Grande Face · Baou de Saint-Jeannet · France
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
One of the best modern lines on the main face: nine pitches up a pillar left of the central depression, on overhanging stratified walls, thin slabs, a striking arête and a big flake. Sustained at 6a+ to 6c with one 7a pitch that parties find closer to 6c+, and 6b obligatory. The bolting lets you climb relaxed, but there are jammed blocks to treat gently.
The route
Astragale nocturne takes the pillar left of the big depression that cuts the middle of the Grande Face, starting in a bay of overhanging red rock left of L'Innominata and finishing on the summit. It was bolted in 2014 by three local climbers and has become a reference at its grade. The second pitch is the hardest: a slightly overhanging wall on big holds followed by a thin, steep slab. Higher up the route crosses the ledges of La Dominante, borrows a flake from it, and joins the Pilier du Soleil for a final long pitch of boulder moves between ledges. Grades are fair up to about 6b+ and generous above, according to several parties.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6b+ | 25 m | – | A boulder start with a low first bolt, a mantel onto a slab, then a fine crack and small corner with some unstable blocks. Finish by a delicate traverse right under the roof, which is the crux and can be done at A0. The length is a 2023 party's estimate. |
| P2 | 7a | 35 m | – | A slightly overhanging corner and wall on big horizontal holds (6b, about 10 m), then a stratified wall and a thin, steep slab (7a, about 20 m) with a delicate mantel to the belay by a shrub. After about 12 m make a short detour right and ignore the rusty bolt straight above. Parties give 6c to 7a; nothing is extreme but it is continuous. |
| P3 | 6a+ | 20 m | – | A stratified wall, then a crack on the right to the upper strata. The line wanders and you feel you are climbing beside the bolts; one of the pitches parties call a little exposed. Often linked with pitch 4. |
| P4 | 6a | 30 m | – | The top of the pillar, first on the left then on the right: an arête to turn and a fine technical wall. A large block above R3 was flagged as very unstable when the route was new; a 2023 party found it solid, but do not touch it. Belay on the comfortable ledges of La Dominante. |
| P5 | 5c | 25 m | 2 bolts | Up a flake belonging to La Dominante (two bolts; sling a tree above the belay as a runner, 4c). Do not use the Dominante belay on the right: continue up a steep wall on the left (5c, one Petzl hanger at its start) to a belay on Fixe bolts. Two slings are useful to add protection low down. The bolt count is for the shared flake only. |
| P6 | 6b | 15 m | – | A long loop out left across a wall of water-drop pockets, then a delicate mantel right onto a sloping ledge. Short, wandering and very well protected. |
| P7 | 6c | 20 m | – | Straight up a steep wall on small holds, then along a big flake (one more or less unstable block). Slant left through an awkward, athletic roof to join the Pilier du Soleil at a belay shared with L'Innominata. One section among blocks is a little exposed. |
| P8 | 3 | 20 m | – | Traverse up and right along a vegetated ledge of about 15 m to a belay on two Fixe bolts. Can be linked with pitch 7. |
| P9 | 6c+ | 30 m | – | A long pitch of technical slab and steep steps with boulder moves between rests; not sustained, and the hard moves are protected. The last bolt is about 6 m below the top; the belay is on the summit, on a thread plus one bolt. |
Getting there
Saint-Jeannet is reached via Carros and Gattières from the north, La Gaude from the south-east, or Vence. Park in one of the car parks at the entrance to the village (about 410 m): driving through the village is reserved for residents and there is no parking inside it. Bus line 510 of the Alpes-Maritimes network is listed on camptocamp as serving the village.
