UKC

Heading to Verdon in a couple of weeks. Does anyone have any advice on what trad rack to take - we are very limited by weight but obviously want to take the right rack of trad gear. (we will be climbing at the bottom end of the grades out there)

ie
Are big cams necessary?
tri Cams?
one rack of nuts or two?

Thanks in advance

In reply to arose: Depends on the route, but I'd take a set of small nuts on most of the multi-pitch routes just to plug any gaps where it's a bit too run out between bolts. You can get away with no trad gear and I'm sure plenty of people do. I believe routes like Last Demande require a fuller rack.

In reply to arose:
I climbed there for a week this summer and found the bolting mostly OK, not too spaced out. As already mentioned nuts are a good idea if you feel the need for something more. We tended to take tricams, especailly for pockets but that is a matter of taste - you get a lot of gear for the weight you carry!! Small cams are probably the best other bit of gear. We were in a car so had all out gear avaiable, we only took large cams on one route only to find the bolting good and the crack too big anyway.

When you say you'll be climbing at the bottom end of the grades out there then I have to assume you already know the grade range in the Gorge begins around 6a and that is a confident 6a since you will have to abseil off the edge of the top of the gorge for a lot of the routes and therefore the only way out is to climb out (OK if you're a seasoned sea-cliff climber I guess). I don't want to put you off, we only climb 6a-6a+ and we managed to have a really good time there, just be mentally prepared for it

With the abseiling in mind make sure you take suitable abseil gear. We made friends with some nice French climbers on the campsite and made a call-out arrangement with them, if we weren't back for a certain time then they would come and drop a rope down to us (don't know if that loses us the onsight!). Thanksfully that was never necessary, it's amazing how motivated you can be when the only way out it up.

We didn't climb La Demande (it was mid-summer and it is South facing), but it is absolutly classic. Hopefully someone else can post on here some advice on the rack needed for that it that is one of your main objectives. I have seen it from the bottom and it looked fenominal - will defo go back for it.

An easier crag is La Carelle, some single pitch 5+. Also there are a number of good outlying crags with a full range of grades. If you ask at the guide office in La Palud there are also some newly bolted crags with easier grades. We used the Rockfax regional book and that did just fine for the length of time we were there. You can easily purchase a new topoguide in the shops in La Palud. There is also a small climbing shop there is you have forgotten any gear.

Take a tourch for the old hydropower tunnels which you use to access many of the route bases in the gorge. Look out for red paint and small cairns showing you the way to route starts - it can be hard to know exactly where you are at the top of the gorge since you can't see the face.

Hope that helps!
Bridget

In reply to arose:

I reckon the bolting is OK. The only areas where you might feel run out tend to be easier crack pitches for which a fewof medium cams (1/2/3 camalot)were handy.

I think trying to stick wires between the bolts on bolted sections is pretty counterproductive. Better to take a deep breath and MTFU

In reply to arose:

Depends what you want to do. If you want to do the likes of Les Barjots or Mains dans le Sel then a big cam or two will certainly come in handy. If you want to do all the one-pitch bolted 6as then it won't.

La Demande will be fine with a single set of nuts and Friends from say 1 to 3 including half-sizes.

jcm

In reply to arose:
A sports rack and double or twin ropes will be fine for most routes.
If you want to do some of the trad lines (which start at E1) then add wires 1 to 10, cams 1 to 4 (friends).

Tie the ends of the ropes together when abseiling

In reply to johncoxmysteriously: Don't they come in eighth sizes yet then? hum. This must be the famous 4 or 5 pitch route, wow. jimb