On the way back home from the alps we stopped by Dévoluy to do one last route in Les Gillardes. Four years ago I did three routes here (two with J.) and had a great time on all of them. As the new edition of Parois de Légende has added a few more routes, and volume two of Itinéraires d’un grimpeur gâté also includes routes we haven't done, we were keen to check out some of these routes.
In the end we went for the curiously baptised Patate de l'Espace as something not too long, not too short, not too hard or not too easy. Lagom, as you'd have it.
Overall I think it was a good route, but maybe not great? I think that the three routes we did four years ago were better, but this is still worth doing. The route wanders around, always searching for the best rock in this section of the wall. Despite this, some parts still have plenty of loose rock. However, as it is included in Itinéraires..., I guess it will see more traffic.
In my notes from four years ago, it says that the wall gets into the sun at around 2-4 pm. As Patate is long, 15 pitches all longer than 30 m, we figured an early start is to be recommended to avoid heat strokes in August. Despite the early start we still had four pitches to go at 2pm when the top pitches got into the sun in the beginning of August. However, the narrow canyon offers a nice updraft of cool air in the afternoon, and even though the altitude is rather moderate (the top-out is at 1510m) the temperatures are better than you’d believe.
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| Petit Rocher, Gillardes |
We stayed in nearby Corps in the Isère department, with splendid views of the Devoluy massive. As such, the drive to the parking barely took 20 min and we could be at the base just after seven without getting up too early. As I neared the first belay another team appeared, also keen on doing the route. I would not follow another team just on their heels on many routes in the Gillardes, and maybe particularly not on this one. Not all pitches traverse excellent rock. To make matters worse for them, we also hauled a bag. But some people just like objective dangers, I guess. Or have no backup plan if a relatively moderate route is occupied on a splendid Saturday in August. (Reasonable back-up plans could be any of the popular routes on the wall: Association de Bienfaiteurs, Forts, Feignants, Frileux, Les Maîtres du Jeu (new, but comes highly recommended by repeaters and included in the new edition of Parois de Légende), Sous la griffe de Lucifer, the very excellent Les premiers pas d'Elsa [on this I’d dare to climb below other teams], the new classic Miroir Tectonique or why not the recently rebolted La dernière tentation d'un été trop court?)
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| Low clouds over the Devoluy massive |
The morning offered very low clouds, and when we started the top of the wall was not visible. During the night the clouds may have been even lower, for the first five pitches offered slippery damp climbing. Combined with not always super solid rock it made for slow going on these pitches. The third pitch offered the first bit of good climbing with some nice stemming in a blank corner: the bit between 2nd and 3rd bolt is well mandatory. On pitch 5 I was never at ease with the combination of dampness and crumbly feet and was close to taking a long fall at the last bolt when I clipped the last bolt from a big undercling, took a hold next to the draw, leaned out, ripped off said 5 kg undercling and sent it as a deadly projectile towards the team below accompanied with a cheery ‘caillouuuuu’!
From pitch 6 the climbing got markedly better, except for pitch 8, where it is hard to haul a bag through the jungle of trees and rotten big flakes without first getting it stuck then sending down rock. On pitch 7 the famous flint-intrusions start to appear giving a unique climbing style on flat vertical edges. These style peaks on pitches 9 and 10 with some really pleasant climbing.
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| J. follows pitch 7 |
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| and makes quick work of the amazing pitch 10 |
Pitch 11 has a cool boulder problem off the belay followed by some pretty heady 6b+ climbing towards the belay, pitch 12 a thin boulder problem and pitch 13 suddenly a very sustained and physical section just after the belay. For us pitch 13 was the hardest pitch with a difference, and it was not easy to change gear and just charge hard up an overhang after near 400 m of slab- and vertical trickery.
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| On top of pitch 11 |
Pitch 14 was the crust on the crumble, with an excellent vertical section on limestone up to the top band of the crag when the rock suddenly turns in to pebbly conglomerate or ‘pudding’ as the locals call it. Unfortunately the climbing doesn’t stop on top of this pitch, that would be too perfect. Instead for the final pitch 15, you have to walk 20 m across a ledge to a bolted boulderproblem to the true top, and then drag the rope another 10 m up to a tree in the forest on the rim to make a belay.
With the slow climbing at the start, and a few hauling mishaps the route took us over eight hours, or more than 30 min per pitch.
The walk-down, at least down alpine prairie and pine forests to the hamlet Jouves, was as nice as ever. Pic Bure on the horizon was covered in clouds, J. informed me that the approach and decent off Demaison’s route there is hell and only for the young and stupid, but I still dreamed of climbing there.
Approach: Park at 44°45'03" North and 5°53'01" East (or 44.75108, 5.88378 in decimals), some 2 km north of Saint-Disdier in Dévoluy, on a big pullout. Walk south across the stone bridge and descend fixed ropes on the right bank of Souoise river. Follow the footpath downstream along the river, then up right via a steep scree slope to the base of the wall.
Keep traversing at the base of the wall, past the huge corner system splitting the wall, then scramble up ledges. On the left, Forts, Feignants, Frileux and three other routes have a common start. Patate starts 10 m to the right. The first bolt is at chest-height.
Gear: 14 draws + somethings for the belays. Most belays not connected.
Pitch lengths from memory, so could be well off.
P1. 6a+/A0 40m. Very low first bolt/belay. Diagonally right up to a stratum of very bad rock where an aid-move on tat brings you towards the belay.
P2. 6b+ 40m. Hard move in the start, traverse right, then back slightly left to a belay at the base of a big blank dihedral.
P3. 6c 40m. Mandatory section between 2nd and 3rd bolt in the dihedral, after the dihedral out left.
P4. 6a 40m. Straight up then a bit to the left on top.
P5. 6b+ 35m. Rising traverse left on slightly crumbly rock to a crux sequence, then straight up to belay. Somewhat spaced bolts.
P6. 6b 30m Steep climbing on jugs from the belay, then a bit left then straight up.
P7. 6c+ 40m. Sustained face climbing with increasing difficulties. Diagonally up right from the last bolt (not up left towards the cave). Great pitch.
P8. 6b 35m Zig-zag. First up right, then straight up for quite a while until a sharp traverse left leads to the belay on a big ledge. Save some long slings for the top. (If hauling, pay attention to where the tagline ends up, also be aware that the rock surrounding the pitch is horribly loose, so be careful if hauling!)
P9 6b 35m. Step a few m left then straight up on rock of increasing quality. The second half climbs on amazing flint intrusions.
P10 6c 30m. Delicate slab climbing of decreasing difficulties, finish with a long traverse horizontally right to a belay with two spaced bolts. A great pitch.
P11 7a or 6c/A0 35m. A hard boulder problem past two bolts then easy traverse back left to a tricky and slightly runout slab (6b+) on flint intrusions.
P12 6c 30m. A couple of walls on top of each other with a well tricky move high up. Well bolted.
P13 7a or 6c/A0 30m. Very sustained and physical steep climbing in a rising traverse, then easier. Good fun.
P14 6b+ 45m. Vertical sustained thin face climbing on flint intrusions, then a long section of easier conglomerate potato pulling. Belay just below a huge ledge/false summit. Superb.
P15 6a 35m. Walk 20m across the ledge and then 10m of 6a past three bolts to the true summit. (Possible to take intermediate belay before the last bit.) Belay from a tree on top.
Descent: The descent is a leisurely stroll down along a single footpath that starts at directly at the top of the route and leads down the shoulder to the hamlet of Jouves. A 2 km hike along the main road leads back to the parking.
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