Climbing at Blégiers, Le Seuil and Les Herbez in Les Alpes de Haute-Provence

Just got back from a short trip to a really beautiful part of France, only three hours drive away. It's now time to take a rest and grow some more skin before the next trip.

The crags of Haute Bléone (north east from Digne les Bains) and the Ubaye Valley (near Barcelonette) are located in the beautiful Alpes de Haute-Provence, and are well off the beaten track, despite being close to the ever-popular destinations of Céüse and Orpierre. However, unlike those crags, you can have the whole crag to yourself and there's definitely no queueing for routes. The climbing is fantastic, well bolted and not polished at all. We climbed at Blégiers, Le Seuil and Les Herbez.

We stayed in our van right underneath the cliff at Blégiers, and at the excellent Camping River (in Méolans-Revel) which is a small, family-run campsite that provides an ideal central location for all the Ubaye cliffs; it's surrounded by stunning scenery; it's very peaceful and quiet; it's very clean and the showers are perfect. Plus, you can eat tasty homemade pizza, drink wonderful coffee (made from freshly ground beans) and eat fresh croissants and baguettes for breakfast. It's paradise! Hosts, David and Claire Clark, gave us such a fabulous welcome we didn't want to leave. We can't wait to return. Thanks to Marie-Jo for recommending such a lovely, friendly campsite.

A nice latte before climbing in the "snug".

Relaxing in the afternoon sun at Camping River.

Fantastic pizzas! Yummy!

Et voila!

Claire working hard, meanwhile David keeps us entertained with some of his tales.

David with his Busby, recounting tales from his days outside Buckingham Palace with the Irish Guards.

Looking towards the accueil.

Large roomy plots (and bungalows too).

It was too hot in the sun at Blégiers. So early, cold starts were necessary and we finished by 2pm at the latest. The routes tend to be short and the rock is generally slick and compact. There are also a lot of chipped holds (though we only did one such route). I would definitely recommend the classics "Mestrême Dream" (7c+) and "C'est Suprême" (7b+). More info can be found in "Topo d'escalade Bléone - Durance" (2016).

Is that close enough?

Amazing sculptures at Blégiers.

Half human, half fish!

Sang et tas d'ame (6c) totally chipped but good fun.

C'est suprême (7b+).

Autumn is the perfect time for climbing in the Ubaye valley, the cliffs generally face south and there's usually a cool wind. The style is generally fingery with edges and small flakes, however the friction is usually very good as the rock is rough and grippy. At Le Seuil I would recommend "Le grimpeur égologique" (6b+), "Work less, live more" (6c), "Encore et encore" (7b), "Fromage râpé" (7b) and "Merguez et chipolata" (7b+).

Le Seuil.

View from Le Seuil.

La tecktonic des plaques (6c).

La cours contre la honté (7c+).

Equipée torchée (7c).

Whilst I would also recommend "Tete de linotte" (6b), "Corail" (6b+), "Orange a mere" (7b+), "Rencontre avec l'Escher" (7c) and "La rose et le mollusque" (7c) at Les Herbez. More info can be found in "Couennes en Ubaye" 2éme édition-2016. There was also an article on Les Herbez in Grimper magazine (number 190).

My girls looking good at Les Herbez.

Rencontre avec l'Escher (7c).

Such a great climb.....

Greece is the word (again)

Had a blast of a week with my old mate Phil Davidson down here at the end of June, before we headed off to Greece again. We went to lots of quiet places and he was pretty impressed with the Gorges du Loup. It was just like old times and the banter was spot on. Thanks yer spaz, it was great to catch up.

Phil Davidson succumbs to sugar! (Photo by Elaine).

Phil on "Perfotactyl" (7a+) at Jurassic Park. (Photo by Elaine).

Unfortunately, it's been a very hot summer this year and Greece was no exception. Despite struggling with the heat, we managed to have a great time and spent a few weeks with Dave and Rhian Cross. We started off at Leonidio again and enjoyed climbing at Jupiter, Limeri and Elona. We also visited the over-hyped sectors of HADA and Crash of the Titans, which we found very disappointing and not really worth bothering with, in our opinion. We also found a lot of the grades in the new topo pretty stiff now; there certainly weren't any "holiday" grades. Whilst at Leonidio, we stayed in a really nice little studio ("Armenaki Apartments" run by the lovely Eugenia) in the idyllic seaside village of Sampatiki (just a few km north along the coast).

The Boss at the helm.

The idyllic port and beach at Sampatiki.

Ruff approves of our studio and balcony.

Armenaki Apartments in Sampatiki.

The reception area at Armenaki Apartments, Sampatiki. (Photo by Eugenia).

For us this was the highlight of sector HADA, Leonidio.

Dave Cross on "Gene Clark" (7a) at Jupiter, Leonidio. (Photos by Elaine).

You can get great coffee and croissants in Leonidio. (Photos by Elaine).

We then moved on to Lagada (just like last year) where conditions were much better and we met up with our lovely Greek friends Artemis and Kostas. Once again we were super happy to be able to do some great routes in Petsanes Cave and also down at Splithari too. Camping in the Cali down at the dry riverbed at Lagada has to be one of our favourite places.

Camping besides the dry riverbed at Lagada.

Perfect for camper vans. (Photo by Elaine).

We met up with Artemis and Kostas again (who we met at Pyli last year).

Dave Cross on the tricky "Nistikos Deipnos" (7a!) at Splithari, Lagada.

Dave Cross on the excellent "Stefanos Notios" (7c) at Splithari, Lagada.

Artemis on the technical "Sensi Seeds" (6b) at Splithari, Lagada.

3 photos of Stefanos on the brilliant "Master Yoda" (7c+) at Petsanes Cave, Lagada. (Photos by Elaine).

4 photos of the tricky sections on the superb "Fu Manchu" (8a) at Petsanes Cave, Lagada. (Photos by Elaine).

The really bold "Guernika" (8a) at Splithari, Lagada. Only 6 bolts in 35 metres make this quite scary indeed. (Photo by Dave).

2 photos showing how steep "Pull Up" (7c/7c+) is at Petsanes Cave, Lagada. (Photos by Artemis).

We finished off with two weeks at Pyli (another excellent summer venue) where we met up with Artemis and Kostas again. We also met Rob and Désirée, a really psyched Swiss couple who were bivvying on the remains of the old decking at the crag. Whilst there, we stayed in a great studio in Kanalia, about 15 km from the crag, which belonged to the family that own the excellent "Kanalion Gefsis" restaurant.

Chicken souvlaki and tsatsiki.

Courgette chips and garlic.

Baked aubergines and yoghurt.

Great food and ambiance at the Kanalion Gefsis restaurant. (Photos by Elaine).

Local grimpeuse on the classic "Dizzy Dolls" (7b+/7c) at Pyli.

 Désirée on "IRA" (6b!) at Pyli.

Roby on the classic "Anaconda" (7c+) at Pyli.

There's lots of different beers to try in Greece.

Back home it's still very hot and sweaty, although it's not stopping the young, keen locals from sending their projects at Déversé. We haven't been able to go to Jurassic Park or Cayenne because of the repair work to the tunnels and footpath (until the end of this year). No problem, luckily there's always Art Bloc, where there have been some big improvements to the 60 degree overhang and the salle d'anniversaire, and not forgetting loads of constantly changing blocs and air con too. Just perfect!

Back at Art Bloc on one of Bernard's "violets". (Photo by Elaine).