Gap (Hautes Alpes) Guide

Summary:

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Seasonality

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.538076, 6.189680

access issues

Some privately owned climbing areas may have restricted access. Check with https://www.ffme.fr/

inherited from France

Park where indicated, take care of the environment, buy the local guidebook when possible (this is one of the ways you can help local route setters), clean up your shoes before climbing, don't spray beta, be polite.

inherited from France

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.316621, 5.696150

summary

The climbing village

description

Orpierre is a convenient and popular destination with more than 600 routes from 3a to 8c. It features sectors ranging from single pitch to long routes, all safely equipped and within walking distance of the town & campsite. No month reaches 10 days with considerable perception. It's no wonder that Orpierre is ever-popular, even if some of the routes feel more than a little polished.

The town is a model for well-managed sport climbing areas: There are car parks and signs for climbers everywhere. The tracks & paths are maintained, well visible and good to walk. Routes are very well bolted, bolt density is higher near the ground and at difficult parts of a route, typical distance between 2 bolts is 1-3 meters, lower offs consist of at least 2 bolts interconnected via noteworthy solid chain, rock & metal are checked and maintained often. If routes start from a ledge or other exposed positions, belayers can secure themselfs at bolts or steel cables. Where stones are likely to fall, e.g. below a track or a coomb, nets made of steel ropes are installed.

While being a small village, you'll find an old town, a climbing shop, a climbers orientated gift & clothes shop, two restaurants, a mini-market and plenty of accomodations in Orpierre.

For mates or days neither feeling like climbing nor hanging around, there are signposted MTB trails, the beautiful & diverse landscape invites for moderate hikes as well as hikes with over 1000 elevation meters, and for bike tours into the surroundings. Sisteron is the next bigger city and worth a trip, not only because of the rock formations but also the old town and the citadel. Some sights are in between.

The topo paper guidebook Orpierre – Grimper dand les Pays du Buëch - Châteauneuf, Ventavon, Savournon, Sigottier, Buëch nord is published by FFME, produced by the local climbing club, and is available in the town. It's updated & extended every few years. Online shops tend to not reliably update the catalog/meta info but only the cover images, hence a listing extending the one at orpierre-escaladedurable.com by further editions and more infos:

Edition 2020, 26€, 280 pages, ISBN 978-2-9544-5752-9, cover shows 2 photos side by side with climber on the right. Maps and orienation photos have been considerably improved.
Edition 2016, cover shows on the left a white text on red background, on the left a hand clipping a quickdraw
Edition 2016, cover shows on the left a photo of a guy climbing, on the right an overview photo of the town below a red bar containing the "Orpierre".
Edition 2013, 256 pages, EAN 9-782954-457505, cover with photo inside a sketched carabine
Edition 2006, 160 pages, cover with full size photo showing climber on left

approach

Within Orpierre, town, restaurants, climbing crags, etc are just a short walk – there's no need to drive anywhere. All crags are very well sign-posted and finding them is mostly a matter of starting in the right place and following them.

Orpierre is located around 8 km west of the river Buëch which is accompanied by the street D 1075 connecting to Grenoble in the north and to Sisteron in the south.

Approach by car is easy and comfortable. Streets are well maintained & secure. There are many parking possibilities.

Public transport to Orpierre itself consists of only a school bus, but...

...a pooled car ride may be found at blablacar.fr (it took over www.CoVoiturage.fr which is still signposted 10/2022 in the area)
...in Eyguians, the ( stop44.34616, 5.77087) called Garde-Colombe - Eyguians Mairie is served by far distance buses, and for the last 8 km to Orpierre, you may walk, cycle, take a taxi or hitchhike – good chances someone gives you a lift because everyone knows about the missing public transport. The far distance buses are operated by ZOU, called "Car LER" or "Ligne Express Regionale", clean and modern. Route 31 connects Nice with Grenoble central station, drives 10/2022 twice a day but only the first drive towards Grenoble reaches Eyguians. It leaves around 11:45 (exact time differs by few minutes depending on the day) and to Grenoble, it takes 110 min and costs 18.50€. Route 33 connects to Gap; TODO: Add more details.
... the train from/to the north (Grenoble), the line "VIF" is temporarily shut down due to reconstruction works and shall serve Aspres-sur-Buëch again starting 12/2022. During works, for nothern desinations like Paris, Switzerland or Germany, it's quicker to first take the bus to Grenoble and from there take a train than to go by train south to Marseilles. TODO: Add details about connection between Aspres-sur-Buëch and Orpierre.
... the train from/to south, there is a connection from Laragne to Marseille. Laragne is 13 km driving diatance, but by bike, the heavily used D 1075 is no fun – the 2.5 km detour via nearly unused D 330 is worth a consideration.

where to stay

There are several gîtes in town and around.

