Rocher Baron (Saint-Martin-de-Queyrières) · Briançonnais · France
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
Twelve short pitches up three separate quartzite steps on the west side of the Rocher Baron, ten minutes from the road in the Durance valley south of Briançon. It starts very easy and steepens as it goes: the top step has the 5a bulge and the best climbing. A first multipitch, low and quick to reach, with road noise on the lower part.
The route
Joli coup Baron is an easy multipitch on the west flank of the Rocher Baron, above Saint-Martin-de-Queyrières in the Durance valley between Briançon and L'Argentière-la-Bessée. The climbing comes in three steps separated by short walks: five very easy pitches (3a to 3c), four pitches at 3c to 4c, and three steeper pitches with the 5a crux. Pitches are only 15 to 25 m, so partners stay within earshot, and they link well in pairs on a 50 m rope. The rock is sound, grippy quartzite with patches of lichen. It is one of the lowest multipitch routes of the area, at 1190 to 1400 m.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 3c | First step. Very easy climbing on short walls; pitches on this step are 15 to 25 m. |
| P2 | 3a | Easy. |
| P3 | 3c | Easy. |
| P4 | 3a | Partly walking. An old abseil chain here hangs from a single bolt; a 2026 party found the line unclear just after it. |
| P5 | 3b | Short and easy to the top of the first step. About 20 m of walking on a ledge to the right leads to the second step; you can escape to the track from here. |
| P6 | 4b | Second step, a little more sustained. |
| P7 | 4c | The hand-drawn topo and camptocamp put a move of 5a on this pitch. |
| P8 | 4b | A 5b variation exists on the left (gulliver). |
| P9 | 3c | To the top of the second step. Follow a faint path left to a triangular gap in the big wire netting, then cairns to the third step. |
| P10 | 5a | Third step, more vertical. The crux bulge. |
| P11 | 4a | Steep and well supplied with holds. The topo drawing gives 4c here and 4a for the last pitch. |
| P12 | 4c | Do not stop at the first belay; there is another about 5 m higher. Walk straight on to the summit cairn. |
Getting there
From Briançon take the N94 towards Gap and leave it at Saint-Martin-de-Queyrières. After the flyover, at the roundabout, go left towards the 'ressourcerie' and immediately take a small tarmac road that climbs to the right. Park at the second hairpin, the one that turns right, where there is room for two or three cars.
5 to 10 minutes. From the hairpin follow a cairned path through scree and grass to the wire rockfall netting on the rock, then go left, slightly downhill. The start is marked by a small green plaque with the name and grade, and a piece of blue cord on the first bolt.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Point from camptocamp waypoint 277556 (Rocher-Baron)
Contains the route point. 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: 44.84660, 6.59018 (crag)
Getting down
On foot. Camptocamp says to go right from the summit cairn across a big grassy terrace and down a series of sloping terraces, crossing a 2 m rock step, to the track that leads back to the car. Gulliver and a July 2026 party went left from the cairn instead, following cairns down grassy ledges below the third and second steps to the wire netting and the track, and found that way straightforward.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The route is three short steps with walking between them, and camptocamp marks an escape on foot to the track after the first step. Pitches are only 15 to 25 m, so abseiling a pitch from a two-point belay is feasible on a 50 m rope, but the belays are not rigged for it.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
West to south-west facing and in shade in the morning. At 1200 to 1400 m it has a long season: reports run from early March to September. Allow 3 to 4 hours for a roped party taking every pitch.
Sun on the wall · W-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 Briançonnais are not available yet
What to carry
8 quickdraws if you stop at every belay, up to 16 if you link pitches in pairs. A single rope of 25 to 30 m is enough pitch by pitch; take 50 m to link. Slings to connect the belay bolts. 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 Joli coup Baron.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
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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.