Falaise de l'Encoula – Barfly · La Bérarde (Écrins) · France
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
A long slab route in a quiet side valley above La Bérarde, high on a north-east wall facing the big Écrins summits. Two short 6a walls and a sustained 5c slab stand out from ground that is mostly 5a to 5b and lies back to pure friction near the top. Despite the name, 5b is obligatory.
Fully rebolted and reported very well equipped in 2022, but there is no trip report since August 2023 and the approach has not been confirmed since the 2024 flood.
The route
Du 4+ sinon rien climbs about 400 m of granite slabs on the Barfly sector of the Encoula cliff, an hour's walk up the Pilatte valley from La Bérarde. The interest is concentrated in the first two thirds: a short strenuous wall on undercuts on pitch 2, two subtle 5b pitches and a sustained 5c slab. Higher up the angle eases until you are padding up flat slabs. It was fully rebolted in 2020 to 2021. Camptocamp warns that the name and the old guidebook comment are misleading: the route is not straightforward and you cannot get up it on grade 4 and aid alone.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5b | – |
| P2 | 6a | A hard passage near the start: a short, strenuous wall on undercuts. It can be aided. |
| P3 | 3 | A linking pitch to the left. ONOS notes that the abseil from R3 to R2 is 20 m and very oblique. |
| P4 | 5b | The first of two fine pitches that are less obvious than the grade suggests. |
| P5 | 5b | Similar. |
| P6 | 5c | Sustained slab on good holds where you have to weave about. Aidable. |
| P7 | 5a | – |
| P8 | 4c | The difficulties ease. |
| P9 | 5a | A slab rising slightly rightwards. |
| P10 | 4 | Low-angle friction slab. |
| P11 | 6a | A short hard wall that goes at A0 if needed; a 2022 party graded it 5c. |
| P12 | – | A linking pitch up to the top of 'Dix-huit tentatives', protected by a couple of bolts. |
Getting there
La Bérarde is the last hamlet of the Vénéon valley, at the end of the D530 from Bourg d'Oisans (Grenoble side). A flood on 21 June 2024 wrecked much of the hamlet and swept away the car park in the riverbed, and road access has been restricted since. In summer 2025 the road was closed to general traffic beyond Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans, with shuttles from Bourg d'Oisans. In 2026 a June party found the road still closed with a shuttle promised for July; a party on 18 August took the first shuttle from Bourg d'Oisans at 06:20 and was in La Bérarde at 07:25; and a report dated 9 September 2026 says the hamlet can be reached by car again, with parking beside the reception chalet out of respect for residents. Check the current rules before you travel: the Maison du Département de l'Isère in Bourg d'Oisans (04 76 80 03 48) and the Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans town hall publish them. Do not count on the pre-flood shops and lodging; confirm what is open.
From La Bérarde walk up the Pilatte valley on the left bank of the Vénéon. Cross the bridge over the Ravin du Sac, the stream that comes down from the Encoula, and reach the big grass slope beyond it. A cairn marks the start of a track up this slope; a 2023 party places it a few minutes after the gullied stream, where a footbridge was in place. Near the wall follow the track left through bushes and along the cliff until you touch the rock at the start of 'Dix-huit tentatives' (18T painted in blue). The route starts a few metres further left. Allow 1 hour; the last part is steep and overgrown, so watch for cairns. No report describes this approach since the June 2024 flood.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
La Bérarde road end and trailhead (camptocamp waypoint 106909). The riverbed car park was destroyed in 2024; check current access and where parking is allowed
Point from camptocamp waypoint 40623 (Falaise de l'Encoula / Barfly)
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: 44.91803, 6.29781 (crag) · Parking: 44.93268, 6.29186
Getting down
Abseil 'Dix-huit tentatives', whose stations are obvious and clean, with little risk of snagged ropes or dislodged stones; a 2018 party took 1 h 45 over the abseils. You can also abseil the route itself with 2×45 m or more, but ONOS calls this less practical because of the oblique abseil from R3 to R2.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The route is descended by abseil, so going down from part-way is feasible with two ropes. ONOS says the route itself can be abseiled with 2×45 m, with one very oblique 20 m abseil between R3 and R2; the cleaner line is the neighbouring 'Dix-huit tentatives', reached from the top.
Safety
Sun and weather
North-east facing granite between roughly 2,100 and 2,500 m, higher and cooler than the Tête de la Maye. A report on the neighbouring route says the wall is in the sun until about 16:00 in mid-June. Expect a shorter season than on the south faces; July to September is assumed here. A late-July 2010 party remarked that there was no snow patch on the approach, which suggests there can be one earlier in the season. Afternoon storms are the main threat on a twelve-pitch route with a long abseil descent.
Sun on the wall · NE-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 La Bérarde (Écrins) are not available yet
What to carry
14 quickdraws and two 50 m ropes for the abseils. A sling to stand in if you plan to aid the 6a passages. Helmet. Approach shoes with grip for the steep, vegetated track.
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 Du 4+ sinon rien.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
The great classic of the Tête de la Maye: 13 pitches of rounded granite slab above La Bérarde with nothing athletic until the last hard pitch, a flake and wide crack of 5c+ that everyone remembers. Recently rebolted and very closely protected. It is camptocamp's reference route for the overall grade D.
5c+13 pitches350 m
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
One of the easiest long routes on the Tête de la Maye: thirteen short pitches of low-angle granite slab, mostly grade 3 to 4, broken by a few steeper steps. The exception is the first pitch, a steep 5a/5b wall that is clearly the hardest and best climbing on the route.
5b13 pitches300 m
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
A long, gentle introduction to multipitch: about fifteen pitches of easy-angled granite slab and short cracked steps, almost all at 4b, with one 5b move. The hikers' path crosses the route, giving easy escapes after pitches 6, 7, 8 and 13. Sunny from early morning.
5b15 pitches400 m
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
The longest route on the Tête de la Maye at this grade and by far the most popular: fourteen pitches, sustained at 5b with three pitches of 5c. Steep steps, slabs, a roof, a layback crack on a pillar and a few grass ledges. The fives feel honest and only one 5b move is obligatory.
5c14 pitches400 m
Around 6a · about 12 pitches
Italy · Val d'Ossola
Twelve long pitches of sunny gneiss slab above Oira, mostly 4c to 5b+ with two 6a pitches: a thin slab at the start and an athletic corner on pitch 10. Pitches are up to 55 m. A winter-sun route with a summit book and plaques at both ends.
6a12 pitches530 m
Switzerland · Gastlosen
One of the busiest routes in the Gastlosen: homogeneous, technical climbing on beautiful fluted slabs (cannelures) that dry fast. The top third is broken by grassy ledges.
6a12 pitches380 m
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
The first route on the wall (Odermatt and Keller, 2008), climbing a long, exposed line on sharp, grippy rock right of the huge roof. The lower pitches are easy for the grade. The two 6a cruxes are a short odd corner over a small roof and a traverse high up, and they come with big exposure. Pitches are short, so you can link them with long draws.
6a11 pitches250 m
Switzerland · Grimsel
Glacier-polished slabs straight above the Räterichsboden dam. Four warm-up pitches lead to sustained 5b–5c slab and a short fissured roof (6a or A0).
6a11 pitches220 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.