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Ceuse Route Recommendations.....7b - 8a+ (Read 10616 times)

north_country_boy

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Ok, heading to Ceuse for most of August, first time, having been a stones throw away twice and never been  :-[

Anyway, want to get as much done as possible to get fit for return to UK (hopefully Kilnsey, Malham & LPT will still be dry in September!) but would also like to do the 'classics & must do's' between 7b - 8a+

Already got a list of stuff myself, but would like the opinions of others....so hit me with your top 5 or ten, or 20 routes....  :please: cheers in advance....

Ru

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Not 10 routes, but some to do and some to miss - in my opinion.

Petit Illusion, 7a+, yes I know it's not 7b, but one of the best 7a+s anywhere. Awesome.
Super Mickey, 7b, on everyone's tick list, and a classic but I hated it. Polished, uneven, horrible crux and a massive queue when you'll be there. Stay away.
Ananda, 7a, the warmup on Cascade. You'll do this whether I recommend it or not, but it's quite good anyway.
Berlin, 7c, the best 7c+ (sic), or maybe the best pitch, I've ever done.
Galaxy, 7b+, bloc start (not to hard, then easy (7a) jug pulling up the groove. After the start it's the easiest of the big Berlin style routes, so you can just enjoy the ace holds and being on the perfect water streak without the redpoint/onsight angst of the others here.
Blocage Violent, 7b+, amazing continuous climbing on perfect holds on the left side of Berlin. Usually has clips in it so a good one to try and onsight. If 7b+ is near your onsight limit, wait till near the end of the trip till you have the Ceuse fitness (do and move, shake a hand, do a move, shake a hand). No real crux (some vaguely harder moves near the ground) and easy to read.
Ami de tout le Monde, 8b, just outside the grades you wanted, but really really good. 3 bloc sections one after another (about V8 to a 3 finger pocket, V3 to a massive rest, V4/5 to a flat jug) then just when you are getting pumped the redpoint crux up a series of big but slopey pockets, then a final 25 ft of what are basically all jugs but you're a little pumped by this point... Exactly what a sport route should be, technical, powerful, a nice rest, a locky bit, a bit where your feet cut loose, jug hauling and more. Amazing.
Bibendum, 7b+, a daft start hanging on the first bolt (bouldering it out bumps the grade to 7c-8a+ depending on who you ask, it's about 7c/+) then buckets through a roof and headwall. Not done it but some people love it.
Rosanna, 8a, massive, a long way, but the top is alledgedly easy. Bloc at start, then another higher up, then jugs to top. Not done it but it's on the list this time. Looks ace.
Any route on Cascade left of Super Mickey, 7c-8a ish. Mostly identical jug pulling, but good.
Any route on Berlin left of Petit Illusion, 7c-8b. All great, mostly following perfect water streaks with lovely holds. Pumpy as fuck, and more technical than Cascade. The classic is Coleur du vent, 8a, but I've not done it.
Collonnettes, 7c+, 8a if you start from the deck (why do they do this??) for when you get bored of pockets.

See you there maybe? I may be spending most of august there too, but not definite yet.

Bonjoy

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I may be spending much of August there also!  :bounce:.

north_country_boy

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Great recommendatiosn Ru, just what I was after....individual opinion rather than popularity from the masses!

Will be there from 12th (-ish) of August till the (6th -ish)of Sept with Little Rob, the missus and a couple of others hopefully, will most likely see yourself and Bonjoy no doubt!

Heard good things about Rosanna, and its high on my list of stuff to do!

abarro81

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Berlin is def frickin ace. and bonus if Ru thinks it might be worth 7c+ cos then i've climbed half a grade harder than i thought i had!
lapinerie (7b) is worth doing with a fun move at the top though overall its not amazing compared to some other stuff there.
dont bother with monzob sur mer at the RH of berlin, its pretty lame with just one hard sequence
i thought super mickey was fun, but that might just be because i'd never climbed steepness with the biggest pockets in the world before i did it so it felt new and exciting
angel dust is nice too
other than that i cant comment much cos i didnt climb very much above 7b when i was there.
oh, makach walou (sp) is good too, (though i didnt actually manage it clean)

Paul B

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The first route that popped into my head was Rosana! I think Ru's list is a good one, Alabama a relatively new 7b+ at cascade is quite good (a bit more british for when you get sick of jug hauling), There was also a new 8a right of super mickey with a big slap to a giant hold, the name escapes me.
Shouldn't Carte Blanche and Carte noir be on that list? Only done the easier of the two which was fantastic. St George picos (is that the right one?) in between the berlin and biography area up the very obvious blue streak at around 7b+?

north_country_boy

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Carte Blanche is on the list....

Doylo

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Rosanna's good but not as nicely sustained as most of the others on cascade having one cruxy section. Its sposed to be hard for the grade but this could be bollocks. Ah ceuse its been a while! Carte Blanche is friggin excellent and so is Latome de Savoie another 8a.

