UKC

Thinking of driving down to france for the weekend to do some multi-pitch trad as the weather looks abhorrent here everywhere for about a week. Problem is I've never climbed in france or looked into climbing in france before. Can anyone make any suggestions?

Thanks,

Neil.

In reply to neilwiltshire: You are going to have to drive a long way south to find multi-pitch trad I think so not sure about desirability for just a weekend.

In reply to neilwiltshire:

The best advice is forget the trad bit and go to Presles http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=3274 The database has only got a few routes in it - there are hundreds. It's just one of the best multipitch crags in France.

In reply to neilwiltshire:

Our Paris office sent an all-staff email today asking everyone to work from home and not risk travelling to the office as the weather was so bad.

1600km of traffic-jams in Belgium.

Do you really want to drive?

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Also, the weather isn't great there either. I live near here and although I'm away from home at the moment, my wife tells me its grey, wet and windy back home.

Bearing in mind that its in the heart of ski area too, probably not a great suggestion this time of year.

In reply to Chris Craggs:

As I said! But to head to France in the winter just for the weekend, looking for multipitch trad routes (like looking for a needle in a haystack in France anyway), he's best getting some mileage in on adventurous bolted crags that are minutes from the autoroute. However, it's largely irrelevant right at the moment, as the Yorkshireman says, the whole of the north is snowbound and ground to a halt last night, so perhaps not the best weekend to try. We are dry and sunny in the south by the way, but probably not quite as warm as you guys are.

In reply to Chris Craggs:

That's why Jon said forget about the trad.

E

In reply to jon:

Warm! We are back in Ariège - a high of 2C today with a freezing wind and snow showers! Sicily was nice though - around 16C most days - already a distant dream!


Chris

In reply to jon:

Yes. It can be awesome on those south facing walls in winter!

E

In reply to neilwiltshire:

Probably cheaper to jump on a plane to spain. Reus perhaps?

In reply to neilwiltshire:

Hmm, thanks for all the replies. Maybe the climbing gods are against us for this weekend. Switching to sport multi-pitch was a great idea, however, the conditions in northern france seem prohibitive to any driving. Flying to Spain probably not feasible this weekend. May just have to postpone the trip

Thanks for the location suggestions for future reference though!

In reply to jon:

Jon, Where in the South are you?
We are looking to get away for about 10 days from around 26-27 March. We are looking at going mostly for cycling but also for some easier climbing and general sightseeing. Currently looking around Nimes for accommodation.
Thanks,
PB

In reply to Professor Bunsen:

I'm about 25 minutes from Buis, near to Nyons, so a bit north of where you're looking. You should email Enty for accommodation and any advice you need on cycling or climbing.

In reply to jon:

Fair enough, I'm not going to argue the point as I don't know the specific crag and conditions change a lot over short distances in the mountains.

Knowing that Autrans, Villard etc are all skiable (I had a perfect view of the whole Vercors plateau last week flying into Lyon from Rome and it looked damn cold and snowy!)

Saying that, last week I was XC skiing in a t-shirt. Still, that was a specific day and I wouldn't want to drive 15 hours from the UK on the chance that the weather was good.

In reply to yorkshireman:


Me neither!