France a few suggestions please

[Serenity]

I have one or two days in Chamonix in July. What should I climb? Dent Du Geant comes to mind. I don't like to work hard, I just like checking shit out, so I'm not interested in Bonatti Pillar style suffering.

 

Then I have about 5 days in Cannes, Nice. Anyone know of some good limestone crags close by?

 

Thanks.

[NTM]

a few hours north of nice is ceuse, which is about as good of a limestone crag as you get. also, if you ehad along the coast back towards marseille you can hit up the calanques, some multi-pitch limestone comming right out of the sea (and some regualr cragging as well).

[Serenity]

WOW, that was fast! Thanks. I'll have to pull out my old copy of Masters of Stone with Ron Kauk climbing in those areas and check it out.

[NTM]

im sure there are some local crags just outside of those towns, but it would be rad to visit the well-known ones. also, ceuse is at a higher elevation, so it stays cooler in the summer than most other areas in S France.

[sobo]

Not only is Les Calanques some really cool climbing and close to town (you walk from the Cassis town square), but the fjords are "home" to many scantily clad college girls on vacation. Gaston would be proud of what his old stomping grounds have become!

[mattp]

If you really don't want to work hard, the classic south face of the Aiguille Midi is a moderate rock climb that is easily reached with a 20 minute walk from the tram. You walk downhill to the base of the climb and it tops out back at the station. It is great rock, has fantastic ambiance, and well worth it!

 

The Verdon Gorge has some of the most fun climbing anywhere and it is relatively family-friendly as most of the climbs are easily reached with a picnic basket and you can even stay within voice contact if you want but you get the thrills of being 1000 feet off the deck (you rap in from the top). Partners are easy to come by as you can just walk back and forth along the rim and easily see who is who. It is not too far from Nice but not right there.

[NTM]

cassis is def a fun town.

[crackers]

Then I have about 5 days in Cannes, Nice. Anyone know of some good limestone crags close by?

 

When? I've spent a few hundred days climbing down there, so tell me when you're going to be there and how hard you want to pull down. Will you have access to a car? Would you like to stay near the climbing? Sport or trad?

[Serenity]

G,

 

How's everything these days?

 

I'll be there (Nice) from the 1-7 of July, throwing in a day or two in Chamonix during that week, then 8-14th I'll be racing the MegAvalanche at Alpe D'Huez.

 

I'll send you an email and we can try and figure out a few times if you are going to be out there.

 

Good to hear from you!

 

M

[dbb]

about a 20 minute drive up into the hills from Nice is a town called Vence. A little further back you'll see the obvious "Baou de St. Jeannet". A big rock face about 500m(?) tall. There is lots of limestone cragging (trad & bolts) at the base. I've heard that there is also at least a 5.9 route up the Baou (I'm sure there are lots of routes). Hiking up the backside of the Baou is also fun. I think that area is probably the closest cragging to Nice proper... and the beaches in Cagnes sur Mer are a bit nicer IMO.