7th June 2013

Auzat – Le Far and Montcalm

Deconfiture au petit dejeuner – 5+ – Second
Trajectoire Quartzienne – 5+ – Lead
Pic Nic existentiel au bord d’un lit – 5 – Second

Although I didnt realise it when I suggested going to Auzat, it’s a granite crag. Not the same really as our highly crystalline version in Cornwall, but definitely more familiar than the limestone of the previous day.

Auzat is a fairly high crag. We could tell because as we passed through the town we saw all the ski hire shops and chalets. The temperature definitely drops with the altitude, but given we were cooked the day before the shade from the trees was welcome. Finding the parking was straight forward but then finding the path into the crag proved tougher. It didnt help that my new cut price french shorts didnt allow me to lift my leg properly resulting in a ballet style pirouette while negotiating a rope gate and a hard fall on my arse. It goes without saying that they were abandoned for climbing…

Unlike my shorts though the climbing is really good. The granite feels grippy and provided some top routes. Both Chris’ and mine were tough at the grade. Chris’ had a nervy right traverse onto the face right near the top and mine had the same but to the left. Once again the climbing feels thin, with small holds and edges. Great reliance on feet then with a couple of airy moves.

Toms, although graded 5 could have done with a few more bolts. It’s as though the equipers have gone “Its a 5, we’ll only use a couple of bolts. However this belittles the fact that the climbing was quite tough, particularly on the most run out section. Tom did really well leading this. Personally I would have felt happy with a few rocks on my harness to fill in the gaps. The climb has a couple of possible variation finishes. Tom and Chris went left and I went right, but I think the grade is pretty even which ever way you go.

We figured that as there were three sectors to Auzat we’d try one with a number of short routes, the upper tier at Montcalm. After a few wrong turns resulting in way too much walking and climbing with packs, we found the correct path. As we approached the Upper Tier it was clear that something had happened. The trees were shattered and the path disappeared into a jumble of stacked boulders and tree trunks. One tree had been split in two and another, about a foot in diameter, was sheared in two.

A massive rock fall had destroyed the route in. Red markers which should have pointed to the crag were now underneath rock which had been spun over and pointed at the sky. It must have been awesome to witness but I’m glad I wasnt there at the time. Probably occurred during the winter as it looked fresh.

All this faffing meant that just as we set up the rain came in putting an end to that particular adventure so we retired back to the campsite for a coffee. Of course by then the weather was back on, with the sun out.

Verdun – Sinsat

Dilletente – 5+ – Second

Gluttens for punishment we made a final sortie to Verdun, a crag high on the east side of Sinsat. Yet again another very beautiful walk in but steep and hard going in the heat.

We had time for one route which Chris set off on. This proved to probably be the hardest 5+ we did on the whole trip. The climbing was on small edges to a bulging section. At this point a series of very committing moves would see you through. To be honest, it was as technical as any of the moves I made later in the week. A bit of a sandbag at 5+ I reckon, but good climbing nevertheless.

And so eneded another long tough day of sport routes. I could get used to this…