Southern France climing?

[ken4ord]

So it looks like that I will be in southern France in early October for a week or week and half, (keep that in mind TimL). So I am looking for suggestion on places that will still be good for climbing that time of year? Also let me know where there is some nice inns to stay at, will be travelling with my gf's parent so we are not dirt bagging it? And finally any suggestions on guide books that cover that area, like a select guide or something like that?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[sobo]

Ken,

Head to Les Calanques, Gaston Rebufat's old stompin' grounds, about a 20-minute train ride outside of Marseilles. Stay in the little seaside town of Cassis. It's about a 4-klick walk from the train station into town. The rocks are about a 10-minute walk from the downtown square. There is a great 2-star hotel right around the corner from the main square that was dirt-ass cheap, even over the May Day holiday (about 5 years ago). I would have to go look up the name in my travel journal for that trip, if you wanted it.

 

I also have a guidebook to Les Calanques, but it's in French. I have enough of a grasp of Italian that I was able to use it to find and get up a few choice routes. Grading system is Euro, so bone up on those numbers!

 

Let me know if you want the name of the hotel and/or if you want to borrow the guide (used only once! ).

[Ade]

Some of the rocks are 10 minutes from the square. The En Vau is a bit further and used to be accessed by boat from the Cassis harbour. En Vau is pretty impressive - narrow gorge lots of big routes.

 

We camped in the gorge but even then it wasn't allowed, already full of dobbers. I suspect by now that wouldn't be such a great idea. You could take the boat from town every morning.

 

I was there a long time ago so things might have changed. Did you go to En Vau sobo? Seems like they've developed more climbing in the last 15 years.

[sobo]

Ade,

I'm not sure where I climbed, but I'm guessing from your description of En Vau's access that I didn't go there. I remember walking through the main square, passing along the waterfront road past the pricier lodgings, getting on the trail system at the northwest edge of town, and dropping down into the gorges and wandering around until I found things I could reasonably solo without killing myself. My wife (fiance' back then) went painting and so I was left without a partner, and I couldn't hook up with the local guide after several tries. A quick check of my guidebook tonight will tell me where I was.

 

<aside> What are those wierd stone foundations with no roofs on them that are all over the hillside outside of town for?

[Stuart]

Where abouts are you going in France? I know you're going to the south, but it's still a large area. There are a couple of english guide books, I think. There's an enormous guide published by Jingo Wobbly?!?!(I think that's right) to most of France, and will probably have a load of stuff I've never heard of. If you've never seen it, then Verdon is high up on my list of things I'd just go to see. It's big, but October may not be a good time to do any climbing. Probably snow, but there are some short bolted crags aroung there too. Basically enjoy. There's rock bloody everywhere in that country!

[Matt_Anderson]

Les Calanques does kick ass. I stayed in Cassis for 2 weeks 5 years ago and climbed almost entirely in Les Calanque with a few days at Buoux. I posted about the Calanques a while ago. Check out this thread. My post is at the bottom of the page.

 

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/s...=true#Post37914

 

I recall climbing at a cliff quite near the town of Cassis, probably walking distance. My recollection is that it was the least compelling cliff that I climbed on my two week trip in France (It wasn't horrible, but there are a whole bunch of truly amazing cliffs further from town). I would encourage you to go further afield.

 

There is (or was) a guidebook called Les Calanques which I imagine you could find without to much trouble on the web. Enough in it to keep you busy for a year.

 

 

Check out http://www.cosiroc.org for more information.

[sobo]

...There is (or was) a guidebook called Les Calanques which I imagine you could find without to much trouble on the web. Enough in it to keep you busy for a year...

 

I have that guide. Green cover, right?

 

You can borrow it, Ken.

[mattp]

I think the Verdon Gorge is probably the most fun cragging I've ever done. Nearly all the climbs are accessed from the top and you drop onto big air right off the get-go. The Scenery is fantastic and, while it is high enought that October could be cold, it was too hot when I was last there in September, about ten years ago. Here's a picture of my partner, Gerhardt, shot from the tourist viewpoint at the top.

 

[ken4ord]

Yeah keep it coming folks. Damn I for got about Verdon Gorge. I have always wanted to go there since I heard about it. The plan so far is to fly into Paris, then head down to Toulouse for a week on a barge tour, then spend a week in the Pyrenes somewhere making our way to Bayonne, then back to Paris to finish up our vacation. So the areas that we will be in for the Pyrenes will be from the middle to the west.

 

Sobo, I would love to borrow your book, but it is probably easier for me to buy one, especially since I am in Rwanda right now.

[mattp]

In the case of the Verdon, and the Calanques, we're talking about southeastern France. But there's plenty of great climbing in the Massif Central and in the Pyrenees there are some huge rock climbs. Also, as mentioned already, there are smaller crags all over the place. About ten years ago, I spent a few weeks near Carcasonne, in southwestern France, and we rented a real cool 17th century house in a 10th century village for a week or two. Damn if there wasn't a limestone climbing area out behind an old monestary right on the edge of town! I knew nothing of it until we got there.

 

If you play your cards right, you ought to be able to combine pleasure with business. I took my girlfriend, who is now my wife, to the Verdon and I hopped on somebody's rope for a pitch or two and then we drove accross the valley to find a cool looking hill town that we saw from the top of the crag. When we got there we found, on the pinnacle above the town, an old unmarked ruin of a castle which made a spectactular picnic spot.

[sobo]

Ken:

The name of the 2/3-star hotel just south of the main town square is Le Laurence. We had a room on the 4th floor that gave us a view out the back up at the old castle on the hill. We also had a WC with a shower (that actually had hot water) in the room for 300F (~$50 back then) for two nights for two peeps. A pretty good deal.

 

The local guide’s name is Jose, and he has (had?) his shop set up on one of the main streets into the square in a tree-climbing/arborist’s shop with a guy named Stefan, who speaks English very well. I don’t have their phone number anymore. You should be able to find them in the phone book.

 

And you’re prolly right about the guide. I knew you were “down south and out west”, but I thought you might be coming back through the PNW to hook up with others before the trip, but I guess not.

 

Ade:

I looked at the guide last night, and I did in fact climb in the area of the Calanque d’En Vau, the Vallon de Cadeiron, and around the Port-Pin area. I apparently forgot how long it took to get there. The guidebook tells me that it’s 5K from the “parking area” to the climbs. I seem to remember it took only a few minutes. Mebbe my brain has faded and my recollections have been dulled over the years. Time just seemed to go so much faster back then...

[ken4ord]

So you guys have any info for the Southwestern side of France. So far it has been some great info and I am sort of leaning for the Medeterrain side, especially after doing a little more readig on it.

 

Thanks for the guide book suggestion, I'll have to look those up.