Calanques Fiever

Almost by chance, Guillaume and I are organizing a little impromptu trip to the stunning Calanques of Marseille!! While the cold is currently freezing just about every liquid in the Alps, and the mistral is whipping up the snow and sending it across the Mediterranean, we’re going to nestle safely on two legendary cliffs in the Calanques: the Goudes cliff on the first day and the Calanque de l’Oule on the second day... A lovely limestone interlude in this harsh winter!

A Sunday afternoon in Les Goudes!

We arrived in Les Goudes this morning to the sound of “Massilia.” Fans of the band will recognize the song! I’m always surprised by how quickly we leave the urban jungle of Marseille behind to find ourselves among the little huts of Les Goudes and then in the tranquility of the garrigue… Marseille—a city of contrasts!

The mistral is blowing hard today—probably a good 80 km/h. You can see the gusts churning up the sea, which is already pretty rough! The plan is to climb one of the most sheltered cliffs in the Calanques: the Goudes wall. Short multi-pitch routes, at an accessible difficulty level, and a 14-star view… everything needed for Guillaume to have fun leading too, rather than just following the guide. As for me, I also enjoy being the second climber!! We start with a trial run on the Toit du Garrigou, a route that’s just right for us—even without the sun! Tough enough that it’s not too easy, but easy enough that it’s not too hard! That way, we can take our time and exchange a few silly jokes when we meet up at the belay station! At the summit, gusts of wind are lashing the ridge just above us, but we’re well sheltered.

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The lack of sunshine today is putting a damper on our mid-route nap. It’s tough, but it’ll take more than that to knock us down. We bravely set off again on “S,” another nice, manageable route in the area—a step up from the first one… We rappel down in two stages along the straight line. I half-heartedly try to lure Guillaume into a third project… but he wisely decides to pass and save some energy for tomorrow! That leaves us a little time to find a comfortable spot to park the truck and set up the tent—which isn’t exactly a walk in the park in this area! All that’s left is to quench our thirst with a few beers and our hunger with some pizza before drifting off into the sleep of the righteous...

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Monday at Le Linceul

Today, we’re leaving the “urban” part of the Calanques to venture deeper into a wilder area of the park. Starting from Cassis, after about an hour’s walk, we reach the Calanque d’En Vau—completely deserted! The atmosphere here is only enhanced by the solitude that surrounds us. We’re making the most of it. The mistral is still blowing, but we have a powerful ally with us for the day: the sun, of course!

From D'en Vau, on our way to the Belvédère cliff, we pass through the Trou du Serpent, a narrow passage that—after a twist or two—leads to the Traversée des Ecureuils... The first plan (the Toboggan de la Corniche) falls through: the route is still in the shade, and the choppy sea urges us to keep our distance from it!

From there, the view of the Belvédère cliff—where I suggest to Guillaume that we go climbing—is breathtaking and leaves him pensive, to say the least! I sense that if we spend too much time gazing at this cliff with its receding lines, Guillaume will give up on any desire to climb. So it’s time for action—an excellent cure for apprehension! As we approach the cliff, the perspective changes, and the idea immediately seems less surreal to Guillaume...

We start with the first pitch of the “Intégrale.” Right into the thick of it. The ratings are much tougher than at Les Goudes, and you already have to cover quite a bit of ground between each anchor, choosing the right moves in a very vertical setting that really works the forearms… so I’ll be leading this time!

On the second pitch, we climbed pitches 2 and 3 of *Le Linceul* back-to-back. I’d climbed this route a few years earlier and remembered that the nuts were optional… I didn’t know that, in the meantime, the route had regained some of its wildness and that certain sections had been removed! I look pretty slim with my 12 quickdraws on my harness!! Luckily, the climbing isn’t tricky—the rock is perfect—and climbing steadily works out just fine! Guillaume joins me at the belay station after the traverse of Le Linceul.

Above, the route continues along a crack before crossing the famous 6b+ slab, protected by three anchors that I can see from the belay station... 10 meters above. I secretly hope that an intermediate protection point is hidden from view at the belay station, because it looks like there’s a bit of a climb up to that point! My hopes are dashed when, after a few meters of climbing—right at the spot where I’m thinking a small protection point wouldn’t hurt—I spot the dismantled remains of the old bolt. It makes perfect sense, actually, since the crack is just perfect for Camalots when you have them! I quickly run through my backup options on my harness: a sling, and that’s it… our German neighbors climb in some sectors with a strict code of ethics, using only wedged slings—why not me?

Once past the spot where the lifesaving rope came in handy, at the next belay station, the bird’s-eye view of the big blue is worth its weight in peanuts, while Guillaume works hard and races against the clock to beat the lactic acid! Not much training lately—way more protests than climbing sessions… you can’t be everywhere!

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Another nice pitch and a crack where I would have gladly placed a Camalot or two, and we find ourselves at the top of the route... Lying back in the full sun, facing the sea, we enjoy these beautiful moments as we reflect on this route—which I don’t think we experienced with quite the same intensity!!