Ginseng

La Chandelle (south pillar) · Pic du Gar (Comminges) · France

The classic of the Pic du Gar: eight sustained pitches of 6a to 6b on sculpted, fluted limestone up a slender south-facing pillar above Bézins-Garraux. Mostly technical footwork and slab, with a short steep crux on pitch 4 that can be aided. Newly rebolted with glue-ins in 2026, and in a grand, quiet setting facing the Luchon mountains.

Aerial view of the south pillars of the Pic du Gar above Bézins-Garraux, where Ginseng climbsPhoto: Seb3165 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Hardest pitch: 6bVII5.10c
Pitches: 8
Length: 210 m
Approach: 90 min
Aspect: S; South-facing
Rope: 2×50 m; abseil descent

Rock: limestone
Season: JFMAMJJASOND
Mar to Jun, Sep to Nov
Bolting confidence: High
Last verified: October 2026 · Compiled from published sources

6bVII5.10c8 pitches · 210 mEasy to bail

Climbing mode

Overview

Ginseng climbs the slender south pillar (the 'chandelle') of the Pic du Gar in eight pitches, sustained at 6a with a 6b crux on pitch 4. The climbing is mostly on the feet, on sculpted grey limestone with flutes, slabs, a corner and a finishing pitch of fine runnels. The line was first climbed with pegs and wooden wedges in 1964, re-equipped more directly by the PGHM Luchon in 1992, and rebolted again with glue-ins and chained belays in spring 2026. Parties since the rebolt are enthusiastic about the protection but several say the grades are stiff, so come with 6a well in hand.

Worth knowing

Do not park at the church in Bézins; use the cemetery car park.
Allow about 4 to 5 hours on the route, and 7 to 9 hours car to car.
Tall climbers clip more comfortably; a shorter partner found the first pitches harder in 2023 (before the rebolt).
The short summit ridge is worth it for the view back down the pillar, if you carry a little gear.

Pitch by pitch

No topo we can show. See: Quelques topos montagne des Pyrénées – Ginseng au pic du Gar.

6a6a+6a6b6a5c5c5a

Pitches of Ginseng
Pitch	Grade	Length	Notes
P1	6aVI+5.10a	25 m	Slab alongside a leaning pillar, 6a then 5b. Belay on a grassy ledge.
P2	6a+VII-5.10b	30 m	Hanging belay at the top. A remark in 2026 says the old R2 was not yet removed: use the new belay slightly higher.
P3	6aVI+5.10a	25 m	Sustained climbing on sculpted rock.
P4	6bVII5.10c	30 m	The crux pitch: 6a+ then 6b, sustained, or 6a with a short section of aid on the bolts. Since the rebolt the old sling used to aid it is no longer needed and the pitch is less exposed.
P5	6aVI+5.10a	25 m	Corner then a small overhang; belay in a niche on the left. This belay can be skipped with a 50 m rope, and an October 2026 party linked pitches 5 and 6.
P6	5cVI5.9	15 m	Short pitch to a belay in a niche right of the line.
P7	5cVI5.9	25 m	Crack pitch.
P8	5aV+5.7	35 m	Fine fluted runnels to the belay on top of the pillar.

Approach

To the parking

Drive to Bézins-Garraux: from Montréjeau head up the Garonne valley towards Luchon, at the Chaum roundabout turn towards Saint-Béat, then after about 2 km turn left for Eup and Bézins-Garraux and follow signs for Bézins. Parking at the church in Bézins is now forbidden; use the car park built by the cemetery, about 5 minutes before the church.

On foot · about 90 min

About 1 h 30. Follow the Pic du Gar path from Bézins. Leave it at about 1250 m where it turns west, at a double cairn and a dead, topped tree (a 2026 party reports a red R painted on it). Climb the grassy spur above towards the cliffs, cross or skirt left a small rock band at about 1360 m, go up almost to the foot of the cliffs, then make a descending traverse east under a first pillar on a faint, hard-to-find path to a vague spur facing the pillar. The original start (R0, two bolts) is on a small ledge about 70 m above the base. A 2026 party found fixed lines in place to reach the start. Alternatively start from the base of the pillar's plinth and climb two extra pitches (about grade III, 25 m, then 5c, 45 m) to R0.

