Eissadon – Bonne Femme wall · Calanques · France
Read the cautionsCommittingBolting confidence: high
A big, remote wall climb from the sea to the plateau on the east end of the Devenson cliffs, above the Calanque de l'Eissadon. After two easier pitches it is continuous at 6a+ to 6b up white walls and a striking vein of aragonite, technical on the feet and vertical. Four abseils and a two-hour walk each way make it a full day at the end of the world.
Well bolted on the climb, but a remote abseil-in route with loose rock on the abseil line, about 6b obligatory and no easy way out.
The route
The Bonne Femme wall is the large south-facing face west of the Calanque de l'Eissadon, the eastern end of the Devenson cliffs and one of the most isolated corners of the Calanques. 'Avec Toi, C'est Extra' climbs it from a terrace 5 m above the sea to the plateau in seven pitches. The first is a broken step that only serves to start at sea level, and the second a long white wall; from the third the route is sustained at 6a+ and 6b with technical cruxes, following a crack line and a band of aragonite. The exposure builds gradually and is considerable from the third belay. You reach the start by four abseils from the crest, so you need to be sure of climbing out.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5b | 25 m | 5 bolts | A succession of steps on sometimes fragile rock to a belay in the shade of a large pine. A short traverse right leads to the start of pitch 2. Often skipped, especially in swell. |
| P2 | 5c | 50 m | 10 bolts | A fine white wall with a more fragile passage near the top; belay on two bolts on the left. Two bolts were added on the cluttered upper part in 2016. |
| P3 | 6b | 30 m | 11 bolts | A very technical 6b start rising to the right, with close bolts and precise footwork, then up a crack to the belay on top of the pillar. |
| P4 | 6a+ | 30 m | 12 bolts | A fairly fierce start, then a magnificent white wall following a sort of crack, with a passage on big holds in aragonite in the middle. Belay on the left in the shade of the big pine. Long and continuous. |
| P5 | 6b | 35 m | 11 bolts | Start up a kind of flake, then a sculpted white wall with a thin, obligatory move. Bolts were moved and one added here in 2016; a 2024 party still found one passage exposed. |
| P6 | 6a+ | 30 m | 11 bolts | A white wall to a flake with a delicate move, then a vague chimney climbed by bridging to the belay on the ledge to the right. |
| P7 | 5c | 15 m | 6 bolts | A last wall in aragonite with a delicate passage past the first three bolts, then easier to a comfortable belay on the plateau. It links with pitch 6 on a 60 m rope if you manage the drag; on 50 m a party ended up moving together for 3 m. |
Getting there
Park beside the Route de la Gineste (D559) between Marseille and Cassis, by the barrier at the Carpiagne military camp. The Route Gaston Rébuffat and the old Col de la Gardiole car park have been closed to motor vehicles since March 2019 (135 euro fine), so add 15 to 30 minutes on foot by the path to reach the old car park. The Marseille to Cassis bus no longer serves the Gineste and Carpiagne stops, at least for now.
About 2 hours to the abseils. From the Gineste follow the GR to the old Gardiole car park, then the En Vau track; at a junction after about 3 km take a path that climbs steeply to the Col de l'Oule (tarmac). Take the good path down into the Vallon de l'Oule; at the Puits de l'Oule leave the Devenson path on the right and descend the valley for a good kilometre to an obvious junction, where green waymarks lead right to the Col de l'Eissadon. From the col follow the crest west over a small summit; about 20 m before a small col look for the start of the 'rappels du collet' (a rusty peg, a black arrow and a faded name beside the chain). Abseil 1, 40 m: find the next anchor to the west, sheltered from stonefall, not the chained belay straight below under a pine. Abseil 2, 50 m: straight down to the end of the ropes on the slope, then a fixed rope towards a large pine, with the anchor beyond it. Abseil 3, 45 m: to the foot of the second step, then traverse 60 m right (west) to a small pine and a fixed rope leading to the last anchor. Abseil 4, 25 m: to a terrace 5 m above the water. The first three abseils can be replaced by abseiling the route 'Un Bain au Calançon'.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Route de la Gineste, roadside parking at Carpiagne (camptocamp waypoint 106822)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 823919 (Calanques, Eissadon, Bonne femme)
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: 43.20439, 5.48698 (crag) · Parking: 43.23711, 5.49951
Getting down
None from the top: you finish on the plateau and walk back the way you came, by the Col de l'Eissadon, the Vallon de l'Oule and the Col de l'Oule to the Gineste. About 2 hours.
Retreat
Committing
After the four access abseils you are on a terrace above the sea in a remote calanque. No walking exit from the foot of this wall is described, so the ways out are to climb the route or to re-ascend. Belays are bolted, so you can abseil back to the ledges from part-way up, but that does not get you out.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
Due south and sheltered from a moderate mistral: pleasant in winter and quickly very hot from spring. Camptocamp ascents cluster between November and May. Swell reaches the starting terrace and makes pitch 1 unattractive. The climbing takes about 4 hours, and the whole day 9 to 10 hours car to car.
Sun on the wall · S-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.
| Measure | Jan (usual season) | Feb (usual season) | Mar (usual season) | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec (usual season) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 11 |
| Mean daily low °C | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 5 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 8 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 182 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
2×50 m ropes for the abseils (the second is a full 50 m). About 12 quickdraws: no pitch has more than 12 bolts. Helmet essential. Carry all the water you need.
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 Avec Toi, C'est Extra.
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Open questions
Provenance
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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.