Baguettes and Limestone Continued: Climbing Les Calanques

Amazing limestone sport-climbing, views of the Mediterranean Sea, delicious sea food, baguettes for days, a sweet flat and an awesome climbing partner all made for what I am calling my best trip yet!

David with baguette in hand staring towards the Arete de Marseille

After our experience on the Verdon Gorge, David and I were stoked and ready to continue our adventures in France. We headed down to the coast and an area called Les Calanques, which are basically big limestone outcroppings into the Mediterranean Sea. Besides their sheer beauty, they are known for their great multi-pitch sport routes. Yes there was some boondoggling, getting lost, going off route, but that was all part of the adventure and a great adventure it was! 

We started out with our arrival into the very quaint and charming town of Cassis. Unfortunately, due to showing up with a rental car, kayak and no hotel reservation, we spent half of the day trying to figure out where to park and where to sleep. Eventually, we settled for camping that evening while we sorted out other options (the camping wasn't the best). Thankfully, we stumbled across an amazing flat for rent that looked over the national park and after one night of camping, we moved into our new home for the week. 

Getting gear sorted at the camp ground

Checking out the town of Cassis

The next day we woke up very ready to get to the climbing. We started out on the Calanque de Sormiou and the Traversée et arête de l'extrême Bec route. The route involved a short approach, then a long traverse out and around the calanque (sometimes just 5-10ft above the water) before reaching the tip and climbing up over the top from there. So amazing. So beautiful. 

The approach

Almost there

Climbing!

Taking a minute to check out the view

Traversing and trying to manage the rope so it doesn't fall in the water

Entering the cave

Referencing the guide book before starting up

Seriously, doesn't get much better than this

Mission accomplished! 

A view of Marseille on our way out

The next morning we woke up to a fresh baguette and croissant outside our door! France is awesome!

So fresh and delicious

After enjoying are baked goods, we were off for another adventure in the Calanques. We decided to make our way to the Calanque d'en Vau and the Traversee Ramond route. The approach was longer but it was worth every step. The trail took us to a beautiful beach surrounded by limestone walls and clear green water. After enjoying a quick lunch on the beach, we started climbing, sort of...

The Calanque d'en Vau beach

The route began with a down climb/ rappel through a window in the rocks. It was after the rappel that things started to get interesting. Our guide book was fairly unclear about exactly where we were supposed to go from there, and eventually we made our way to a ledge that was seemingly unprotected. After a lot of debate, we decided that neither one of us felt comfortable moving forward with the gear that we had on hand (we didn't have any trad gear). An unprotected fall from the ledge would have been very dangerous and not something work risking in our minds. With that, we retreated, which included David having to lead out of the tunnel we repelled into. It was interesting, but manageable.

The window/tunnel repel

Confused route finding

After our slight set back for the day, we decided to make it better with a fancy seafood dinner in Cassis. We made the 15min walk into town and found ourselves a cute and very delicious little restaurant. 

Walking into Cassis

French dining!

The next day we were determined to climb with a little less boondoggling. We decided to shoot for spot that had multiple routes nearby that we could choose from. We headed for the Calanques Les Goudes. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the exact routes we did, but I will try to do an update once I figure it out. We did two different multi-pitch routes which had us topping out on the Roche Du St, Michel. We were stoked on the day and after the day before, stoked on making it to the top! 

Headed for the Roche Du St. Michel

Taking a quick photo break on a belay ledge

Repelling off the top

Sunset at Dinner on the Calanque Les Goudes

The next day we woke up to rain. Too much rain to climb. So we took the day as a rest day to get caught up on media, emails, work, ect. with the promise of one more big day of climbing ahead. We had actually planned to leave that day, but weren't ready just yet....

Rainy day dinner in the flat. Have I said that I love France?

