UKC

Climbs 120
Rocktype Basalt
Altitude 42m a.s.l
Faces S

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Belaying on multi-pitch at Clecy. © Luke01

Crag features

The crag is situated in the "Rocher des Parcs" near the village of Clecy (approx 35 km South of Caen and approx 22 km West of Falaise) in the Calvados region of Normandy (an area known as the Suisse Normande). The crag occupies a picturesque setting above the west bank of the river Orne.

Routes vary from F3 to F7c and from 1 to 3 pitches.
(19 at F3/3+, 33 at F4a/b/c, 362 at F5a/b/c, 44 at F6a/b/c and 7 at F7a/b/c). Rock is described as puddingstone or quartzite by people, I'd describe it as blocky metamorphic stuff with layers of quartz pebbles occasionally. Bolting consists of glue-in rings, the spacings of which are mostly generous and only sometimes is it a bit bold. Belays are either chains or pairs of larger rings to facilitate abseils. The regular bolts are too small to ab off so take care in planning so you dont have to abandon gear. There are a lot more Ab belays than the topos show. The guidebook says to use a 70m rope and 12 quickdraws, but a single 50m is fine for 85% of the routes as long as you don't mind doing the odd extra abseil. Most routes have the names painted at the base.

The guidebook (topo) "Escalade a Clecy" (2019) by the Club Alpin Francais is available for 10 euros from the Tourist Information in Clecy village square.

All the informations, updates about this crag are avalaible on the caffmeux website
If anyone local wants to take over moderating this crag then please do, my only qualification is one visit and a guidebook :-)

 

Approach notes

Clecy is situated on the D562 (which runs South from Caen, approx 30 - 40 minutes drive) or 100 miles from St.Malo. Drive into the village and follow the signs for "Camping Rocher des Parcs". There is limited parking on the far side of the village (approx 6 cars) outside the campsite. Opposite the entrance to the campsite a track leads up to a railway bridge, take the steps up to the disused railway and then rightwards over the bridge and along it to a footpath (green post) to the crag just before the viaduct (10 minutes).

Alternatively, drive down to the viaduct where there is more parking, follow the track on foot under the viaduct and take the well worn path to the left shortly after the viaduct. After ~500m up the hill you will come across the first buttress. The crag is situated above the river opposite the Centre Nautique. There is a clear map (OS style) in the front of the guidebook.

Reasonably priced camping is available at the Camping Rocher Des Parcs, the entrance to which is directly opposite the start of the path up to the crag.

New edition of te guie in 2020 https://ipad.auvieuxcampeur.fr/escalade-a-clecy.html
alr1970 - 31/Jan/24
Great crag to begin and develop skills in sport multipitch. You'll notice you cannot find the topo online, and the links between the many different pitches require a topo. Please don't be tempted to leak any topo online: the topo is sold for €10 and the money from sales is reinvested in the maintenance and development of the routes. In addition to the tourist office, there is also a new climbing shop in Caen (D'bloquer) that sells it.
HeleneOne - 31/Dec/22
Guidebook is very good - still available in the Tourist information in Clecy. The local activity centre has built a high ropes course across the middle half of the crag none too sensitively from around the top of Toboggan wall to Pagode wall. It doesn't appear to obstruct any climbs but beware of groups when topping out on some climbs. On nice days crag can be busy with groups of 30+ young people under instruction from the centre but it's big enough so you can wander up the other end for some (relative) peace.
Angrypenguin - 28/Jul/14
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Climbs at this crag

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