With all the giant vultures circling overhead waiting for some fresh climber carrion, we began our huge abseil adventure from the top to the bottom of the gorge. Oh how we just LOVE abseiling!! The only momentary distraction from the stress of trying to find abseil points and dangling mid air from a rope between large caves and overhangs were the base jumpers. One huge woosh and rush of air and finally a chute opens, followed by another and another. I knew I was stressed as I was wishing we had taken that route down and not our epic abseil.
So we arrived fresh and happy some four hours later to start a 13 pitch climb (La Demande)!
We were super pleased when we met some French locals who wondered why we had got up at 6am and spent 4 hours getting to the route when we could have parked the car at the bottom and walked in 30 minutes, got to love the guidebook abseil suggestion! After trying the first few bolts and moves on slippery, friction free rock we finally accepted defeat and went to climb another route instead.
We did manage a fabulous route with a sociable feel (how many climbers can you get on one tiny belay ledge?) climbing next to lots of French weekenders – one of whom graciously clipped our rope through the first couple of bolts on a 6b overhang on the last pitch that we needed to overcome to top out. La Derobee 6b.
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