We woke up early with a big mission for the day. We wanted to climb one of the Calanque's most famous routes, the Arete de Marseille on the Calanque de Sugiton. The approach was supposed to take an hour and a half, but David and I managed to turn it into a 5 hour mission. We walked one way, thought we were wrong, turned around and walked a different way that took us about 100ft from the first pitch. Unfortunately, between us and the climb was a deep, uncrossable gully. Soooo we turned around again, only to realize that we had been almost there the first time! Frustrated but determined, we started the climb mid-day. 

After climbing up the first pitch, we found ourselves on top of a pillar, staring across a gap in order to continue our climb upward. Stepping across this gap on the first move of the second pitch is what has made this route famous. While not overly difficult, this move definitely has a pretty strong pucker factor! 

Two climbers navigating the gap

After stepping across, we continued climbing, trading off leads up the five or so more pitches to the summit. We ended up catching up to another party right around when we were topping out which was convenient since we weren't all that sure where the repel routes were. The final pitch involved meandering across some boulders then up and over one. It was listed as fairly easy in the guide book and I wanted to get one last lead in, but I ended up backing down due to its run out nature. I handed it over to David and he led us up our final pitch in the Calanques. Getting to the top was bitter sweet. On the one hand it had been a long day and felt good to finally conquer the Arete de Marseille. On the other hand, I was sad to know that my climbing trip in the Calanques had come to an end. And then, I started thinking about Moule Frite.

Almost to the top!

Looking back at the day's project

David and I had been saving one final Coastal French dish for our last night -- Moule Frite. We had been talking about eating Moule Frite the whole week and as we began our descent from the arete, we started to fear that the restaurant would be closed by the time we made it to Cassis. Needless to say, having not eaten much all day, we picked up the pace for our walk out, dreaming of piles of mussels and french fries.

The walk out

Alas, we made it just as the restaurant was about to close and gorged ourselves on delicious crustaceans and fried potatoes!

Moule Frite!!!!

The next morning we left the Calanques and continued on our adventure to do some more kayaking in France and Italy. There is not question in my mind that I will return to the Calanques one day for more seafood and mediterranean climbing. Such a great spot!

Stay tuned for the next installment of my adventures in Europe!

Baguettes and Limestone: The Verdon Gorge!

Prior to starting my season with Disney in Norway, I took a detour south to Italy and France for a little personal adventuring. David was freshly accepted into medical school at Wake Forest and ready for adventure as well so we made a plan to meet up in Milan, Italy with gear to kayak and climb and few set plans beyond that. After arriving in Milan, we picked up our rental car and installed the finest set of racks available...

David dragging his kayak out of the Milan Airport

2x4 Racks installed and ready to roll

After a night at a nearby hotel, David and I hit the road enroute to Grenoble, France, the home of my good friend Antoine Dupius whom I met nine years earlier on a kayaking trip in Ecuador. He happened to be in town for a few days and offered us a place to sleep and people to go kayaking with. We figured that was a great way to start off our Alps adventure. 

We literally pulled up to his apartment to find Antoine and a bunch of his friends loading up their kayaks to head out to the river. We had initially thought we'd miss them, but were stoked to find that our first day in France would include a run down the beautiful Bonne River. 

Enroute to Grenoble!

Bonne River Kayaking

After getting off the river, Antoine had prepared a small gathering of friends at his apartment and it definitely lived up to every expectation I had for my first night in France. Delicious wine, cheese and bread were on the menu. We spent the evening sitting around the table enjoying time with friends, both new and old. I may not have understood every word, but I loved every minute of it.

At some point in the evening, Antoine got a call saying that the Verdon Gorge would be running over the next couple days. At the time, I had never even heard of the Verdon Gorge, but Antoine's description of the "Grand Canyon of Europe" had me salivating. Twenty something miles of Class 3-4 rapids in a deep gorge filled with caves and steep overhanging walls. It sounded like a kayaker's heaven and I had to go. It is somewhat in the middle of no where and we knew it was going to be out of our way by hours, but with the Antoine's description, David and I both knew it would be worth it.

