Calanques beta from Cassis
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Hello all, |
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You will have a blast. No car means no break-ins! En Vau has an awesome 6b, Super Sirène, that you should give a whirl. I actually did a write-up on the area 3 years ago, but you may find the information helpful. Enjoy! The Calanques are beautiful. |
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Ben Thesing wrote:moderate climbs (5.7-5.10) and maybe some of the multi pitches.I think most of the worthwhile stuff is either harder or easier than that moderate range. And most of the climbs in Calanque d'En Vau are multi-pitch (for the single-pitch, need to have the "big blue" non-select guidebook, and anyway the short routes I've done were not outstanding). Because En Vau has been on the American (and European) climber tick-lists for thirty years now, most of the worthwhile non-hard routes are highly polished. Note that French grade 6b is usually said to be equivalent to USA Yosemite 5.10c. Then add the polish factor. And also consider that the bolts are pretty far apart on many En Vau routes -- and many sections are less than vertical, so if you fall you can hit something. Often recommended to carry a few Trad pieces to supplement your draws. (Don't believe everything you hear about "Euro sport climbing" being risk-free). Cassis is a spectacular (and expensive?) seaside location - (perhaps prettiest developed-beach location on French seacoast) - surrounded by wonderful spectacular hiking and trail-running. But most of the best climbing rock (discovered and opened after the Calanques became a notorious American tick-list entry) in that region around Marseille + Cassis + Toulon is at other crags within an hour or two of driving from Cassis (the RockFax Cote d'Azur guidebook provides a good intro selection, but some of the best new unpolished routes are in the latest French-language guidebooks). Some other ideas:
Ken |
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My wife and I were in Cassis last summer and did a little climbing there. You can pick up an English guidebook at the tourist office out at the beach. There are two cliffs within walking distance (20-30 mins from center of town). We visited Vallon which had a handful of 5.8s and 5.9s on the right hand side which were pleasant. The nearby Calendal cliff has a handful of moderates as well. Have fun! |
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The whole coast is linked by trails so you should be able to check out a lot of different areas. There is bus service to Luminy which provides access to tons of routes. It's an amazing area. |
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Thank you everyone for the great advice!! |