UKC

this looks amazing - but I'v come across two different viewpoints

A ukc article http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=1556 says "The area has climbs of all grades from F5 up to 9a." and lists various sectors withplenty in the f5 and f6 range.
But rockfax says "There is no doubt that the Tarn is of more interest to climbers operating in the 7s and 8s than it is to those looking for 5s and 6s"
so I had a look at the routes database and right enough there seems like plenty in the lower grades. BUT I'm also suspicious that french grading seems to be very random and I'm wondering if those grades are realistic, or if they are total sandbags. Has anyone who's been and climbs in that range got an opinion to pass on?

In reply to pebbles:

Went a couple of years ago and the 6s on the popular crags seemed reasonable. There's the odd sandbag kicking around though and some of the bolting can be a little sporting although it's mostly good where it matters. Boffi is probably a better bet - the stuff in the Tarn is ok but there's not a massive amount of genuine quality to go at. You could easily fill a week or so by combining the two venues though.

In reply to pebbles:

Been twice, didnt do anything this time (a couple of weeks ago) it was too hot! But IMHO it is a tough area. But, it is beautiful and there's the river to cool off in and there's loads of good campsites.

Steve

In reply to pebbles:

grading at Boffi are reasonable and there is plenty to go at at sub 7 level. Agree that generally the bolting is ok too. Really liked the climbing there, but the longer walk-in did limit the number of times my family was prepared to visit.

grading at Tarn I found ok, but bolting definitely spicy in places. Have to hunt about a litle bit more for sub 7s but there are a lot out there including some absolutely brilliant routes (and a couple of total sandbags)

grading at Jonti is v old school indeed. Some ace routes but not a good venus for those with a more fragile ego!

We were there for 2 weeks in Aug last year. Week 1 was positively chilly. Week 2 was v hot but it was always possible to plan around this and find stuff in the shade or wait for shade to come across before any serious redpoint attempts.

In reply to hms:


It was blisteringly hot the second week of our trip (>30 degrees) and unless you got up very early there wasn't really any point trying to climb even once the shade had come back round - the rock retained the heat far too long and it would generally go dark before it started to cool down to anything approaching reasonable temperatures.

For the OP: If you go to Boffi, I wouldn't bother with the west facing sectors - we had a look at them but were unimpressed with the rock quality. Sector Damned is brilliant - go there instead.

If it's too hot to climb there's no shortage of other things to do - the nearby show caves are excellent, as is the Chaos de Montpellier-le-vieux and of course, if you like cheese, the Roquefort caves aren't far away...or you could just make the most of the early morning cool and spend the rest of the day swimming in the river.

In reply to pebbles:
Le Boffi is worth a visit. As well as Sector Damned, Sector Generation Mythe Errant is good at these grades.
Also have a look at Laumet. Not in Rockfax or UKC logbooks, but topo here
http://www.millau-viaduc-tourisme.fr/files/ot-millau/files/brochures/pdf/si...
Faces south, so hot at this time of year though!