Claret
Claret is a small, pretty village 20km North of Montpellier. The crag faces directly south on an escarpment just above the village, and is a useful stop over place en route along the motorways of the south of France. The climbing is steep and polished, and on hot days is best avoided, although the roofs provide shade and the rest of the crag loses the sun after about 4pm. It dries quickly after rain but some of the routes, especially the tufas, seep after prolonged rain. However in cooler winter, spring and autumn conditions, it has some testing and enjoyable routes. Grading is tough, perhaps some routes should have two grades, a boulder grade for the start and one for the rest of the route. The bolts are good, although often spaced with a good hold to clip from. All this, coupled with its easy access, makes Claret a popular crag.
Sport and bolted routes
Topo Ref | Route | Sport Grade | Length | Quality | Description | Tick |
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006 | Le peril jaune | 6b+ | ||||
009 | Martin Luther King | 6b+ | ||||
021 | Miss terre en peril | 6c+ | 25m | Near the approach path |
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026 | Margot | 6a | ||||
027 | Tac tac | 6a+ | 25m | Just right of the approach path. Very pleasant except for a hard polished move in the middle. |
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038 | King of Bongo | 7a+ | ||||
043 | Voodoo | 7b | ||||
051 | Hot tension | 7c+ | 30m | Just behind the two large immovable boulders |
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057 | Guere d'usure | 7a+ | The extension is 8c and was on sighted by Adam Ondra |
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063 | Clair obscur | 6c | 30m | Behind the first large olive tree that you meet on the path |
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080 | Biotop | 8b+ | ||||
088 | Le bal de la suer | 7b | 25m | The route starts behind the second set of olive trees on the path |
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101 | Awele | 7a | ||||
107 | Houlala | 6b+ | 25m | Slippy and strenuous up to the third bolt then correct at this grade |
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111 | La saison des amours | 7a+ | 30m | The broken crack and roof left of the tree |
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112 | Il fut un temps | 6c | 25m | About half way along the crag is an obvious tree. Climb this in the vain hope to avoid a hard start. Continue up the crack with some technical jamming, moving right more easily afterwards. |
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120 | Des margouillats plein les murs | 6c+ | 25m | After another hard start continue direct |
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121 | Les vignerons de pic | 6c | 25m | Start as for the previous route but trend right with some tricky moves past the bulge |
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125 | Horrible et mental | 7a+ | 30m | Facing the "tombstone" on the path |
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141 | Coit ou double | 6a | 30m | Has a very conspicuous log placed to avoid the difficult start |
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142 | Message personnel: "AVFF" | 6b+ | ||||
151 | Le gardien du temple | 6b+ | 25m | Another hard start followed by more reasonable and less polished climbing |
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161 | Best seller | 6c | ||||
186 | Les chants noir | 7a | 25m | Hard to start, run out to the 4th bolt, then easier to a gnarly finish. 7a? Really? |