[AJM]

So how worthwhile are the Fr7s there?

I know, to start, that the cliff isn't overendowed with them and that it's an 8/9 cliff. But basically at fairly short notice I'm going to be without work and in terms of things to do in that time there's an established trip psyched for Devers that I could maybe join, and given the weather at the minute there's a certain appeal to being somewhere warm and sunny as opposed to at home.

So basically, are any of the Fr7s worthwhile in there own right, or are they short pointless wastes of time which only have anchors there to simplify getting down from other routes? How long are we talking, and are they of any quality...?

Failing that, are any of the other sectors that are more suitable near enough to make them combinable with Devers on the same day without faff?

All beta welcomed!

Andy

[JohnM]

Not the greatest crag for 7s!  I did a 7b+ on the right hand side which was excellent and a 7b which was also good but revolved around a very hard boulder problem.  The short 7s that people warm up on the left are pretty poor.  However, Mesa Verde has quite a few excellent 7s and can be combined with a day at Deverse (Deverse being a morning crag and Mesa Verde coming good in the afternoon.  The other crag I visited in the gorge was Jurassic Park which had an excellent 7a+ on the left hand side and a really good overhanging 7b+ on the right on tufas.  The 7b section of the crag classic Diplodocus is also good but hard.

Topos here if you haven't found them yet http://www.philippegatta.fr/climbing/deverse2.htm
 

[Serpico]

At Deversé there's not a huge amount - a tough 7b and an even tougher 7c (mechanik Destruktiv Kommando), but they're both worth doing, if you don't mind sharing your redpoint project with the 14yr old girls who want to warm up on it. There's also a couple of Malham-esque (short and crimpy) 6c's with topropes in-situ. If you walk a little further on you get to secteur AJP which has some great 7's, although with the occasional bit of loose rock.
A few minutes drive from Deversé is Mesa Verde which gets the shade in the afternoon and is by a river - so generally cool. This has a good spread of Kilnsey-esque  ~20m 7's. A good combo is to go to Deversé in the morning then Mesa in the afternoon. Because of it's particular aspect Deversé is in the sun for a couple of hours around mid afternoon, but it's never as good condition when it goes back into shade.
There's also Jurassic Park, but I've yet to climb there.

[Stu Littlefair]

As well as Jurassic Park, Cayenne is amazing for grade 7s, having some of the best in the Gorge.

Note that the team you're going with needs to be psyched for split days as Mesa Verde, Cayenne and JP all have 20-30 minute walk-ins, so you're not going to be flitting from sector to sector.

At Deverse itself, I'd say there's about 4 grade 7s worth doing on the RHS, and Mecanik in the middle.

[AJM]

Thanks guys, that gives me some good info to mull over. Sounds like whilst it's not the perfect crag for me there are a few decent routes to go at - to be honest a half dozen mid to high 7s should keep me occupied for a while, and if the late afternoon conditions at Devers are deemed poor (or if we get out of sync on rest days so we have days of belaying as rest) there's lots of good stuff nearby...

Andy

[Serpico]

From memory walking to AJP from Deversé was similar to walking from Comedy to North Buttress at Kilnsey, maybe less, they're essentially the same sector.

[abarro81]

Stu, did you have a look at the 8c link at Jurassic (total minus)? Look good?

[Stu Littlefair]

No. And I don't know (see first part of answer)