Map of the walk-in

Coordinates · crag

42.95043, 0.69888

Point from camptocamp waypoint 42300 (Pic du Gar summit, above the pillar)

For your phone or watch

Download GPX

Contains the route point.

Points from published sources, not surveyed.

Descent

Abseil the route on the chained belays: with 50 m abseils, six rappels are enough (skip R5 and R2), then walk back down the approach (about 1 h to 1 h 30). Optional: from the top of the pillar continue along the summit ridge (grade 4 climbing, a 30 m abseil into a notch, then II to III along a knife-edge ridge, very few bolts) to the col between the Pic du Gar and Pic Saillant, and descend the waymarked path, first on the north-west side then the south side, back to Bézins.

Bailing off the route

Easy to bail

Abseiling the route is the normal descent, from chained belays with glued-in bolts installed in 2026. You can retreat from any belay; one party in 2023 backed off after pitch 2 because of the heat.

Retreat from: Any belay; R1 to R8 are all on the abseil line.
Point of no return: None on the route itself. The optional summit ridge beyond R8 involves an abseil into a notch and is the only committing part.
Carry: Ropes for abseils of up to about 40 m if you skip belays (double 50 m); with shorter ropes, use every belay.
Basis: Stated in the sourcesCamptocamp and topospyreneens both give abseiling the route as the descent; the rope reading is inferred.

In an emergency · France

112Emergency; sends PGHM or CRS mountain rescue

17Gendarmerie and police

Position of the crag

42.95043, 0.69888

Marks the crag, not the route: give route and pitch.

Say what happened, how many are hurt, and where you are. Checked October 2026 (sourceofficial sources).

Hazards

Seepage in places after rain; avoid the route after heavy rainfall.
Grades feel stiff: an August 2026 party found pitches 5 to 8 about one grade harder than the topo and recommends being solid at 6c; a 2024 party also added half a grade on pitches 1 to 6.
The approach off the path is steep grass and woods with only a faint trail; parties have lost a lot of time looking for it, and one 2024 party warns that a slip on the steep grass or the small rock band at about 1350 m must not happen.
The summit ridge beyond the route is barely bolted, includes a 30 m abseil and loose rock, and needs some gear; it is not part of the bolted route.
Several parties may queue on popular weekends: in October 2026 a party waited an hour below the 6b pitch.

Gear

16 quickdraws (camptocamp, updated after the rebolt; older topos said 10). Ropes for 50 m abseils. Helmet. For the optional summit ridge only: one or two cams and a few slings.

Checklist

Quickdraws: 16
Rope: 2×50 m (abseil descent)
Helmet: One each
Abseil device and prusik: For abseiling

Conditions

Full south face at roughly 1300 to 1500 m. It gets hot quickly in sun: a party in August 2023 retreated after pitch 2 because of the heat, so in summer start very early. Spring and autumn are best; there are outings in March, April, October and November. Some seepage runs down the route after heavy rain, and a March 2026 party found a few wet streaks the day after rain.

Forecast · next 7 days · 1756 m

Loading the forecast.

Weather forecast for Pic du Gar (Comminges) at 1756 m, today and the next 6 days
Measure
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Low °C	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Rain mm	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Chance of rain %	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Strongest gusts km/h	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Model forecast for 1756 m. It cannot tell you whether the rock is dry. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.

Time plan · 8 pitches

DatePace

Working out sunrise and sunset.

Approach: 1 h 30 min
Climbing: 4 h 45 min to 7 h 30 min20% quicker to 25% slower.
Total on the way up: 6 h 15 min to 9 h
Sunrise: –
Sunset: –
Start walking by: –
Descent: Not included: add time for the way down.

