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October 11, 2019 | TRIPS

VERDON GORGE CLIMBING TRIP

A short tale about a climbing trip to the iconic Verdon Gorge.

It was my second time visiting this little paradise in the south of France, and still it felt a bit intimidating and exposed. There is nothing easy about the Verdon Gorge. It was hard to get lodging at a decent prize in town, so we ended up booking a mobile home in Castellane, about 25/30 min drive to the Parking of La Carelle. And we made it. We only had three climbing days ahead of us, so we had to use them wisely.

Topping out after the first route in Verdon.
Topping out after the first route in Verdon.

For th first day we decided it was best to choose some ¨easy¨, routes. The guys I am travelling with have little experience on multipitch route, and let alone handling all the exposure at Verdon. So We went for some routes at the Belvedere de la Carelle. We splitted in two teams and got ready to rap down.

Climbing in Verdon implies full commitment. You choose a route, you rap down and pull the rope, and then you have ti be able to climb up. If you do your homework, you have look around for alternative exits. and also have the topos for an easier route, in cas you can´t make it up the route you have choosen.

Rappeling down at the Verdon Gorge.
Rappeling down at the Verdon Gorge.

First day went down and it was great. We climbed fun routes and enjoyed a nice day in the sun.

Next day we went for a slighty harder route. Hellfest, 7a, 260mts. It was a blast. ONe of the better routes i´ve climbed here so far. Sustained climbing on amazing rock and very well protected. It was much fun.

Third day we went for a route i´ve been wanting to climb for some time. L´Encastete. 7a+, 280mts. we climbed the first two pitches and got shut down by some rain. So we ended up bailing. The first two where something amazing. I will come back to climb this route to the top.

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Client Reviews
Excellent!

Beginner’s course in rope climbing with Sol was the best! Sol is super professional and patient and everything is done in humor and good atmosphere. We feel ready to go out and climb! Santi helped us with all the logistics and made it really easy and comfortable to get started. 10/10 experience we will definitely come back for more of Southclimb.

– Matan Lotem
Excellent!

(Translated by Google) Climbing course with Santi in Siurana. Fantastic and with a lot of patience on your part.😄💪
(Original) Curso de escalada con Santi en Siurana. Fantástico y con mucha paciència por parte suya.😄💪

– Vicenç Brull Divorra
Excellent!

Climbing with Santi/Southclimb is a stellar experience with a consummate coach. He’s extremely knowledge, supportive, and able to tailor experiences to your needs. He gets the best climbs and climber out of you. I’ve climbed with him on one-day and weeklong trips. For the longer one, he also puts much care into the full experience - lodging, dining and downtime - all good quality and well orchestrated.

– Annie Bai
Excellent!

(Translated by Google) I did the long route course with Santi and the experience was excellent, with great emphasis on safety and all the factors to take into account when planning a long route and the necessary manoeuvres. The practice day left us to work and find our way on our own, intervening when necessary and always keeping a watchful eye that everything was done safely. Always with good humor and good treatment, which is not less in situations of nerves and tension. Thank you so much!
(Original) Hice el curso de vía larga con Santi y la experiencia fue excelente, con mucho énfasis en la seguridad y todos las factores a tener en cuenta para planificar una vía larga y las maniobras necesarias. El día de práctica nos dejó trabajar y buscar camino solos, interviniendo cuando era necesario y manteniendo siempre una mirada atenta a que todo esté hecho de manera segura. Siempre con buen humor y buen trato, que no es menor en situaciones de nervios y de tensión. Muchas gracias!

– Bethania Luz Lanzaco
Excellent!

(Translated by Google) Sport climbing course. Very educational and entertaining. Highly recommended!
(Original) Curso de escalada deportiva. Muy didáctico y entretenido. Muy recomendable!

– Andreu Mayo Casademont
Excellent!

(Translated by Google) great experience in the long way course, a weekend full of laughter and learning to remember with our instructor santi, a true professional and a better person, we will repeat more training with southclimb !!!
(Original) genial experiencia en el curso de via larga, un fin de semana lleno de risas y aprendizaje para recordar con nuestro instructor santi, todo un profesional y mejor persona, repetiremos mas formaciones con southclimb!!!

– jep illa giralt
Excellent!

(Translated by Google) I did a climbing course with my two children, everything was very well organized and we had a great time. I'm sure we'll do it again.
(Original) Hice un curso de escalada con mis dos hijos , todo muy bien organizado lo pasamos muy bien .Seguro que repetimos .

– Jessica Martin Fortes
Excellent!

First of all, I want to thank Santi - our rock climbing guide - for an excellent teaching!!⚡️
He was consistent, attentive to our strengths and weaknesses, inspiring confidence and really professional (technically and psychologically)!
I finally overcome my fear of lead rope climbing which followed me for a long long time… A friend of mine had his first time real rock climbing and now he already knows both types (lead and top) of climbing and belaying!🤯
And it hasn't felt like a boring studying with a tired of all this annoying tourists instructor. Santi was behaving not just as a mentor, but also as a friend of us🤝🏻
Hope to climb together one day again✨🏔️

– Valeriia Yarmola
Excellent!

I august we did a multi pitch course with SouthClimb. Great quality instructor and climbing gear !

– Dimitry Versteele
Excellent!

(Translated by Google) It has been a pleasure to do the via Larga climbing course with Santi. We learned a lot and had a great time both days. Santi has been like a friend and teacher. Soon we will return to do more courses with you. Gasss
(Original) Ha sido un placer hacer el curso de escalada de via larga con santi. Aprendimos mucho y nos lo pasamos muy bien los dos dias. Santi ha sido como un amigo y profesor. En breves volveremos para hacer mas cursos con vosotros. Gasss

– Victor ML