[jwi]

I looked around a bit on the site but found only (thinly) spread out recommendations so...

I am going to Verdon for 5 days or so in late march. I have never been to Verdon before  and am looking for recommendations. Long and exposed is better than something short in a corner system.  We can bring plenty of gear, including hooks, if needed.

[grimer]

L'ange en Decomposition (7a), Surveil et Punir (7a+), Wide is Love (5), Biscotte Margarine (6b+), Reve de Fer (6b), Debilhoff (6c+).

[SA Chris]

La Demande is a long classic - fits the bill half and half - long (13 pitches) - starts exposed but ends in a corner system. If it's well within your graid you can do it on quickdraws only.

Eperon Sublime is good too.

[lagerstarfish]

I remember pilier des écureuils being good

6bish

ever so slightly spoilt by having to walk across the jardin at half hight, but good fun

[travs]

Pichenibule - best 7b+ on the planet
Ctuluh - 6c+ - way out there
Gwendal 7b+ - another massive route.

What grade are you looking for?

[jwi]

What grade are you looking for?

Hard to know before I've climbed there – maybe it is my anti-style, or maybe I find it easy (probably not on the first visit). I suppose I am looking for routes 5a - 7c, but without massive runouts on ground harder than 7a/a+ and not too many pitches 7b and above. My parter is the same but don't like to run it out above 6b/c and would probably not like routes with more than 1 pitch 7b+ or harder.

Les rideaux de Gwendal sounds amazing from the description here http://www.camptocamp.org/routes/56085/fr/verdon-l-escales-les-rideaux-de-gwendal
Cheers!

[slackline]

I enjoyed climbing from the base of the gorge (access via tunnels) to the top via Pour une Poignee de Gros Lards (6b ***) although the local guide we spoke to near the top said it was under-graded and the bolting was a bit spaced in places (friend used a few small nuts on one pitch, no such option on the pitches I led).

Worst part was walking back round to the car afterwards.

[travs]

I would reccomend you start at about 6b-7a then on routes not too exposed, things like polpett, je suis une legende, La miroir du fou, Mort a Venise, Tapis Volant, Rêve de fer.
Then I would move on to not too exposed but harder longer routes like Alerte au gaz, Surveiller et punir, Nécronomicon.
Then to exposed routes: L'ange en decomposition, Pichenibule, Gwendal, Ctuluh.
Finally go for a real biggy hard or exposed like: Chrysalis, Liqueur de Coco, Polpot.

That should keep you going for a couple of days.

[SA Chris]

Worst part was walking back round to the car afterwards.

We had an OK time hitching back to car afer longer routes. One of you dressed in harness  and a sling over your shoulder (leave ropes and most of gear with mate at the top) and rock shoes clipped to harness plus an obvious helmet on your head (a message to tourists you are a serious grimpeur) and folk stop quickly.

It pays to get beta or suss out abseil approaches or where to find the start of route beforehand if possible. Saves loads of faff when you don't have time to spare. And carry prussiks and know how to use them!

[Paul B]

Pichenibule - best 7b+ on the planet

or maybe it once was... the fact is has now succumbed to a lot of peddling feet on the A0 bolt ladder means that pitch is quite frankly terrible. Granted the position is always outstanding and the middle 6c+ pitch is really good but the rest isn't as good as others on the face. Debilof isn't in a particularly wonderful state either (far worse than the majority of the Gorge).

The best recommendation I can give is the Pichenibule face linkup (recommended in Parois du Legende):

Rideaux de Gwendal -> Pichenibule -> Ctuluh.

as it takes in the best of that wall (perhaps the Gorge itself?), I certainly wouldn't do it first or everything else might feel a little mediocre! Take medium - large nuts and a sling in case you need to aid the crux pitch. The only issue with the linkup (for me anyway) is that it misses out the grey groove pitch on RDG (as you then transfer onto Pichenibule and Ctuluh) although on the whole I think it probably is the best combination.

ULA (in preference to Demande), now de-bolted apart from belays, probably best from the "Garden of Squirrels". In fact a lot of the routes are, the pitches and gear below seemed a little neglected/poor. I'm not sure I'm totally convinced by the suggestion of doing Demande quickdraws only (one pitch, potentially the crux, in particular), but I am a coward.

A Tout Couer is a good warmup type route, often people get lost and end up on a long final pitch, its better to do this anyway as slinking off left is a bit cr*p.

L'ange en Decomposition is outstanding but it won't take up a full day, it is however next to:

Reve de Fer which is good but a bit of a pain to find the correct ab line.