The campsite is located a 7 min walk from downtown. It is big, has considerable infrastructure ranging from warm showers over washing machines to a swimming pool, offers spaces for tents, caravans and mobile homes, and rents huts and tents. The campsite is divided into the part Les Noyons with 2 and the part Les Princes d'Orange with 4 . Only the second one includes access to the swimming pool, only this rents huts & tents, and only this is opened in the cold part of the year.

history

Orpierre's climbing history starts in 1983 when Dominique Jugy and Pierre-Yves Bochaton bolt the first modern routes. With the help of mayor Raymond Chauvet, they bet on sport climbing to bring new life to the village. Today, Orpierre is also known as "le village qui grimpe" ("the climbing village").

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.316256, 5.691434

description

A varied and popular wall that gets the shade in the early afternoon. The left side is popular with novices (routes in the 4s-5s) whereas the right side is defined by steep sustained lines. The easier routes are usually quite polished.

With Kids: :

Mission impossible & Hurlement:

approach

Direct path from the village's upper car park, next to the cemetery.

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.317862, 5.691730

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.318325, 5.692340

description

A good sunny wall with lots to do in the 5s-6s. Popular for practicing multi-pitches. Rightmost routes are above the adit opening.

Online topo: https://www.planetmountain.com/english/Rock/crags/settore.html?idfalesia=38&idsettore=1

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.318018, 5.696721

description

An impressive wall with a number of big routes. Descent is possible via abseil or walking off to the East

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.320512, 5.699505

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.322840, 5.701628

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.321991, 5.699561

summary

Short multi-pitches.

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.324041, 5.704972

description

New sector with rather long routes

approach

Park at Adrech (follow the signs) and walk about 20min uphill

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.312027, 5.688981

description

Access to the Le Puy is forbidden for an indefinite period (https://www.orpierre-escaladedurable.com/actualites-orpierre/).

(Following an annual maintenance visit, the Puy cliff was temporarily closed: too many rock instabilities and too many dubious scales were detected. A geotechnical inspection was carried out on 30 June 2020, the technical report of which should propose to the commune the solutions to be implemented to guarantee climbing at Le Puy at a satisfactory safety level.)

An isolated sector that gets the afternoon shade and is remarkably sheltered during rain.

approach

Cross the river from the town via a wide wooden bridge and take a footpath off to the right after about 100m.

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.311058, 5.691108

summary

Small educational crag with belays on ground and mid-height level. (https://www.orpierre-escaladedurable.com/falaise-de-la-douce/)

description

13 pitches of about twenty metres, between 4a and 5b. The left-hand side is home to the easy routes, but some more athletic routes are found on the more vertical right-hand side.

approach

From the centre of town, walk down the D30 eastwards. Walk to the road a little past Piton Givré : Moniteur Et Guide D'escalade À Orpierre and turn left onto the path/street. Follow the path for signs to Le Puy and La Douce. Path leads directly up to La Douce.

history

Established 2021.

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.502479, 5.948867

summary

Welcome to one of the best crags in France (and the world?)

description

Céüse ("say-uz") is known for long, hard and steep routes but there is something for everyone here: from steep and juggy, to vertical and technical, to bolted single pitches and trad multi-pitches...

Then there's the location: the cliffs are perched on top of a 2000m mountain with a majestic view on the south of France.

This is a great summer destination for sport climbing where you'll get to jump on classic climbs, some of historical importance such as 'Biographie'[15807193], the first 9a+ in the world.

approach

There's always a catch and this is it: the walk-in is a real pain which will take between 45m and an hour depending on much stuff you carry and how fit you are. From the campsite, follow a marked site passed a horse shed until you reach a well-worn path leading upwards. Follow this past a staggered junction on a forest track until you get to a track that contours several hundred meters below the crag.

where to stay

Campsite "Camping Les Guerins" located some way beneath the crag.

ethic

Leave no trace.

history

Patrick Edlinger is believed to have been one of the first to recognise the importance of Ceuse for "futuristic" climbs. He was convinced after running around the cliff and brought some friends to start bolting hard routes. Not having much money to buy bolts, their routes were often pretty run-out but soon enough, Ceuse attracted strong climbers from all over the world.

