guide, there are free topos here: http://cafma.free.fr/index.htm for all Ariege crags.  Not user friendly but a really valuable resource.

The Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val crags could be good on the way down.  https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/roc_danglars-2078/ is a big north facing bastion of a crag, good option in summer.  Reputation as hard (particularly for onsighting) and polished, I thought it was brilliant.

Probably not a helpful comment but August is the worst month to be in France for my money.  Everywhere is too hot and busy.  UK mountains and sea cliffs better option.

 racodemisa 14 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

Yes in the 2022 edition

 mrjonathanr 17 Jul 2022
In reply to seankenny:

hi Sean, it has been a fair few years so I would ask someone with recent experience of August conditions tbh. My experience is that it’s very hot, but climbing early or late is okay. A lot depends on your tolerance of heat and which crags you want to visit, or just stick to escalès which is 90% of my climbing in the Verdon. I expect someone like jwi may have more up to date info if you ask him.

 Gary Gibson 21 Jul 2022
In reply to ZacMoss:I have done quite a bit there up to 7b and I found the bolts spaced in places but there are some easier that aren’t as bad:

I now St Leger very well, some of the people I know bolted it and the south side is ok in the shade

 shaunhumphreys 22 Jul 2022
In reply to ecrinscollective:

Just an update on this for Theo that we were at la Saume a few weeks back, was easy to drive up to the top parking in a van (so fine in any other car presumably) not sure if its changed but its just a bit gravely, nothing too bad. makes the walk in ~ 30 mins 

 MischaHY 22 Jul 2022
In reply to Theo Moore:

Ailefroide is what you're looking for. Park the van in the lovely 'wild' campsite and no need to move it again for the entire trip. Easy walk-in approaches to all the crags with a mix of multis and single pitch on perfect granite. Really nice bolting and great vibes when chilling out. A small choice of local eateries and loads of other psyched climbers. It's mega! 

In contrast Verdon (possibly my fave place in the world) is absolutely disgusting - boiling hot, loads of mosquitos and the majority of the good easy access single pitch is either hard or in the sun. NOT recommended (go back in mid Sept/Oct when it will have transformed into a mind-blowingly beautiful place to climb 😍)


New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...