Ardeche consists mostly of limestone cliffs beside rivers that are perfect for cooling off in during summer. The limestone and the 30 plus degree days reminded me of my time in Tonsai, Thailand, but instead of grading the climbs easily as they do there, it was graded particularly hard. So hard in fact that our confidence went out the window for a few days, and we thought we might be better off taking up another hobby or stick to hiking perhaps. You could easily add a grade or two for the difficulty.
We set up camp at Castlejau which is a tiny town with the largest concentration of climbing in Ardeche and began to explore the region giving each of the climbs we did a star rating because the guide books didn’t. 0 stars meant crap, 1 star meant ok, 2 stars meant good and 3 stars meant something sustained, interesting and worth doing again. One day we went to a crag called Le Viel Audon which lies across a river from Balazuc, a beautfiul medieval town. Most of the climbs we did there we gave 2 stars. Then on another day we visited a crag called Salavas at Fontgarnide, a slabby cliff on a hill with good views of the area, and we rated most our climbs with 3 stars. Then we also visited Vallon Pont D’arc mostly for some swimming because of the heat!
Around Castlejau we had a play at Les Actinidias and Chaulet, but ended up at Mazet Plage most days where the sun wasn’t as intense and our hands didn’t drip with sweat after two minutes. One of the climbs at Mazet was called Pinky graded 6c (Ozzie grade 22) which Nic worked on one morning. The name says it all; there is not much to hold onto, and if you can hold onto something its, well it has to be with your.... . Another climb was called Les Strates a grade 6a (18) which we both liked. Les Strates had the craziest move in it where I had to balance on tip toes with both hands on 2 finger crimpers at chest height, then I had to put my right foot up high, rock onto it, then right hand a bit higher for balance on a slab before reaching for a jug. A very very balancy move, way above the bolt and quite scarey (especially for a 6a...) when I felt I was just getting back into climbing. The problem is that by the time you get there, your arms are totally pumped and it is difficult to relax and balance properly without having a good rest to let the pump subside, but there is no natural resting spot, so you just have to keep going. Despite being just a 6a, it is still my “project”.
The climbing routes in Ardeche tend to be cruxy, so a few times we jumped on a 6a (18) which you could climb up easily - say grade 15 style - then all of a sudden the climb would involve a 6c move (22) with no alternative! And some climbs were so polished and slippery our feet and hands slid everywhere. It was soo incredibly hot during the day, that we could really only climb in the morning before the sun hit or from 5 in the evening. Our climbing days could sometimes be frustrating...
The rivers in Ardeche could also be frustrating. They are ruled by the canoe mafia, and apparently on any given day in summer, there are 2000 canoes hired out to tourists. But Nic and I had our own ideas on how to enjoy the river, beat the mafia, and beat the 15 euro an hour canoe hire charge. We found some 3 euro lilos; money well spent. For hours we would drift down the river on our lilos, often passing over areas where the tourists in canoes would get stuck on rocks. In some parts the river was magical, as the limestone boulders which were 2 or 3 metres high created mazes and rapids which we sped down. In other parts the river would slow down and widen out and we would search for potential deep water solo opportunities on the bank. Nic would swim over and double and triple fold his lilo so that he could climb upon it and onto the rock to check it out.
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