UKC

Hi guys,

I'm going to be in Ceuse for the next couple months alone. I was hoping for some tips on picking up partners! Or tips on Ceuse/Southern France in general , as I've never been before.

I'm currently packing so if there's anything you can recommend I take let me know! I'm a bit all over the place trying to figure out what I actually need.

I can also offer a lift from Surrey to Font, and then Font to Ceuse this week if anyone needs it.

Cheers,

Rory

In reply to clipstick:
Going to be climbing in Finale Ligure 10-15 July, camping, if you fancy popping down? Only a couple hours drive away. Spending 15/16 in Nice before flying out Monday morning.

edit: Just remembered also going to be in your neck of the woods (cannot remember the name of the place off the top of my head, will check when I get home this evening) 19-24 for some sports climbing. Staying in a gite there, we're full up, but you can always come along climbing any of the days if you're nearby, or find your own accommodation and join us for the week.

In reply to clipstick:

Very easy place to find people to climb with. There's a notice board in the campsite. Or just wander round the campsite and/or the base of the crag and ask. Lots of people do, so you won't look crazy!

Lots of people will stash kit at the crag overnight to save carrying it up the hill everyday. So maybe take a rope bag you can leave kit in.

In reply to clipstick:
Finding partners is easy, its a real mecca in the summer. Just ask around at the campsite or in the carpark.

General Ceuse tips:

1. Take WARM clothes - It may be summer but it can get very cold at the crag (I once had snow at the start of June)
2. Take a rope bag - stash your stuff up there - keep it reasonably well hidden though as things do occasionally go missing
3. You can collect water under Biographie and at Cascade - check that its coming through then you don't need to carry litres of water up
4. If its busy and there are queues for routes, it's much quieter round at the Grande Face, and there are tonnes of good new routes. Not as harshly graded either if thats your bag.

In reply to clipstick:

Take headphones and some good music. Makes the walk much more enjoyable.

In reply to clipstick:

In addition to my previous comment, in August I'm just down the road from Ceuse, in Orpierre.

Also, my partners for my trip next week have unfortunately had to pull out last minute, so don't suppose you're down for the trip to Finale Ligure next week?

In reply to DaveR:

This is very reassuring news! I was a little worried I'd just be sitting by the road holding a cardboard sign with "WILL BELAY FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT" written in finger tape.


In reply to James Malloch:

I've got my old skool gangsta rap play list to get me up. I haven't done much walking really, just Winspit and that's hard enough! I'm hoping I'll get used to the walk within a couple weeks.

In reply to conorcussell:

Just packed my long johns! I heard it got chilli in the evenings but didn't realise how bad it could get.

In reply to tasp05:

I was meant to be heading off today, but I went to book the ferry and found it had doubled in price so I'll be leaving tomorrow. I'm planning on spending the weekend in Font as the Django Reinhardt Festival is on and I desperately want to see Ibrahim Maalouf live. So I think I'll have to pass on Finale Ligure, but will definitely be up for some climbing at Orpierre later on. I've sent you a message with my phone number, so feel free to get in contact with me closer to the time!

In reply to clipstick:

Cool beans. I'm sure I'll get the message when I can check my email later! I will keep you informed.

Good luck with the travels and enjoy Font! As an FYI, there's a fantastic takeaway pizza place in Milly-la-Foret called Don Camillo. They do takeaway wine and beer too.

Thanks for all the comments guys.

Does anyone have some route recommendations? I'm hoping to redpoint a 7c and maybe if the stars align get my first 8a, though I doubt I'm strong enough.

I'm thinking I'll climb 2 days on 1 day off. And then before the rest day do some conditioning to keep the elbows from exploding. Any comments on this? I hope I'll be able to get stronger whilst there.

2 days on 1 day off means about 24 rest days! What should I do to fill these? I've packed a few books and hope to get some more out there. I think I'll spend most of my timing trying to make my skin slightly less white.