About 30 min. From the chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Champs take the path behind it to a rock step and go left on the mauve-marked path. Leave it (a 2023 party notes a mauve cross) for a rocky gully that leads to the foot of the main face; climb the gully, with easy climbing in places, and exit left. The start is left of the central depression and left of L'Innominata, in a zone of characteristic overhanging orange-red rock: follow the gold Fixe hangers, with the name on a plaque. A 2026 party who stayed too long on the lower path reached the start from the cave side by about 6 m of slightly exposed scrambling with bolts in place.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Saint-Jeannet village (camptocamp waypoint 122004); use the car park at the village entrance
Point from camptocamp waypoint 41705 (Baou de Saint-Jeannet)
Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 43.75082, 7.13748 (crag) · Parking: 43.75001, 7.14479
Getting down
On foot, about 45 min: from the summit follow the yellow-marked normal path of the Baou back to the village.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The normal way off is over the top and no source describes the belays as rigged for abseiling. A 2019 party judged that in case of need you could abseil either down the route or, with some improvisation, by using the equipped belays of neighbouring routes. At R4 the route crosses the ledges of La Dominante, an older and easier route, but no source describes escaping along them.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-west facing between 600 and 800 m. Parties report good conditions from late September to April; a November 2019 party was battered by wind, and a March 2026 party climbed comfortably in a jumper under cloud. Light rain did not wet the steep second pitch.
Sun on the wall · SW-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Baou de Saint-Jeannet are not available yet
What to carry
15 quickdraws plus belay gear. Camptocamp does not specify a rope; parties climb on a single rope, and a 60 m lets you link pitches 3 and 4. Two slings for the tree and flake on pitch 5. A 0.25 cam can protect the exit of pitch 9, though a 2023 party found it unnecessary. Helmet.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Astragale nocturne.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
France · Baou de Saint-Jeannet
One of the essential long routes of the Baou: seven pitches that hardly drop below the sixth grade, each with a different problem, from thin slab to a steep bulge and a superb layback corner at 6c. The single 7a section on pitch 2 is closely bolted and can be aided. Expect a few loose blocks and a scrappy link pitch across the Vernet ledge.
7a7 pitches200 m
Read the cautions
France · Baou de Saint-Jeannet
A modern bolted line up the left side of the Baou, starting beside the Péril Jaune cave: six varied pitches on unpolished rock, with a steep 6c wall and a fine crack and corner finishing with one hard move (7a on the topo, 6c or 6c+ to most parties). Two walking transitions through scrub break the climbing, so it has less exposure than the routes on the main face.
7a6 pitches230 m
France · Baou de Saint-Jeannet
A short, sustained and very well bolted line on the pillar left of the Arête S, parallel to La Tonton Walker. Thin walls, a steep stratified pitch on big holds and one blank slab move of 7a that most people pull through. The friendliest introduction to the harder routes of the Baou, and easy to extend to the summit by one of the routes above the Vire Vernet.
7a5 pitches100 m
France · Baou de Saint-Jeannet
The most accessible bolted multipitch on the Baou: four homogeneous pitches of French 5+ with one move of 6a, up a crack, corners and sculpted stratified walls, with an airy traverse on pitch 3. Short enough for half a day. Local grades are stiff, the first pitch is polished and the easy sections are run-out.
6a4 pitches120 m
Read the cautions
Around 7a · about 9 pitches
Spain · Costa Blanca (Peñón de Ifach)
Nine steep pitches up the wildly sculpted right side of the south face, overhanging almost throughout. Two long 7a pitches open the route and a third comes near the top, and even the 6a+ pitches are athletic. The rock is covered in holds and much less polished than the classics to the left.
7a9 pitches310 m
Read the cautions
France · Cerces
The classic hard route of the Tour Termier: ten steep, technical pitches on superb compact limestone at 3000 m, a short walk from the Col du Galibier road. It is never athletic but sustained at 6a+ to 6b, with a 7a pitch and a 6c move that both go at 6a A0. Cold, wind and thin footwork make it feel bigger than the numbers.
7a10 pitches320 m
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
The famous overhanging line up the left side of the Visera, following the white chalk stripe you can see from the village. A polished, technical 7a pitch low down, then five pitches of ever steeper climbing on huge cobbles where the difficulty is staying un-pumped. Bolts are sound but spaced, and above the third belay the only practical way off is the top.
7a8 pitches250 m
Read the cautionsCommitting
France · Bavella
A sampler of everything Bavella granite does: a technical 7a wall, layback and jamming cracks, an off-width, a squeeze slot behind a tree, and three pitches of pure friction slab to finish. Bolted well enough to climb on quickdraws, which is rare here. The wide pitches are awkward and bruising if you are not used to the style.
7a10 pitches300 m
Read the cautions
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.