[Jaspersharpe]

JB you should go to Buoux. The valley is magical.

The climbing couldn't be further away from the "worship of power on shit bits of rock" that you describe. There is everything from single pitch thugish power routes, to slabs, to multi pitch cracks and soaring aretes. It is nothing like the modern sport climbing crags of Spain, you have to climb well to do the routes, many end up on slabs and the bolts can be miles apart. Hence why its not that popular now.

The whole valley is full of history, the fort on the ridge on the opposite side of the valley is amazing. Built in C13th and occupied until the late C16th when it was ruined during the wars.  There are also evidence of prehistoric man living there.

I guarantee you would be inspired.

This!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[slackline]

JB you should go to Buoux. The valley is magical.

The climbing couldn't be further away from the "worship of power on shit bits of rock" that you describe. There is everything from single pitch thugish power routes, to slabs, to multi pitch cracks and soaring aretes. It is nothing like the modern sport climbing crags of Spain, you have to climb well to do the routes, many end up on slabs and the bolts can be miles apart. Hence why its not that popular now.

The whole valley is full of history, the fort on the ridge on the opposite side of the valley is amazing. Built in C13th and occupied until the late C16th when it was ruined during the wars.  There are also evidence of prehistoric man living there.

I guarantee you would be inspired.

See Paul B's article in Climb from last year for more inspiration.

Only spent two days climbing at Buoux on our way to Verdon but thought it was brilliant.  Very true about the run-out slabs, freaked my mate out (not a good start to the trip considering where we were heading to!).  I even found a nice thrutchy crack/off-width to climb which mildly irritated my other mate who doesn't like that sort of thing.

[SA Chris]

We seem to be having a proper old skool overload at the minute, with the school re opening, Hubble being tired and failed on, Rose and the Vampire and now a malc interview.

Where's your lycra and fluoro wetsuit?

[Johnny Brown]

Yeah, sorry that wasn't aimed at Buoux, but the school/ Hubble etc nineties Sheffield power scene It's cool that Hubble is so hard, but I suspect the lack of repeats has something to do with it not being worth travelling for.

[Paul B]

I swear I've had the same debate with you before JB re: Buoux?

Buoux 2012 by travelswithmyt4, on Flickr

if that route isn't a strong enough sport line to entice you then you're not seeing clearly. Face Ouest has some truly outstanding lines and the Rose is simply iconic. The valley is lovely and the crag is fairly unique on the range of climbing it offers (in both size and style).

Anna looks utterly fluid on that route, the bottom (before the cross-through) is no give-away if you're short either.

...and you say that re: Hubble, but some rather strong (they're not shit either) contenders haven't quite managed it?

[tomtom]

JB you should go to Buoux. The valley is magical.

The climbing couldn't be further away from the "worship of power on shit bits of rock" that you describe. There is everything from single pitch thugish power routes, to slabs, to multi pitch cracks and soaring aretes. It is nothing like the modern sport climbing crags of Spain, you have to climb well to do the routes, many end up on slabs and the bolts can be miles apart. Hence why its not that popular now.

The whole valley is full of history, the fort on the ridge on the opposite side of the valley is amazing. Built in C13th and occupied until the late C16th when it was ruined during the wars.  There are also evidence of prehistoric man living there.

I guarantee you would be inspired.

I went to Boux after is been climbing for a year. I was shut down on most things and didn't climb much but it's a wonderful place. The wall the Rose goes up is magnificent.

[mrjonathanr]

JB you should go to Buoux. The valley is magical.



The whole valley is full of history, the fort on the ridge on the opposite side of the valley is amazing. Built in C13th and occupied until the late C16th when it was ruined during the wars.  There are also evidence of prehistoric man living there.

I guarantee you would be inspired.

Totally agree. On the trade route from Southern Spain to Mid Europe going back 1000s of years , earliest evidence of settlement maybe 5,000 years I was told. There's a story that catacombs with bodies - a necropolis- were discovered in the 50s..and the guy who explored them never came back from one foray. I believe the shafts in the cliff were for Huguenot refuges, the blocky cutaways used to hold the timber structure and when threatened they'd climb up inside and pull the ladder up after them.

Pierre Pessemesse is the authority if you could ever talk to him. Anthoine knows the history well, obviously. It's a special place.

[Johnny Brown]

Can I say a third time, Buoux looks great. The film didn't do a great job of showing that, that's all.

[Jaspersharpe]

I believe the shafts in the cliff were for Huguenot refuges, the blocky cutaways used to hold the timber structure

Bloody Huguenots. Coming over here, chipping, making it easier to get to La Plage and the Mauvais Sang belay. What's wrong with having to climb two pitches of choss? #Ukip

[dave]

Doubting transubstantiation.....

[fatdoc]

Best place I've ever climbed, for all the reasons stated above.

[GraemeA]

Brilliant! Best one yet.

I wandered along the bottom of the route in 94 looking up in awe and never seen anyone (in life or on film) climb it... what a route - big powerful moves, techy looking crux getting set up for the big move at the overlap...

I watched Sean Myles redpoint it back in 1987(?). In a thunderstorm. He was quite chuffed.

[shark]

Brilliant! Best one yet.

I wandered along the bottom of the route in 94 looking up in awe and never seen anyone (in life or on film) climb it... what a route - big powerful moves, techy looking crux getting set up for the big move at the overlap...

I watched Sean Myles redpoint it back in 1987(?). In a thunderstorm. He was quite chuffed.

On that trip with you I saw Jibe do the extension - Rage de Vivre.

He always seemed so cool and err French on the ground but when he clipped the chains he went absolutely berserk

[GraemeA]

That trip was a good one - it is when your nickname was born. And when you spat in the Brat's face 

[Nibile]

That trip was a good one - it is when your nickname was born.

More info please.

[SA Chris]

And when you spat in the Brat's face 

And on this please!

[GraemeA]

Shark was originally Sharky and it derives from me and Patta deciding Mr Lee was a bit pathetic. Hence he was a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathetic_Sharks

[GraemeA]

And when you spat in the Brat's face 

And on this please!

Sitting around the campsite one night the Brat was living up to his name and was spitting all over the place and was hitting people with it. Mr Shark just got up, strolled over to the Brat and gobbed in his face - the Brat stopped being a brat for the rest of the night. Waddage to the Shark.

[shark]

Sitting around the campsite one night the Brat was living up to his name and was spitting all over the place and was hitting people with it. Mr Shark just got up, strolled over to the Brat and gobbed in his face - the Brat stopped being a brat for the rest of the night. Waddage to the Shark.

Strictly speaking it was on his chest rather than his face. And he did have an anarok on.

He seemed to be testing us to see how far he could push things, first by having a piss right behind us then gobbing everywhere. The final straw for me was when he gobbed on Patta's leg. I was fully expecting a punch up but he just sloped off.

[rich d]

Who's the Brat?

[shark]

Who's the Brat?

Graeme Livingstone

[lagerstarfish]

totally off topic, but you just reminded me of this

  or 

[slackline]

[Davo]

 So ... No actual send of the route?

[slackline]

Didn't look like it to me, too cold and wet/icey, crag now closed until later in the year, hoping if conditions too warm to climb it in Autumn.