La Fusée · Gorges de la Jonte · France
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
Five pitches beside the Fusée monolith, built around a superb 35 to 40 m corner that ends under a big roof and escapes left across a wildly exposed but easy traverse. Rebolted in 2012 and better protected than most routes here. Rated a must at the grade by several recent parties.
The route
Gallo Loco starts up the corner on the left side of the Fusée, shares its first metres with the route La Fusée, then slants left to take the big corner above. Pitches 3 and 4 are the reason to come: a long corner, a steep juggy wall under the roof and a 5 m traverse in a very exposed position. A final pitch on rough grey rock leads to the top. Since the 2012 rebolt the protection is reassuring, and the route is the usual next step after Le Bitard. Expect queues in spring.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5c | Easy steps to the foot of a corner, where the first bolt is about 10 m up. Climb the corner and leave it by traversing left; the grade is in this short traverse. Pass a first belay and keep traversing to a chained belay on a huge terrace. |
| P2 | 5c | A fine pitch of crack and slab slanting left on good holds. La Fusée goes right here. The belay on the terrace is not chained. |
| P3 | 6a | A magnificent corner of 35 to 40 m to a cramped belay under the big roof. Most parties do not stop there. |
| P4 | 6a | Very short. Finish the corner leftwards under the roof on a steep wall of big holds, then traverse 5 m left in a very exposed position, more impressive than hard, to a belay on a small step. Linked with pitch 3 this gives nearly 50 m. |
| P5 | 5c | A long pitch straight up excellent rough grey rock, with a small overhang at the exit. |
Getting there
The Jonte gorge starts at Le Rozier, about 20 km east of Millau: drive via Aguessac and the lower Tarn gorge to Le Rozier, then take the D996 towards Meyrueis. The main car park is a few kilometres past Le Rozier, on both sides of the road beside an SOS phone post; smaller lay-bys further up the road are closer to the Bitard and Fusée paths. Spaces are limited, so park nose-in. Le Rozier and Peyreleau have campsites, gîtes, shops and a cash machine, some of them seasonal; Meyrueis has services all year. Wild camping is banned in the gorge.
A well-marked path with obvious cairns climbs directly below the Fusée, a grey monolith with a distinctive shape. The start is the corner bounding the Fusée on its left, just right of a small sector of hard single pitches. The names of Gallo Loco and La Fusée are scratched at the foot of the corner but are hard to read. A 2025 party on the neighbouring sub-sector reports an easy 20 minutes on foot; the tourism sheet says 5.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Roadside parking for the Fusée sector on the D996 (coordinates from the Tourisme Occitanie sector sheet)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 103645 (La Jonte - Fusée)
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: 44.19537, 3.23996 (crag) · Parking: 44.19180, 3.23766
Getting down
From the last belay make four abseils down 'Les Canons de la Baronne': 25 m, 30 m, 30 m and 40 m. They are steep and free of vegetation, so ropes rarely snag; the third is offset to the left as you face the rock. A 2026 party with 2×60 m linked the first two (about 55 m). Do not abseil the route La Fusée (see hazards).
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The normal descent is by abseil, but down a neighbouring route from the very top. Part-way up, only the first belay is chained, so you would leave slings or karabiners, and pitches 1, 2 and 4 all traverse. No source describes a retreat.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-facing limestone between about 550 and 800 m. The local club says you can climb here all year with some planning, but summer is very hot and the gorge is best avoided in a strong south-east wind. A party in April climbed in sun with a cool breeze and found it ideal.
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.
Climate figures for Gorges de la Jonte are not available yet
What to carry
14 quickdraws if you link pitches 3 and 4 (one party took 15), some of them extendable. Slings and karabiners for the belays, which are not chained apart from the first. Two 50 m ropes for the abseils. 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 Gallo Loco.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
France · Gorges de la Jonte
Probably the most approachable multipitch in the Jonte: four pitches of grade 3 and 4 on excellent, juggy rock up the right side of a pillar, with solid chained belays where leader and second stay in sight. Vultures circle past by late morning. The walk-off needs a little care.
4c4 pitches100 m
France · Gorges de la Jonte
The pillar that gives the sector its name, climbed in four short pitches on grey, well-featured rock. The third pitch is a sustained vertical crack and the best of the route. It is the usual first multipitch for visitors because the bolts are closer than elsewhere in the gorge.
5c4 pitches100 m
France · Gorges de la Jonte
A four-pitch face route in the Bitard sector that starts easily and then asks for careful footwork on a traversing slab and a steeper wall of flakes. Freshly rebolted in 2022, but you still climb between the bolts. Very popular with groups.
5c4 pitches130 m
Read the cautions
France · Gorges de la Jonte
A recent five-pitch route with unusually generous bolting for the Jonte. A long, fairly vertical 5c+ wall is followed by a traverse, a gully and an optional squeeze through a horizontal slot to a belay in a cave. Shaded in the morning and again from mid-afternoon.
5c+5 pitches110 m
Around 6a · about 5 pitches
Italy · Sardinia
An easy line up the edge of the tall sea cliff beside Porto Flavia, starting a few metres above the water. The lower half is broken and unremarkable; the upper arête and slab are on superb, very abrasive grey limestone with a view of the Pan di Zucchero stack. Almost plaisir, in a serious place.
6a5 pitches160 m
Italy · Monte Argentario
Three independent pitches on the wall below Capo d'Uomo, ending with a memorable 40 m wall of pockets, drips and flowstone at 6a. The route proper stops on the arête; the opener suggests carrying on up the last two pitches of the Spigolo Bonatti, an exposed 5c traverse and an easy ridge, to finish at the tower.
6a5 pitches200 m
Switzerland · Grimsel
A short, varied granite route up a pale, smooth pillar across the valley from the Handegg slabs: a corner crack, then friction and edge slabs that get harder pitch by pitch. Grades are stiff, and the last pitch is sustained and tricky. A good half day or uncertain-weather route with a 15-minute approach.
6a5 pitches200 m
Spain · Escales (Ribagorça Pyrenees)
The neighbour of Xin Xan and a step up from it: adherence slabs low down, then an excellent, vertical third pitch on good holds that passes a small roof. It follows the edge of a corner without climbing in it. The last pitch has some doubtful rock.
6a5 pitches195 m
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.