Mike Owen's blog: Climbing at St Cezaire

Some friends have just spent a week climbing at St Cezaire. It brought back fond memories of the times that we have spent at these fantastic cliffs, so I thought it would be a good excuse to put pen to paper and write a blog.

Here is a résume of the best cliffs:

Information for the St Cezaire crags was only available by word of mouth at the time. So, armed with a small hand drawn topo from Raph Cabane, we set off to find St Cezaire 1 (also known as "EDF") one day in November 1999. After driving up and down the valley several times we had to accept that we weren't able to find the crag. We eventually did find it, on a lovely sunny day in early February, the following year. This is an almost perfect crag as the walk-in is just 1 minute! This was the first sector equipped here at the end of the 80's/early 90's, mostly by Olivier Arnulf (Titi). The climbs are fairly short (generally between 10 and 20 metres) and offer all styles, from vertical to very steep and there are pockets, edges and tufas. After that first visit we were hooked and during the next couple of years we discovered the other sectors and climbed there frequently, as it really is a great all-year venue because there are crags in the sun or shade, depending on the time of year.

Jacques Larthomas told us about two fantastic long routes at St Cezaire 2 (a 6c+ and a 7a+) that just had to be done. I went there soon after with Marc Salomon on a cold day. We did both and they were in fact as good as Jacques had said. I vowed I'd return to climb there again in the sun later on in the autumn. Now I have to say that this crag feels a bit off the beaten track; it's pretty hard to find the path (in fact we used to cross the river via a fallen tree somewhere underneath the north facing sectors) and the climbs tend to be a bit dirty due to less traffic. However, it is well worth checking out as there are some real classics there (especially in the 6c+ to 7b grades). Again there are pockets, edges and lots of long tufas.

For some summer shade, Jean Pierre (JP) Kenil recommended that we visit the north facing crag (St Cezaire 3). It took Elaine, Al Stewart and I ages to find it on a very hot day in August 2000. By the time we eventually found the via ferrata that led up to the crag we were pretty knackered, but we were gobsmacked when we saw all the hanging tufas. It really is paradise for those who love that style. However, thanks to Titi's minimalist bolting, the climbs turned out to be psychological epics as they were very run-out, but their quality was absolutely stunning. Since then, there has been some re-equipping and the climbs are no longer harrowing (though I have to admit that I was surprised and a bit disappointed by that development).

Some years later we heard rumours of new developments by Olivier Germain. So we went to find out for ourselves what the deal was with St Cezaire 4 (sector "Kalymnos") and St Cezaire 5 ("Nord Bis"). They turned out to be very good additions indeed. Kalymnos offers some fantastic tufa climbing in the 6c to 7b grades, which is best during spring and autumn (avoid in summer). Nord Bis has some real classics on crimps and tufas (from 6c to 8a+), which is best from late spring through to early autumn. Topos available online at Jegrimpe.com (Olivier Germain).

The most recent addition is Le Discret, thanks to lots of hard work, mostly by Blaise Faugeras, with some routes opened by Aurel Gelot, Mathieu Henneteau and Christophe Louis. This is an amazing crag and well worth the long walk of around 30 minutes. It's a big crag that feels pretty intimidating, there are no soft touches as the grades are generally stiff. The warm ups are all hard (but very good) and there is a plethora of routes in the 7c+ to 8a+ grades. Whilst there are some tufas, the climbing is generally fingery on crimpy edges. The best time to climb there is in spring and autumn (winter can be very cold and summer too hot, as it comes into the sun around 2pm). Topo and info available online at Crazclimbe and Voyage a la verticale.

Best of (this is only my personal opinion):
St Cezaire 1: Connection 8b/7c (7b), La bal des vampires (7b+), Twist again (7c+).
St Cezaire 2: most of the best routes are on the left of the central cave but there are no names.
St Cezaire 3: Falaise a brutes (7a+), Mille seceur (7b), Master killer (7c+), Devine inspiration (7c+), Sublime demensis (8a), Chaud crane (8a), Attitude (8a+).
St Cezaire 4/Kalymnos: Fidgy, c mon amis (6c), Shamallow shoes (7a+), La pieuvre (7b).
St Cezaire 5/Nord Bis: Comme des pas qui s'eloignent (6c+), Marcsupitami (7a+), Les ours sont-ils maniaques? (7b), Terreur nocturne (7c+), Scorpions (8a), D'est en ouest (8a+).
Le Discret: Chapeau pointu (6b+), C'est dément (6c+), Action discrète (7b, or 7c to the 2nd chain), Inch of dust (7c+), Hilti base jump (8a, or 8a+ to the 2nd chain).

Finally: there is another crag called "Le Roi du 7" (because it had lots of really good grade 7's). It is no longer possible to climb there, all the bolts have been removed and climbing is officially banned, in order to protect the rare bats that nest there. This may also apply to the nearby sector to the left, called and named after Jean Marc Genevois.

La bal des vampires (7b+) at St Cezaire 1/EDF. (KeithSharplesPhotography)