Surveil et Punir is really good, but only really the top two pitches, you can ab this directly from the anchors with the blue name rather than the suggested ab down the corner. The bolting is generous on this compared to the likes of RDG.

On the Duc (for shade until around 3pm and slightly steeper, softer climbing):
Alix
and
Serie Limitee
I haven't managed to get on either of these but people I trust say they're outstanding. I haven't done Fete du Nerfs either as it sits in the sun for most of the day. It looks amazing but maybe misses your brief.

Being a humbug I refused to do one route on the grounds that I'd come on a climbing trip not a caving one, which climbs the majority of the gorge inside itself finishing with a steep pitch at the end (Gueule d'Amour). It might be worth considering this for a 'fun' day if you're pretty knackered or just perverse.

Have you been before JWI and which guide do you have?

They all need to be taken with a large pinch of salt, especially the Rockfax. In the newest local guide, the tricky route finding section of Pichenibule (i.e. getting around and crossing the corner) is shown differently on the three pages its shown in the guide! The CORONN topo has a top down topo of the Gorge which is really good for finding ab lines. In general, following the cairns with painted names is a much better bet than following descents described in the guides.

[slackline]

My friend had got lost on a previous trip trying to approach from the top to abseil in.  They then found the route too hard so abseiled back down (having pulled ropes on multiple abseils in the first place) and had to walk round the other way.  It was foolish to think he'd be able to remember his way through the scrub several years later and it stupidly didn't even occur to us to try hitching (my French is at best pigeon).

Still at least I could relax at the car instead of walking back through the tunnels and scarmbling to the start of the climb to retrieve a smock unlike my friend who'd decided it was going to be cold on the climb. 

Definitely agree about sussing out abseil approaches and starts of routes.  I missed a station mid-way down a two-pitch abseil

Fortunately it was on a 70m rope (it goes without saying there was knot in the end! and I had prussiks), just made it to the easy angled rock and was able to get off the rope and re-tie the knot and downclimb/scramble to the bottom (thankfully for mates another pair abbed down our rope & found the station I'd missed leaving their ropes for my mates to descend). 

[IanP]

Only went once 15 years plus ago but from my experience the re-occurring recomendations above are spot on.

Rev de Fer is a really good intro to Verdon multipitch exposure.
Ctuluh is great, a big exposed pitch, as I remember it bloody hard for 6c+ (solid 7a I thought)
L'Ange still stands as one of the best routes I've ever done, it might not be too long but the 2 main pitches are tremendous with super exposed climbing on great rock.

I was slightly disappointed by Deblioff but may have been influenced by the fact that I sagged on to a bolt at the crux!

On the runout front I thought most routes were relatively safely bolted if exciting - the first few bolts on things like Ctuluh were close together with runouts increasing as you got higher and had more rope out.  Though I'd probably be terrified if I went back now!

[kingholmesy]

I enjoyed A Toute Coeur.  It was the first route I did in the Gorge and a good warm up for the week.

I also really recommend Ula.  When I climbed it it was bolted but I was still glad to have a rack, and I understand that the bolts have now been removed except at the belays.  I remember being thankful that I had a Camalot 3 in particular on the 6b pitch.

Ula was the only route I placed any gear on.  I found other routes OK, although sometimes quite run out on easier sections.

[mrjonathanr]

Also Boulevard des Stars top pitch is worthwhile- nice airy toprope, Gwendal from the bottom- 7b pitch aidable and short, Farci pas la 3* at 7c.

[jwi]

The best recommendation I can give is the Pichenibule face linkup (recommended in Parois du Legende):

Rideaux de Gwendal -> Pichenibule -> Ctuluh.

as it takes in the best of that wall (perhaps the Gorge itself?), I certainly wouldn't do it first or everything else might feel a little mediocre!

Cheers! I couldn't help myself, we did this yesterday for our first route ever in Verdon. Ace! And we had a classic Verdon experience I guess....

Started out by making a bungle of the rappels. Julia's couldn't unscrew her old locking biner at one of the belays and I had to climb back up to unscrew it. Then I totally missed the rapline and ended up in no-mans land (with no gear except quickdraws and slings) and had to do the last free-hanging rap from a half dead tree... All part of the normal Verdon-experience I guess.

The crux-pitch of RDG was too hard for me, I rested on several bolts. I was thinking of ticking a few holds and rap down to the belay to climb it in better style, but in retrospect I was glad I didn't. Julia was not totally happy with the route-choise at this point.  But the next three pitches where easy, the climbing went well, and the cheer returned even though the wind picked up and the clouds moved in.

