[Ged]

Just been reading about the re-opening of Buoux Ouest.  Sounds brilliant.  Does anyone know how to get hold of a topo of this sector, and anyone climbed there much and have any particularly good routes to rave about?  Off there in a couple weeks

cheers

ged

[RichK]

An old guide (circa 1990) will get u started. Apparently there's a new topo on the FFME website with existing & new lines.

I haven't managed to find it yet

By all accounts t its awesome.....Off there in March so if you have any success can u post here Ged.

[Jaspersharpe]

Do you like slab cruxes? If so you'll love it. 

One recommendation is La Force Tranquille - 7c+ (think it got 7c in some guides but this is Buoux). Really good technical climbing without such a horrific slab finish as some of the others. In fact, the hard climbing finishes once it slabs out and the rest of the route is about 6a which seems a bit pointless when redpointing (in true 1989 style we lowered off instead of rambling up the slab).

We also watched Raboutou try to onsight it, take a massive lob and nearly deck out (watch out for the "sporting" bolting although this may have been changed with the re-equipping obviously). He wasn't happy and flounced off in a sulk when Smythe tried to ask him what grade he though it was.

Territoire de Fièvre (7c+) and Elixir de Violence the 8a next to it are both awesome but don't be fooled by thinking the steep pocket pulling is a bit easy for the grade, they both "start" at the last bolt, particlarly Elixir.

Nuit du Lezard (8a+) is also amazing but also has a fucking nasty sting in the tail. I watched a Czech guy fall off the slab (and even the final polished mantel) four or five times before he did it (in the shittest old pair of glued together Sportivas I've ever seen).

Have fun, it's an amazing bit of crag.

[Nike Air]

Just been reading about the re-opening of Buoux Ouest.  Sounds brilliant.  Does anyone know how to get hold of a topo of this sector, and anyone climbed there much and have any particularly good routes to rave about? 

Where abouts have you read about this? We are off there in march and keen to check it out.
Also anybody know anything about Loumourin(sp?) being unbanned now?

[Ged]

http://www.planetmountain.com/english/news/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=37392

Cheers for the routes.  Will go for a look.  I couldn't see a topo on there, but will keep searching, and will report back after we get back

Ged

[mrjonathanr]

It rather depends on what grade you climb at... but seconding Jasper, Territoire de Fièvre is a must (2 routes really, ~steepish 7a, technical 7b+). Left of it L'homme programme is 8a going on 7a (really overgraded). I always fancied first pitch of (but didn't make any progress on) Les Mains Sales 8a+, add in the 7c roof for the 8b tick. L'Empire des Sens further left toward the road always intrigued me (7c) but the classic 7a of the crag is the corner of Le Loir (The dormouse) which apparently lived in the large pocket on the crux. Never met it though..

Face Ouest

Foreground to back- think Dale's on Territoire, Chris Griffith on Elixir and unknown finshing crux of Le Loir. Nuit du Lezard on pillar just beyond, Les Mains Sales roof just visible up and behind that, Force Tranquille on pillar/slab beyond  out of sight. I took the photo standing under L'Homme Pr. They all had names painted onto the rock btw, no doubt still do.

Hi RichK,   sorry not been in touch but been injured since Sept 09 in one form or another. Will recover eventually, and this point is for you too:
March is when adders tend to wake after the winter. I'm told they sleep in nests so when they stir can be numerous. Was there years ago with Fatdoc and Ste Earnshaw and suddenly we noticed loads of adders underfoot. I hopped onto the old fence and nearly died of laughter (not venom) as they grappled with each other trying to escape. Honestly, very funny and no-one got bitten. When you go there I'd choose boots, not sandals. Just a thought.

[Wood FT]

Where abouts have you read about this? We are off there in march and keen to check it out.
Also anybody know anything about Loumourin(sp?) being unbanned now?
[/quote]


is that the wet weather crag? looks a wee bit like kilnsey? May be old information now but it was still banned as of last May, however the bloke in the climbing shop obviously noted our depressed rain faces and printed us off a hand drawn topo on the sly. There was a big group of Czech climbers there when we went and I think it may be some sort of bird ban. Realising now this hasn't been much help  ???

[JC]

Also anybody know anything about Loumourin(sp?) being unbanned now?

I was in that area in August last year and we asked at the climbing shop in Lourmarin about the crag being banned. The girl told us that some climbers had recently been charged 250 euros for climbing on it.   ???

Get yer self to Orgon if you've never been before. Thats a good wet weather crag. Brilliant old school climbing and even more roadside than Raven Tor is! 

[fatdoc]

It rather depends on what grade you climb at... but seconding Jasper, Territoire de Fièvre is a must (2 routes really, ~steepish 7a, technical 7b+). Left of it L'homme programme is 8a going on 7a (really overgraded). I always fancied first pitch of (but didn't make any progress on) Les Mains Sales 8a+, add in the 7c roof for the 8b tick. L'Empire des Sens further left toward the road always intrigued me (7c) but the classic 7a of the crag is the corner of Le Loir (The dormouse) which apparently lived in the large pocket on the crux. Never met it though..

