Posts Tagged ‘extreme climbing’

Some say that the South of France has the best sport climbing in the world, and that there’s no “some say“ about it.

While new sport climbing areas regularly take the limelight as the latest ‘must visit’ destinations, seldom is the quality of routes found on the limestone crags of southern France matched. In the same way that newly publicised bouldering areas are inevitably compared to Fontainebleau, so areas in the South of France such as Céüse and Buoux are the quality benchmarks of sport climbing. It’s not uncommon to hear of newly developed crags being described lavishly – “it’s as good as Céüse”, or more modestly assessed – “brilliant, but no Buoux”.

Céüse is north of Sisteron and south of Gap in the Haute Provence. It has beautifully pocketed limestone rock, outstanding lines and is situated in a beautiful location. The majority of the 350 routes are single pitch and the rock climbing varies enormously from overhanging jug feasts to steep technical walls.  The routes have a reputation for requiring lots of stamina and the need to have  the ability to climb between good but well spaced bolts and range from F5a to F9a+, although the majority are in the range of F6b to F7c.

An added advantage to climbing at Céüse is that it is at an altitude of over 1,600m. This means that the ideal time to climb here is from late spring through to the autumn as it never gets as hot as it does further south.

Be warned though, the walk-in is arduous – about one hour on a long steep trail and August can be very busy.

Buoux is the other classic. Some call it the most beautiful climbing area in France. Located near Apt in the Luberon, Provence, its cliffs are famous worldwide and it is the mecca for hard sport climbing. The magnificent straight rock walls (from 30 to 120 metres high) still welcome the top names in national and international rock-climbing.

Adding to its charms is the fact that it is a vast climbing region with 31 parts to it, all well bolted. You can find routes with 5 pitches with about 30m to a pitch.

The climbing is excellent and the compact limestone offers distant pockets and technical challenges. Most of the routes include overhangs and vertical walls. There are more than 200 routes that are ideal for intermediate climbers graded 6a to 6c, but, of the more than 1,000 routes, popular opinion is that the best routes start at 7a and up. These are extremely technical though and you need to be super fit to challenge them. Some of the classics of the region inlude: La Rose de Sable 7a, No Man’s Land 7a+, Reve du Papillon 8a.  There are only a few routes under the level of 5c.

You can climb all year at Buoux but bearing in mind that this is Provence and renowned for its hot hot hot summers, the best times to climb are April – May and September – November.

It is 52 kms from Aix-en-Provence and 188kms from St. Tropez – if that helps at all! Or 81 kms from Marseille airport… that bit of advice might be a bit more practical…

It is difficult to say which are the best cliffs in Provence as there are so many in a relatively small area – a region that spans between Aix-En-Provence, Marseille, Nice, and the Verdon… an area that can be crossed in about 2 and a half hours.

However, Mont St. Victoire, near Aix-en-Provence and famously painted a thousand times by the Impressionists, has some great crags. There is sport climbing at the bottom of the cliff, but there are also many numerous and beautiful slabs. This mountain is the home of at least a thousand routes. The top part of this high cliff has some long routes with old equipment, which are not too popular, apart from “Le grand parcours”. Climbing Mont St. Victoire requires  tight shoes and steel fingers. It is the ultimate challenge and if you climb here enough your confidence will increase.

If you enjoy climbing this type of climbing you will love the more exposed routes at the Gorge du Verdon.

The Calanques between Marseille and Cassis are also a great place to go.

Spread out across the 20 km of coastline there  are more than 1,500 separate pitches, some known to many and some gems known only to a few. People come down to climb the perfect limestone above the crashing waves of the Mediterrarean. The Calanques have an extremely fragile eco-system though, so please please treat it thoughtfully and considerately.

The Dentelles de Montmirail near Avignon is a sport climbing region with one to three pitches. The Dentelles are parallel chains of limestone peaks and pinnacles. It’s a paradise for rock climbing with a lot of well bolted routes and some adventure areas too. They offer a north and a south side to the same steep walls, but in summer the south side is too hot and in winter the north side is too cold for climbing!

Divided into several separate ridges, the routes range from short tough climbs to moderate multi-pitch routes.The different sectors are all within close proximity of each other. Les Dentailles are situated slap bang in the middle of the Cote du Rhone wine area making your stay there a combination of energetic climbing and laid back wine tasting. What more could you possibly want?

The Verdon gorge (in Europe a ‘gorge’ is a canyon) has some of the best limestone rock climbing anywhere in the world combined with a unique, grandiose atmosphere. The spectacular gorges are  Provençe’s equivalent to America’s Grand Canyon.There are many here who say it is more beautiful with its blue-grey limestone sweeping down to the startling coloured turquoise river below. It is certainly Europe’s most beautiful canyon at about 25 kilometers long and up to 700 meters deep.

The limestone walls, which are several hundreds of meters high, attract many rock climbers with its variety of small sport crags to big walls that are both bolted and with traditional protection that requires plenty of commitment. It is considered an outstanding destination for multi-pitch climbing. There are routes encompassing cracks, pillars and seemingly endless walls. The climbing is generally of a technical nature, and there are over 1,500 routes, ranging from 20m to over 400m. There is not much to climb under 5.9.

As one climber in the Verdon recounts: “The walls are steep (rarely less than 90 degrees and sometimes overhanging) and the climbing is very sustained.   A typical 5.10 pitch involves long sequences of moves at that grade, making the climbing physically demanding with a serious, exposed feel.  It’s as if the wall is trying to push you off…  All that being said, I loved it.”

That’s enough info for one day I think… perhaps you’d better plan a trip to the south of France and test out these areas for yourself!