Somebody's Fool

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On a 7b+ tip, I thought Changement de Look was brilliant.  It's somewhere near Ladies Black and White and well worth seeking out.

saltbeef

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I'll second that, changement mega. as for thje top of galaxy being 7a, not a chance. i'd piss the bottom, the crux and then die in a lactic acid bath near the top. if you have board strong rat crimp fingerrs do violent illuson at cascade. its v8/+ then a 7aplus to the top.  you'll earn the respect of your peers and the crag. face de rat looks incredible. blocage is awesome, petit illuson is ace, zagreb is the best 6c you'll ever do. san georges pecos is ace. queue de rat is filth. apparently mackach walou is amazing. bibendum is great, do it, mainly cos the holds are amazing, then when you strip it you get the best swing at ceuse!
ceuse is ace, 2nd best crag in the world.

Ru

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ceuse is ace, 2nd best crag in the world.

That's what I'm talking about! I guess that makes Taipan 3rd.

abarro81

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what's first??

Ru

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its v8/+ then a 7aplus to the top. 

I've also heard it's V10 then a 7c to the top - it probably depends who you ask. I'll have my own opinion depending on how fast I do it.

SA Chris

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On a 7b+ tip, I thought Changement de Look was brilliant.  It's somewhere near Ladies Black and White and well worth seeking out.

Is that the one with the black streak on it.

Zagreb is good, also the place of my largest whipper ever.

Doylo

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its v8/+ then a 7aplus to the top. 

I've also heard it's V10 then a 7c to the top - it probably depends who you ask. I'll have my own opinion depending on how fast I do it.

Haven't done it but know a few folk who have and they say 7c an 7b+ to the top.

Somebody's Fool

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I've heard from certain quarters that it's V9. And that it guards 'the biggest set of fucking jugs I've ever climbed up.'  Don't know if that's a route grade, technically speaking.


Paul B

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If you do choose to have a pop be aware that the whole of the cascade will stop to watch in order to determine whether or not the crux is indeed 7a or 7c and how big those jugs are on the romp to the chains.

In all seriousness, the crimps do sound to be a bit sharp and nasty from what i've heard so maybe its not one to jump onto right at the start of a road trip/holiday.

Jerry Morefat

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On  a related subject, i am heading out to ceuse on tues and am planning to hitch to cuese from gap (worked quite well a couple of years ago). However, think I will be arriving in gap quite late, maybe too late to hitch, so was wondering if anyone knew of a campsite in gap and where abouts it is in relation to the train station? Cheers in advance for any beta.

Paul B

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Sorry don't know about any campsites, I got there pretty late one time and I ended up getting a taxi up to the campsite, it wasn't too pricey but then there was a couple of us.

nash1

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Cascade routes are all very fun, Vagabond and Corps Etranger are the ones I've done, steep pockets at the start then pumpy pockets after that, onsightable if you have the stamina. Berlin routes are major stamina time, Berlin is amazing, piss easy to dog, nails nails nails to string together if you don't have the pump! Demi Lune routes are a bit more ameanable, less steep, fingery for the harder routes, Femme Noir and Femme Blanche look very very nice, long slings on the bolts seems to be the way to go.
The two 7b+s Wounded Knee and Sitting Bull are very onsightable, good climbing as well. A few 7a's either side of them as well to get your fingers going.
Grand Face is worth a day, nice to get to the top once in a while!
Heard that Realization is a jugpath as well, go for it!

Paul B

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Grand Face is worth a day, nice to get to the top once in a while!

I'd have to disagree with this - the routes are quite dirty in places and not of the same quality as those mentioned above.

whispering nic

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Ru's list is good, but I would add Femme Noir, Carte Blanche, Changement de Look, Cent Patates, Au Sud de Nul Part, and I would scrub Super Mickey which is the biggest pile of *hite and would not be out of place in the Peak. Roseanna is OK but not in the same league as the classic 7c+s on Cascade like Privilege, Mirage etc. More votes for 7c+ for Berlin, no question about it's quality. You simply have to do it along with Petite Illusion and Blocage, stamina climbing doesn't get any better!

Doylo

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and I would scrub Super Mickey which is the biggest pile of *hite and would not be out of place in the Peak.

bloody hell i wouldn't go that far!

ding dong

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beau movement.. (sp?)is a great visual line, the 7a+ and 7b+ imediately left (both felt like 7b to me) are long and interesting.

the colonettes are wild, one of my favourites, varried, can't believe how long some of the continuations are around there, its amazing!

pete D

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There's a route called Makhnovtchina at the Grand Face sector that should definately make your top ten.  I think it gets 7b in the guide but it felt more like hard 7b+ to me.  At time, I remember thinking it was the best sport route I'd ever done!  It's got a beautiful crux section using an arete/corner.  I doubt it gets much attention because it's a long way from the other sectors but it's a great place to escape the crowds if it's busy.

 

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