Grotte des Nains

Situated deep in the forest, this small gorge with its quaint little cave has a handful of steep and difficult climbs up to 30m in length. It provides welcome shade on hot summer days, although is slow to dry after prolonged rain. The crag is not perfectly solid, so take care not to kill any tourists wandering through the gorge.

Region

Switzerland - Basler Jura

Rock Type

Limestone

Altitude

350m

Number of routes

Faces

North East

Sun

The crag is mostly in the shade

Climbing Area

Basler Jura

Directions

Drive from the centre of Ferrette uphill towards Sondersdorf and take a forest track on the left just as you leave the village. Follow this slightly uphill over bumpy ground bearing right at the first hairpin to a small car park with a picnic table and fireplace about 500m from the road. Leave the car and follow the signs to Grotte des Nains. A pleasant single trail path that takes you downwards and eastwards until you reach the gorge. About 5 to 10 minutes walking.

Sport and bolted routes

Topo Ref	Route	Sport Grade	Length	Quality	Description
01	H pour Homme	7a+		*
02	Preparation H	7a	12m	**	steep at first, then technical fingery climbing to the top
03	Allegresse	7a+	13m
04	Les visiteurs	5b	22m		Some of the bolts have been removed to prevent stones falling onto the heads of les visiteurs of the cave
05	Sanduhr	6b	19m	**	a little scrappy at the start, and an intimidating move to finish.
06	Sylphide	7a	25m		tricky moves around the bulge lead to some easier climbing before the technical upper wall
07	La gorge aux loups	7a+	13m
08	Chippendale	7a	12m
09	Stonehenge	7a+	27m
10	Bon baisers de Porrentruy	6b	25m	**
11	Tip	6c+	18m
12	Hard	8a	18m
13	Bio	6c+	18m
14	Simple	6b+	18m	**	Climb the steep slabby wall moving left after the third bolt to finish at the lower off two thirds of the way up the wall.
15	Top	7b	8m	**	From the rest just below the lower off of Simple move left and work your way with difficulty to finish up the crack.
16	Man	7c	6m
17	Power	7c+	7m
18	Allocation degressives	6c+	20m		On a buttress a little to the right of the main gorge