UKC

Travelling to the dordogne region in August,anybody got any "gen" please ,especially about getting hold of some guides or "topos"before we go .Many thanks .Woody

In reply to woody5: Run a search for Ceou and Dordogne. Plenty should come up.

Andy

In reply to woody5: what is "gen"?

In reply to woody5:

There is a published topo to the Dordogne - Dan Evans (a UKC poster) has been involved with distributing it - drop him a line.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Might have got that name wrong - watch this space, I'll check this evening!

In reply to Grumble:

from definitions.net

gen(noun)
informal term for information
"give me the gen on your new line of computers"


I've heard it used acceptably for years

In reply to Blue Straggler: cool. just never heard of it and doesn't come up in wiki or others.

In reply to Grumble:

In the army it was very common. Never heard a civvie use it though.

"Gen up" was common, means "I really mean it" or can be posed as a question "Do you really mean it?"

In reply to woody5:

This is sort of unhelpful, because I can't remember details, but when I was there a couple years ago (not for climbing unfortunately) I went into a general shop in a village (I THINK it was Bourdeilles) and there was a whole rack of guidebooks for climbing in France, including a couple within the region. They were in French, but even if you don't speak it you get the topos and grades. Also I talked to one of the ubiquitous canoe hire places and the guy in charge was a keen climber who gave me the number of the local climbing club, which I have since lost... I guess the point is theres a lot of info in the area. Hopefully others can give better advice though. Have a good trip!

In reply to woody5:

I bought a local topo from the tourist info place in town, mine is in an attic in another country unfortunately.

The main crag above a campsite: lots of good pockety limestone, tons of easy stuff too, some questionable rock, but mostly good. Short walk in.

Can feel oppressively hot in Summer when it gets the sun, which if I remember right is after mid day. Canoeing the river is the thing to do then, or you could drive to Clermont Ferrand in the Massif Central and climb on the cooler Dent du Rancune or at La Capucin.

In reply to woody5:

Le Ceou is pleasant, but as above can be hot in Summer. You can always go swimming in the river and canoeing's a sort of compulsory way to spend some time; with an ice box, beer, wine, cheese, ham and peaches - what's not to like!

There used to be a locally produced topo available at the campsite shop for a few Euros.

There are other small crags dotted around in the area too, but you'll need curiosity and a 1:25000 map to find them.

In reply to woody5:

Got a copy of the new guide through Dan Evans (muchly appreciated!) last summer and spent a week there. Brilliant climbing, loads to go at on great rock. Will be there again this August for two weeks... can't wait.

In reply to nniff:

Or alternatively "Falaise du Ceou", it gets called both.

Its near Castelnaud-la-Chapelle.

Info: http://www.ffme.fr/site/falaise-fiche/966.html

In reply to woody5:

Contact Dan Evans for the new guide which came out in Autumn 2011. Dan lives their.

In reply to woody5:

Ceou is very hot as it catches the sun most of the day, but some great routes. There is a smaller crag just south of the village of Milhac, south of the river from Sarlat, that gets more shade... good single pitch climbs from easy at one end to 7b / 7c at the other .. problem is its tricky to find being down a tiny road on the right as you drive south but worth a look. Never had a topo but its fairly obvious what is F5 and what is 7c !!

In reply to woody5: Shade can be found at La Forge du Boulou if you get an earlish start. Routes at the right hand end stayed in the shade till about 2 if I remember correctly.

In reply to is2:
There is a smaller crag just south of the village of Milhac, south of the river from Sarlat, that gets more shade... good single pitch climbs from easy at one end to 7b / 7c at the other .. problem is its tricky to find being down a tiny road on the right as you drive south but worth a look. Never had a topo but its fairly obvious what is F5 and what is 7c !!

It's called Rocher des Corbeaux and it's marked on the 1:25000 map. Grid bolted at one end. Big cave and steepness at the other