An estimate. Queues and route finding cost time, and shaded walls go dark before sunset. Local time (Central European time), flat horizon.

Sun on the wall · S-facing

Working out the sunlit hours for this month.

January: not yet worked out
February: not yet worked out
March (usual season): not yet worked out
April (usual season): not yet worked out
May (usual season): not yet worked out
June (usual season): not yet worked out
July: not yet worked out
August: not yet worked out
September (usual season): not yet worked out
October (usual season): not yet worked out
November (usual season): not yet worked out
December: not yet worked out
060912151821

Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season

From the aspect alone; terrain is ignored. Local time, 15th of each month.

Monthly climate averages for Pic du Gar (Comminges), 1991-2020
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar (usual season)	Apr (usual season)	May (usual season)	Jun (usual season)	Jul	Aug	Sep (usual season)	Oct (usual season)	Nov (usual season)	Dec
Mean daily high °C	1	1	5	7	11	14	17	17	13	10	5	2
Mean daily low °C	−7	−7	−5	−3	2	5	7	8	5	2	−3	−6
Rain days 1 mm or more	13	12	14	18	20	19	19	18	14	13	13	12

● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 1757 m; rain is for a 10–25 km grid cell. Weather and climate data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.

Plan B nearby

HarderUn sourire parmi les étoiles6cVIII-5.11b5 pitchesfaces SW0.9 km away

Straight-line distances, up to 30 km.

Reader reports

No reports yet.

Report a problem with this route

Bolts and history

Bolting: Rebolted in spring 2026 by the PGHM Luchon with glued-in bolts and chained belays, funded by the FFME; two parties in August and October 2026 call the bolting perfect. Before that it had 10 mm expansion bolts (1992), sometimes spaced. The optional summit ridge above the route is barely bolted and needs a cam or two and slings.
History: First climbed on 1 and 2 May 1964 by Philippe Sol and Claude Valleau, in 18 hours with a bivouac in étriers, left equipped with pegs and wooden wedges. Re-equipped in December 1992 by the PGHM Luchon on a more direct line a few metres right of the original. Rebolted with glued-in bolts and chained belays in spring 2026 by the PGHM Luchon with funding from the FFME.
Guidebook: Older topo in 'Escalade en Pyrénées centrales' (out of print). Up-to-date topo on camptocamp.

Where sources disagree

Quickdraws: 10 in older topos and the Spanish camptocamp text (before the rebolt); 16 in the current French camptocamp text after the 2026 rebolt.
Length: 210 m in topospyreneens and camptocamp; Denis Corpet's 2009 page calls it 300 m and a topo photo posted in 2026 says 7 pitches and 280 m. The 8 pitches listed add up to 210 m above R0.
Grades: camptocamp gives 6b max, 6a obligatory; several parties say it is stiff, and an August 2026 party called the crux 6c.
Rope: camptocamp and topospyreneens advise '50 m' abseils; as some skipped-belay abseils are about 40 m, this means double 50 m ropes (or one 100 m rope). This reading is inferred.
A 2024 party (before the rebolt) found the bolts spaced and offline and called cams useful; this no longer applies after the 2026 rebolt according to the August and October 2026 reports.

Sources

Camptocamp – Pic du Gar: GinsengUsed for: pitch grades and lengths, approach, 2026 rebolt, descent, gear, history, parking change
Camptocamp – trip reports 2023–2026 (outings 1959287, 1946371, 1945776, 1880889, 1696669, 1568624)Used for: bolting after rebolt, stiff grades, queues, timings, approach difficulties, heat, seepage
Quelques topos montagne des Pyrénées – Ginseng au pic du GarUsed for: access by car, 1992 equipment, abseil sequence, length, timings
Denis Corpet – Ginseng, pic du Gar (2009)Used for: independent description of the climb, abseil descent and approach

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Compiled from published sources, last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.