As we moved over to Pichenibule it started to get really cold and we pretty much run out of steam. I did a cheeky pull on a sling when I was out of sight, and Julia was pretty much done for the day.

The Ctuluh was absolutely fantastic and really out there, everything I hoped for really, but at this point I had switched to full-on A0 mode.  I was tired, scared, and having forgotten how to climb in the 80s style of hand-foot-matching on every move, but is this pitch really 6c+?  Exciting and excellent pitch anyway.

Great day out, thanks for the recommendation!

Today, luckily, it is cold and about to start raining.

[Paul B]

Cool report, the RDG Crux has a few hidden holds to the right, missing these makes it feel desperate.

I think the 6c+ pitch of Pichenibule (the long'n), and Ctuluh feels stiff compared to everything else of the grade I've ever done BUT that's just the Verdon.

Are you still there? If so the top two pitches of Surveiller are no more difficult IMO to what you've already one (as someone drilled a pocket when the going go too 'grey'). Easiest to reach these via the blue named ab point.

[jwi]

Yup. Live-blogging from Verdon.  Today it rains, tomorrow likely the same.  We have a small domestic dispute about which route to climb on monday when the weather is supposed to turn better....

[jwi]

Are you still there? If so the top two pitches of Surveiller are no more difficult IMO to what you've already one (as someone drilled a pocket when the going go too 'grey'). Easiest to reach these via the blue named ab point.

Another good route!  Still wet, as most routes are now after heavy rainfall. The crux pitch was quite wet in parts and,  maybe for that reason, not as good as the one before (a really engaging 6c...) and the one after (7a, but easiest pitch on the route for sure, easier than the first 6b+ pitch for me...)

[jwi]

Left field question: Has anyone done the first pitch of Les caquous / Surface on Grande Eycharme? I mean the pitch before the grotty Aid pitch? Looks like forestineering on the photo topos. I was hoping to avoid the rap in which is absolutely fucking terrifying, even by Verdon standards.

[HaeMeS]

Some of the modern routes are outstanding. Last year we did Hellfest and Les Mains Dans Le Sel. Both fantastic and fun routes with brilliant climbing, exposure (Les Mains) and crag-like protection (M12 bolts every 2 m). Back for more next week (and some slabby old school stuff as well). :-)

[jwi]

How's the sun exposure on Hellfest? Impossible during mid-May?

[HaeMeS]

The route was in the sun for the entiere climb. We did the route early may in warm weather but with low humidity. On Pitch 2 and 3 the feet hurt :-)

It was a really good route. I might even repeate it next week. Make shure to safe some till the end. The second to last pitch is 7a+ and pretty steep.

Have fun!

[jwi]

In the end we didn't try Hellfest, but rather went for more established routes:

La voie de 50cm which was a bit meh. Send up your best warrior for the offwidth/chimney pitch.

Les Marches du Temp, which everyone knows is great (good bolting, fantastic rock and insane exposure).

Surface, which also was very good. (The rap in was as  terrifying as when I did Les Caqous.) Surface gets 2 stars in Rockfax, and a lukewarm desciption in Clement's topo in Grimper, but we found it very good with a little bit of everything. Apart from a short easy traverse pitch low down it had absolutely immaculate rock on a beautiful pillar. Rather accessible at its grade as well.

Prise de cent from the squirrel garden. The slab pitch is about as difficult as you can imagine if you have done Magoustine Scatophage. The first 7a-pitch was very good and quite bouldery (7a+), the second 7a pitch was absolutely awful, and the rest between good and ok. Cool line. The hundredth route that the Remy-brothers put up.

[HaeMeS]

Thanks for the description of the routes you did. PdC, les MdT and Surface are high on the list. PdC looks fantastic and gets good reviews on CtC.

Our stay was limited by cold (snow) and windy weather. Highlight was the upper part of Voie Mathis. The first 7a+ is a bit tricky for the feet, but the second one is really good and climbs like a single pitch sport route. The slabby last pitch after the fun 30m tunnel was wet unfortunately and desperate to free. Could (should) have been the icing on the cake. Will definitely return for the bottom part which has a 7c pitch, 'continue avec coincements' according to  the climbers who came after us.   

Others routes we did were Jeunes et Vrillés and La Limite des Possibilités Humaines. JeV wasn't special. LLdPH is good with a lot a dihedrals and sections through overlaps/roofs.

[SA Chris]

La Limite des Possibilités Humaines.

Does the grade go up continously?