“I am doing it for the thrill, for that feeling of danger and freedom.This is my way of expressing myself… We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such within ourselves. Know how to develop it… I do think that sometimes faith can move mountains”

Alain Robert

I do come across the most extroadinary people, places and events in my various researches, but Alain Robert has to be one of the most extroadinary people I have yet written about. Unfortunately, his urban climbing is so extra-extroadinary that I can find very little information on his equally fantastic rock climbing feats so have had to make do with stunning photographs instead… let me stop blathering and leave you to read about the French, or Human, Spiderman yourself.

Born in 1962, Alain Robert is the world’s most accomplished urban climber. He has scaled more than 85 buildings around the globe including the Eiffel Tower – 314m (1,027 ft), the Sydney Tower – 319m (1,047 ft), the Petronas Twin Towers – 452m (1,488 ft) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sears Tower Chicago – 443m (1,453 ft) and Taipei 101 – 508 m (1,667 ft).

Robert began climbing as a young boy, scaling rock cliffs in the area around his home. His ‘buildering’ career began at the age of 12 when he forgot his keys and was locked out of his parents’ eighth-floor apartment. Instead of waiting for them to return home, he simply scaled the exterior wall…

As this video from racchroxz testifies, his rock and urban climbs  do not include rope or rigging. He uses only his hands, chalk, and climbing shoes.

He is  an accomplished rock climber. In 1993 he achieved a world record for the most extreme solo performance in the Gorge du Verdon in the south of France.

In 1982 he suffered two accidents, the first in January at the age of 19 and the second in September at the age of 20. He fell 15 metres (49 ft) on both occasions. He suffered multiple fractures (to his cranium, nose, wrists, elbows, pelvis, and heels). He now suffers from permanent vertigo.

The doctors considered him 60 percent handicapped and told him he would not be able to climb again. However, within 6 months he was back doing what he loves most – climbing. He kept taking on more and more challenging structures and improving his skills. He polished his rock-climbing skills in the French Alps before turning to buildings.

In an interview in 2005 he admitted that he had fallen 7 times although the worst fall was the one in 1982. In 2004, he fell 2 metres (6 ft 6.7 in) when climbing a traffic light whilst posing for a photo in an interview. He landed on his elbow and needed forty stitches, but a month later he climbed the world’s tallest skyscraper at the time, Taipei 101, as part of its official opening week.

It was in 1994 that he began free solo climbing  the world’s tallest urban structures that would earn him the nickname  “The French Spiderman”.

He recently said that his most challenging urban climb was the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago Illinois in 1999. As he neared the top of the tower, the fog came down covering the glass and metal wall of the last 20 floors with moisture making it dangerously slippery. This made the climb considerably more dangerous, slower and more strenuous. However, nothing was going to stop him and he reached the top safely and successfully.

In 2008 he successfully scaled Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel, a 45-story building and his third known urban climb in that city. To succeed, he had to resort to a strategy he has used many times in the past – to set off at dawn as  the Hong Kong police had been tipped off about a possible illegal ascent in the city.

Robert used the climb to promote greater awareness and international action for the cause of global warming.

He was briefly detained by authorities after the climb before being released. He has, in fact, been arrested and fined more than 100 times for illegally climbing the world’s tallest urban structures during the last two decades. These arrests and trials have been little more than formalities, although in 2007, in China, he was jailed and then deported after climbing the  88 story-skyscraper called the Jin Mao Tower – 420 m (1,378 ft).

“We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it” he says.

His latest climb was the Petronas Tower in Malaysia – 452 m (1,483 ft) on 1st September this year. He successfully stood atop the highest point of the Tower.

Many of his climbs provide him no opportunity to rest and can last over an hour. That’s all! he attributes a lot of his success to his height – 1.65 m (5′5″) – which, being short and light, enhances his dexterity. He is, of course, in peak physical condition and has expert climbing techniques.

I suggest you visit his site, www.alainrobert.com – it’s worth it!

“I’m still a bit confused over the grade. It’s definitely harder than Papichulo and all the other F9a+ routes I’ve done in Spain but I’m not sure if it’s F9b… the resistant style of climbing on the route isn’t quite the best style for me and I can imagine other people being better suited… For now I’d say it’s hard F9a+”

Chris Sharma

I love rock climbing, and I love writing about it. Today I thought I’d draw your attention to, if you don’t already know, a really extreme rock climber – CHRIS SHARMA.

Here’s a weird upside-down video of a veritable spiderman redpointing La Rambla, brought to us by ezsraism

Sharma started rock climbing when he was 12 years old. At age 14 he won the Bouldering nationals. A year later, he completed a 5.14c climb, which was the highest-rated climb in the American rating system at the time. He has since established or completed a few routes thought to be 5.15, including La Rambla and Es Pontas (a deep water soloing project in Mallorca). In 2008 Sharma climbed the 250 ft line, Jumbo Love, at Clark Mountain in California, claiming 5.15b for the grade. He has just completed a new 9a+/5.15a project in Oliana, Spain called Pachamama.

Picking projects at your physical and mental limits means constant exposure to the reality of failure. But failure is a word that has no place in Sharma’s vocabulary.

In professional climbing talent burns hot and fast and a decade is a long time. The physical damage to the body can be huge – ankles snap, shoulders pop from sockets and fingers calcify. And if nagging injuries weren’t enough, climbers often falter beneath the mental pressure. But not Chris Sharma.

At 26, he is an athlete endowed with unparalleled physical strength and mental tenacity, dominating world sport climbing and bouldering for the last dozen years.

In his own words, Chris Sharma about himself (bigupproductions)