The next morning we woke up and took care of some errands before hitting the road yet again to the town of Castellane, the put in for the Verdon Gorge and where Antoine's friend and Verdon Gorge local, Maxime Raux lived. The drive took around five hours, and knowing that we would not be boating that day, we took our time getting there, stopping in cute villages and enjoying the scenery along the way.

A scenic view of the road into Castellane

Enjoying a french espresso and dessert

We went to bed at Maxime's knowing we were staying in a pretty house in a nice spot, but when we woke up we found ourselves in this amazingly beautiful and historic home, with breakfast ready in the outdoor courtyard. It was dreamy. 

A side view of the house 

After breakfast it was time to get on the river. We loaded up our boats and were off to the put in. David, Fabion (another friend of Antoine's joining us) and I were super excited for our first Verdon Gorge experience. Maxime explained that no matter how many times he does the river, he is always blown away. The river delivered in every way. 

A view of the Verdon Gorge from above (Photo by Maxime Raux)

The first few miles were a nice warm up before we began to head deep into the gorge. Be forewarned, no pictures will ever do this place justice. The pictures included are just a small glimpse into what is a truly spectacular place.  

David dropping into the gorge

David heading into the darkness

Me heading into the first cave rapid (Photo by Maxime Raux)

After paddling a little ways, Maxime told us to follow him up into a side creek that contained narrow passages and steep walls. The water was a beautiful dark green and super peaceful. We took our time exploring the area and appreciating its beauty; recognizing that without a kayak, it would be almost impossible to see this place.

The side creek

David floats through a narrow passage

After spending some time in the side creek, it was time to run more rapids. We quickly came upon the second cave rapid, this one significantly more difficult than the first. It was quite the sight to watch everyone drop into the darkness of the cave, disappear, and then emerge out the other side.

David enters into the second cave drop

Besides the cave rapids, the other spot that is notorious on the Verdon Gorge is a place where the river literally goes underground through a pile of rocks. It's basically a big sieve that at lower water levels is completely runnable. Our trip had higher than normal water however, so it was not possible. We still took some time there checking out the spot and imaging what it would be like to paddle through it. No doubt one day I will return to this amazing place and hopefully get that experience.

After portaging around the sieve, we seal launched back in and continued on our way through many more fun rapids. The over 2,000ft high limestone walls continued to blow us away.

David and Maxime sitting on top of the sieve that is sometimes paddled

David seal launches back into the river after our portage

Eventually, we came to the last rapids on the river. Sad to see the experience coming to an end, we made sure to fully take in our surroundings with big smiles on our faces as we made our way through the final rapids.

David moving through one of the last rapids of the day

Maxime celebrating another successful descent of the gorge

The day is not over once the rapids end because the river then flows into a big lake that requires a few mile paddle out. Thankfully, even though the rapids ended, the scenery stayed pretty spectacular all the way out on the lake. 

The beginning of the lake

A view of the lake paddle from above (Photo by Maxime Raux)

I cannot say it enough... The Verdon Gorge should be on every kayaker's bucket list! Thanks again to Maxime and Antoine for all their help in making this trip down the Verdon Gorge happen!

Stayed tuned for the next installation of "Adventures in France" when David and I head to Les Calanques to climb next to the Mediterranean Sea!

My Summer in Europe: Adventuring in France, Italy and Norway!

I recently returned home from what was one epic summer. It involved lots of logistics, air travel, and dragging around heavy bags, but it was worth every second! 

My job as an adventure guide for Adventures by Disney grants me the opportunity to not only see the world, but also share it with others. This year, I was lucky enough to go to a destination that had been on my personal bucket list for a long time: Norway. 

But my schedule was such that I had a trip in Norway, then a trip in Ecuador, before returning to Norway for the rest of the summer. I decided to make the most of the schedule by adding some personal days before the work trips to go on some of my own adventures! 

Those personal adventures included two and a half weeks of climbing and kayaking in Italy and France as well as about two weeks of kayaking around Norway. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be putting up posts of some of the highlights from these adventures including kayaking the Verdon Gorge, climbing off the coast of France and attending the Extreme Sports Festival in Norway. Enjoy!