Face Ouest

Foreground to back- think Dale's on Territoire, Chris Griffith on Elixir and unknown finshing crux of Le Loir. Nuit du Lezard on pillar just beyond, Les Mains Sales roof just visible up and behind that, Force Tranquille on pillar/slab beyond  out of sight. I took the photo standing under L'Homme Pr. They all had names painted onto the rock btw, no doubt still do.

Hi RichK,   sorry not been in touch but been injured since Sept 09 in one form or another. Will recover eventually, and this point is for you too:
March is when adders tend to wake after the winter. I'm told they sleep in nests so when they stir can be numerous. Was there years ago with Fatdoc and Ste Earnshaw and suddenly we noticed loads of adders underfoot. I hopped onto the old fence and nearly died of laughter (not venom) as they grappled with each other trying to escape. Honestly, very funny and no-one got bitten. When you go there I'd choose boots, not sandals. Just a thought.

yep...

what he said.

didnt know it was banned!!!!

do elixir.... heart wrenching last few moves....

[Ged]

Just back from the trip.  Predictably I/We got took so much longer to do anything than I'd expected, I never actually made it to the West.  A couple of the team went for a look, and said it's good, and maybe even more old school and fierce than the rest of Buoux.

What the trip also confirmed to me was 2 things:  Just how good Buoux really is (so many good routes), and just how weirdly unpopular it is.  We were there as a team of 9.  Aside from us, over the whole week, there was maybe 4 others at the crag at any one time. 

If you've never been, then go.  It's brilliant.  It's very different to the modern popular venues, but so much more satisfying.  Someone summed it up nicely by saying that it's the sort of place where you remember the names of the routes. 

I spent most of the week sieging Le Fissure Serge, a 7c+/8a at Bout du Monde.  Brilliant.  ANd makes Kalymnos 8a's look about 7b. 

Other conclusions are:  It's possible to not be able to do the moves on a 6c+, shortly after redpointing an 8a.  Rose et le Vampire is very, very hard.  So is Reve de Papillon.

Would be great to see a bit of a re-surge of interest in the place.  There's no doubt climbing there will do wanders for your climbing

[slackline]

I liked Boux for the two days we climbed there last year, was strangely quite then too.

Did you find any topos available locally for the Ouest section your mates checked out?

[Ged]

No, just the really really old (1990 ish) guidebook.  Think all the route names are painted on though

[Nike Air]

Just back from Provence. Buoux Ouest is fab, great thing is there is a topo at the crag Cant recommend those 7s enough, world class!!

[Mirf]

Elixir de violence 7b+ folowed by a font 7a slab 

[Nike Air]

does any one know the name of the 7b arete to the left of Le Loir? Im just logging what we did but never took note of the name of this one...... doh!

[chris_j_s]

Never been there but from the log books on other channel possibly Exquise Esquisse?

[Nike Air]

Nice one, when i looked ealrier that was not there. Wierd.
THX

[RichK]

I have a photo topo(JPEG) of the crag which has old & new routes on it.

I'll post it here if someone can tell me how

[slackline]

I have a photo topo(JPEG) of the crag which has old & new routes on it.

I'll post it here if someone can tell me how

Posting your Images, but if you go with Flickr to host the picture then use this.

[RichK]

  slackers...I'll have a go later

[Paul B]

I just found this topo and thought it might interest a few people.

[Bonjoy]

  Typical euro-topo. Thirty eight routes, nineteen question marks! Don't these people talk to each other/have the internet?

[Jaspersharpe]

I see 20 years later they still haven't sorted the fucking grades out either!

As Jon mentioned L’Homme programmé is ridiculously easy for 8a as is Cauchemar de l’éléphant. In fact neither of these have ever been 8a and yet they still get given the grade despite being on the same bit of the same crag as Territoire and La force tranquille which get 7c+ and 7c and are both harder than the "8a"s. Elixir De Violence is about three grades harder than those two.

I suppose it's because they've been banned / unequipped for a while so haven't had as many ascents as some of the routes on other parts of the crag which have been more sensibly regraded (Fissure Serge up to 8a, No Mans Land up to 7b etc).

[Paul B]

Regardless of the grades, the routes at Face Ouest are incredible and its absolutely empty with all the Euros preferring to bake in the sun rather than shiver in the shade.

Unlike most sport-climbing areas I've been to, the majority of routes here seem to follow proper lines, aretes and corners the former of which climb nothing like limestone I've encountered. In fact, they might even be good enough to get Johnny B excited but probably not.

[Jaspersharpe]

Never mind the aesthetics. Have you tried/done Nuit Du Lezard yet and can you imagine Robert soloing it?

Fucking insane.