In reply to clipstick:

Its all good... but some of my favourites were

Vagabond 7c (probably the softest 7c in Ceuse?)
Privilege du Serpent 7c+
Kekets Blue 7b
Blocage Violent 7b++
Inesperance 7a (multi-pitch on the Grande Face)
Everything on Pont sur l'inifi - fantastic long wall climbing
Bibendum - incredible swing when you strip it

In reply to clipstick:



To be honest, project wise the climbing is so good I don't think it really matter what you get your teeth into. Don't get too hung up on the grades though, they are pretty old school. I spent 7 weeks projecting Makach Walou (7c+) after ticking off my first Spanish 8a earlier in the trip, and by all accounts it's one of the easiest at the grade in Ceuse. Of the slightly easier lines, Super Mickey and Kekets Blues are a lot of fun and worth seeking out, as is Bibendum. 100 Patates is worth doing both for the climbing and the chance to get on the Biographie wall at mere mortal grades. I didn't try Les Colonnettes but it does look very good, and with the 8a grade being for the boulder start (7c+ if you aid the first bolt) it might be worth a shout for that first 8a if you can do the boulder.



The hike, the heat and the altitude make Ceuse a tiring place to climb, so I suspect you'll need more rest days than that. Fortunately it's a stunning place to hang out

I was mostly doing one on, one off when I was there a couple of years ago, but it was the end of a long road trip. 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, 2 off might work well, and if the weather plays ball allows you to avoid the weekend rush.

I spent a lot of rest days down at the lac du pelleautier. Beautiful little spot, although the reeds reduce the amount of water available for swimming as the summer progresses. The much larger Lac du Serre-Poncon is a bit of a drive but worth a visit, pretty touristy but it does mean you can hire SUPs, pedalos,etc. About an hour and a half away you've got the Pont de Ponsonnas with its 100m high bungee jump down a very narrow gorge. Briancon is worth a visit, the drive alone up through Embrun is worth doing, and if you get bored of mountains you're about four hours drive from Turin, which would be a world famous tourist destination if it wasn't in the same country as Florence, Venice and Rome. Heading south, Verdon is worth visiting even if you don't go to climb there, and you're about three hours from stunning beaches around Hyeres. Oh, the walk up Petite Ceuse is worth it for lovely views and the chance to see marmots close up. And do take the via ferrata up onto the plateau to watch the sunset, it's like stepping into another world.

In reply to clipstick:

Also, don't underestimate the amount of food you need to eat there. If you wait for your appetite to catch up with the extra work you're doing, you'll get pretty fatigued in the first week, so best to eat more than you feel like for the first few days. We were mostly climbing in the afternoons (you can do a morning session at cascade and then sit around the crag for a few hours in the middle of the day, but as you can climb until late in the evening starting early afternoon still gives you a pretty good day's climbing), so we'd aim to be up there an hour and a half before the shade hit the wall, taking a large carb-heavy lunch like a pasta and chickpea salad to eat at the end of the walk, then lie around in the sun digesting it. If you walk up in the sun you'll also sweat buckets, so taking a lot of electrolytes is important... if lunch didn't taste too salty to eat at the car-park, it wouldn't be salty enough at the top!

In reply to Ciro:

Wow! Thanks for the very comprehensive reply! I'm on the ferry now and should be in Fontainebleau this evening.

Speaking of food, I managed to leave my cool bag along with my lunch in the porch at home! So I'll have to survive on peanut butter and bread until I reach the shops. Your comments about food will be headed! I quite like eating anyway and have no issue ingesting my share of carbs. I hadn't considered the loss of salt though, so thank you for brining that to my attention!

Thanks also for the rest day recommendations! I'm quite good at zoning out in the heat with a book, so the lakes sound good.

I'm glad to hear how great it is. I'll keep an eye out for some of the lines you mentioned. The closer I get to Ceuse the less I really care about how hard I climb.

One last question, does anybody know if the campsite offers monthly discounts?

"Combien est la tarriff pour un mois, s'il vous plait?" (my written French is no worse than my spoken)

In reply to clipstick:

No worries

I didn't stay in the campsite, but a couple of the girls who ended up staying in one of the static caravans for the whole summer got quite a discount when they came to pay. It probably comes down to how well you get on with the owners... they have a reputation for being grumpy, but that's largely down to the fact that there's a lot of van dwellers coming in and abusing the facilities. If you want to socialise in the evening with people who're not staying in the campsite, go to the parking or ask them to speak to the owners and pay for the evening.

The owners actually patrol the car parks every day, to see who's there and make sure they're not coming into the campsite. The first time I drove up to the camping, the older woman came storming out to confront me as I walked towards the office, but after I explained I wanted to come in and pay for a night so I could join the girls for dinner and use the showers and washing facilities, they were absolutely fine with me. I think they've got quite legitimate complaints of people taking the piss, especially in bad weather.