Chris Sharma made the historic ascent of 'Biographie'[15807193] in 2001 (bolted by Jean-Christophe Lafaille in 1989, 'first part'[2378646186] freed by Arnaud Petit that same year). The full route was later graded 9a+.

Summary:

Sport climbing and Trad climbing

Lat / Long: 44.500052, 5.929022

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.498682, 5.933146

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.497778, 5.937530

description

Perhaps the most famous sector at Ceuse. The routes here are steep and sustained, but with good holds on which to get pumped. Expect a fair bit of polish on the classic routes. Start early if you want some shade.

approach

Follow the path to the left , passing through a gate, a small path leads to the right when you are under the sector.

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.496968, 5.940927

description

Plenty of technical, slabby routes in the mid 6s.

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.496792, 5.942776

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.496969, 5.944373

description

Impressive sector but mostly undeveloped.

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.497547, 5.946526

description

Climb all the best routes here, then you can retire! The quality here is so overwhelming it's hard to appreciate individual routes when they are all so good. Bolts can be quite spaced. The slabby lower grade routes at the right hand aren't giveaways!

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.497974, 5.948604

description

Famous sector but well out of reach for all but a few. Not yet fully developed.

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.498789, 5.950543

description

Popular. A wide variety of grades on offer. The hard routes are usually of better quality.

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.499946, 5.953307

description

A slightly longer walk in means this area is quieter than others. Long rope needed if you do the extensions...

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.500583, 5.955323

description

The last of the single pitch routes before things get a lot bigger. It's possible to access the top of the crag on a via ferrata.

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.501604, 5.957082

Summary:

Mostly Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.503852, 5.959118

Summary:

Sport climbing and Trad climbing

Lat / Long: 44.506490, 5.960802

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.679395, 6.250727

description

Nearby Pont du Fosse village you can find different crags for different levels of climbing. The city worth the visit too.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 44.677856, 6.250765

description

Limestone crag with climbs ranging from 15 to 25 meters in height. There are a variety of challenges and a decent number of easy levels. The grade displayed in the topos does not seem to be very uniform across the various routes.

It is a crag suitable for school and teaching children as it has a good sample of easy routes. For this reason the sector has been used extensively and the majority of the easy routes are quite polished and handcrafted with holes and glued stones. Still some of the routes (above V grade) are interesting and worth to check.

approach

Park the car near the street in the park where the area map is shown (google maps coordinates - 44.67936778248962, 6.255229584040595). The way is 10 minutes up a well identified path. It is also possible to use the same access as Rocher du Meyzel, which should take longer.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 44.678306, 6.251780

description

Limestone crag with climbs ranging from 15 to 25 meters in height. There are a variety of challenges and a decent number of easy levels. The grade displayed in the topos does not seem to be very uniform across the various routes.

approach

Park the car near the street in the park where the area map is shown. Park the car near the street in the park where the area map is shown (google maps coordinates - 44.67936778248962, 6.255229584040595). The route to the sectors is well outlined and it should take around 3 minutes.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 44.680677, 6.253401

description

Place with 65 routes from 5b to 7c. Beautiful view and atmosphere on major technical routes.

approach

Park the car near the street in the park where the area map is shown (google maps coordinates - 44.67936778248962, 6.255229584040595). The way up is well identified.

description

Around 25 sport climbing routes, from 3a to 7c, spread over several zones with overhang, vertical and slab wall. Maximum height: 20m. Also possible to boulder.

approach

Park the car near Saint-Jean-Saint-Nicolas (google maps coordinates - 44.67750985485406, 6.243501121994205). Follow the arrow starting in a nearby well marked path and go down until you reach the crag.

Summary:

All Sport climbing

Lat / Long: 44.543584, 6.398781

description

This is a crag of conglomerate stone, with overhanging routes. Some of the easier routes are polished.

access issues

There is an official park that requires you to walk 15 minutes in the village. It is also possible to park in other places, in the street, nearby the path to the route.