La Fusée – L'Air du Temps · Gorges de la Jonte · France
Read the cautionsBail not documentedBolting confidence: medium
One of the longest routes in the gorge and the line that names its sub-sector: six varied pitches with a steep grey wall of holds at 6a and a slabbier 6b where the holds thin out at the top. Grades are stiff and you climb between the bolts.
Glue-in bolts throughout, but spaced in the Jonte style with obligatory 6a to 6b climbing between them.
The route
L'Air du Temps starts about 30 m left of the Fusée and climbs the full height of the wall in six pitches. The first pitch is awkward from cold, the second is a friendly grey slab, and the third and fourth are the best: a crack and steep wall on big holds, then a wall that leans back while the holds shrink, with the crux near the belay. A short chimney and an exposed traverse finish the route. Camptocamp calls it superb and recent parties agree, while warning that it is sustained and serious for the grade.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5c | An awkward crack, a mantel and a technical traverse; sustained. Three recent parties felt it was 6a or 6a+ when climbed cold. |
| P2 | 5b | A pleasant grey slab on good holds. |
| P3 | 6a | A crack, then a steep grey wall covered in holds. The pitch most people pick as the best. |
| P4 | 6b | The wall leans back but the holds become scarce towards the top. Sustained, with a crux at the end that a 2025 party found obligatory. |
| P5 | 5a | A short chimney. |
| P6 | 6a | A very exposed traverse, then a good wall with an awkward mantel. |
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.
Take the well-marked, cairned path that climbs directly below the Fusée. The start is about 30 m left of the foot of the Fusée, left of the route 'Eosine', whose name is written in red at its base. A September 2025 party took about 20 minutes on foot at an easy pace; the tourism sheet gives 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 top follow a small path to the right to the chained abseil line of 'Eosine' and make three long abseils. A 2026 party with 2×60 m counted four stations and linked the last two (about 52 m). You can also avoid the abseils: a faint track climbs about 50 m from the top to the hiking path along the rim.
Retreat
Bail not documented
Retreat from part-way up is not documented. The route's own belays are not described as chained, and the abseil line used for the descent is on the neighbouring route and reached from the top.
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. In September the wall went into shade in late afternoon from the second belay up. In February the sun was slow to arrive.
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
15 quickdraws (2025 report). Two 50 m ropes for the abseils. Managing drag, you can link pitches 1 and 2 (50 m), 3 and 4 (40 m) and 5 and 6 (40 m). 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 L'Air du Temps.
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 6b · about 6 pitches
Italy · Aosta Valley
The easiest line on the Pilastro Lomasti and still a serious step up from the neighbouring Paretone: six pitches of steep, technical slab on pockets and small edges, never below 6a. The fourth pitch follows a fine diagonal crack. The rock is exceptional and the grades are firm.
6b6 pitches190 m
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
Technical and sustained, with five varied climbing pitches of 6a+ to 6b: a pocketed slab, a surprising chimney hidden behind a pillar, a thin vertical pillar and a long steepening wall to a bulge. Quiet compared with the single pitches below, and in shade until about 12:30.
6b6 pitches160 m
Spain · El Chorro
A good continuation above Nitti. Highlights are a short, thin 6b slab on P4 and a pumpy steep start to the final 6a+ pitch.
6b6 pitches138 m
Read the cautions
France · Dentelles de Montmirail
The best long outing on the Clapis south face: six pitches that start up easy slabs beside Vistemboir and then slant left across the orange ledges of the upper wall, with a horizontal crack traverse, a thin traverse on rough 'pebbledash' rock and a short, fierce 6b to finish. Technical climbing on very sculpted rock with plenty of atmosphere for a 150 m wall.
6b6 pitches150 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.