Tête de la Maye – south face · La Bérarde (Écrins) · France
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
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.
The route
Gay Pied climbs the right-hand side of the south face in thirteen pitches and finishes beside the chains of the hikers' path. After a first pitch that wakes you up, the route settles into easy-angled slabs among grass and edelweiss, with a couple of short steps at 4c to 5a. Camptocamp presents it as a route for learning rope work on a long climb. It was fully rebolted in stainless steel in 2020 to 2021 and trip reports since call it well equipped. Being full south and at modest altitude, it is a hot place in summer.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5a/5b | Steep: a slab, then a step climbed with a mantel, exiting left. By far the hardest pitch. ONOS notes 14 quickdraws. |
| P2 | 4 | Grade 4 then 3 as the angle eases. |
| P3 | 3 | Easy slab. |
| P4 | 3 | A smooth slab to a belay on a grassy ledge, with an escape to the right. |
| P5 | 4c/5a | Steep and fairly thin, then a small mantel. |
| P6 | 3 | Traverse left across a slab bordered by grass on the right and above; the line of Ni Po ni Maye is visible. |
| P7 | 3 | Slabs. Pitches 6 to 9 can be moved together on. |
| P8 | 3 | Slabs. |
| P9 | 3 | Slabs. |
| P10 | 4b | A slab. The belay at the top of this pitch is the last one linked with rope, and it has no abseil ring. |
| P11 | 4c | A slab and a small step to a belay shared with Ni Po ni Maye and De Maye en Pis, on a flat spot right of a grassy gully. |
| P12 | – | An almost horizontal traverse right to the foot of a slab. No grade is given. |
| P13 | 4b | Climb the sculpted slab to the last belay, beside the chains of the Tête de la Maye footpath. A 2023 party says this pitch is worth going up for. |
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.
Just before the first houses, at the 'La Bérarde' road sign, take the path signed for the Maye cliffs. Below the spur where Pujolidal starts, go right on a network of small tracks along the foot of the cliffs, without dropping too low. You usually arrive at the start of Douce Maye, just right of a zone where grass runs high up the wall: come back left, slightly downhill, to a ledge. A first bolt line lies about 7 m right of Gay Pied. A 2023 party took 45 minutes.
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 39728 (Tête de la Maye summit; the routes start on the south face several hundred metres to the south)
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: 44.94392, 6.28912 (crag) · Parking: 44.93268, 6.29186
Getting down
Walk off by the waymarked Tête de la Maye footpath, which has cables and metal steps on its steeper sections, back to La Bérarde. The route ends on the path itself. A 2023 party took 1 hour down; a 2022 party reports the summit is 45 minutes further up the path, with a few cabled passages.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The lower part can be abseiled: ONOS says the first three pitches are set up for retreat with 2×50 m from the grassy mid-height ledge, and camptocamp says every belay below R10 has a ring or maillon. From the grassy ledge at R4 you can also walk off to the right. Higher up the simplest way off is to finish, since the route ends on the footpath.
Safety
Sun and weather
Full south-facing granite between about 1,900 and 2,500 m. Camptocamp gives May to October depending on snow, and warns that it is very hot in midsummer; the wall takes the sun early. Slabs with drainage streaks can stay wet after rain. This is a mountain setting: watch for afternoon storms, and note a June 2026 report of no phone signal on the face.
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 La Bérarde (Écrins) are not available yet
What to carry
14 quickdraws for the first pitch, 13 elsewhere if you clip everything. Slings to link the belay bolts above R10. A 50 m single rope is enough; with 70 m you can usually link pitches in pairs. Take 2×50 m only if you want the option of abseiling from the lower pitches. 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 Gay Pied.
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)
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
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
Fifteen pitches up the steeper centre of the face: steep cracks and walls in the first third, then a long sequence of sometimes very thin friction slabs. Mostly 5c to 6a+ with one short 6b+ that goes at A0. Rated among the best on the wall and much quieter than its famous neighbour.
6b+15 pitches400 m
Around 5b · about 13 pitches
Italy · Val d'Ossola
A long, sunny friction-slab route of about 35 m pitches on excellent rock, ideal for learning footwork. The hardest move is a short crack-and-chimney finish on the last pitch. Allow about 3 h up and 1 h down.
5b13 pitches430 m
France · Dévoluy
Twelve pitches of easy slab on water-worn runnels up the east face of the Pic de l'Aiguille, above Gap, finishing on a summit at 2140 m. Never harder than 5b and mostly 5a, but long: allow four to five hours. The bolts are well placed and spaced, the rock is very grippy, and stonefall from the ledges and from walkers on the summit is the main thing to watch.
5b12 pitches300 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Aosta Valley
The easiest route on the big east face of Mont Chétif, the rocky pyramid that stands over Courmayeur. Twelve short pitches of well-featured rock, mostly 4b, lead to a steep little corner on pitch 10 that is the one hard passage. You finish a few minutes below a summit with one of the great views of the south side of Mont Blanc.
5b12 pitches250 m
Read the cautions
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Thirteen short pitches, mostly grade 4, with two 5c steps. The longest pitch is 45 m. A big day of easy mileage in the sun above the palm grove.
5c13 pitches340 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.