Mainmorte · Verdon · France
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
One of the few Verdon multipitches at an even 5b: five short pitches on featured grey limestone above the Baou Béni, with a 6a variant for the third pitch. The approach is part of the outing: you go down a 100 m wall on fixed ropes, the escape route of the Mainmorte canyon. Well bolted and popular as a first Verdon route.
The route
L'Usage du Monde was bolted in 2018 to give the Verdon a well-protected multipitch in the fifth grade. It has five pitches of 5b to 5b+ on good, featured rock, with real Verdon atmosphere above the Baou Béni and a view across to the Imbut wall. Seventy outings are logged on camptocamp, many of them first visits to the gorge and club or course parties. Two things deserve respect: the approach descends about 100 m of cliff on fixed ropes, and several parties find the climbing steeper and more physical than the grades suggest, with the last pitch nearer 5c. The rock is beginning to polish slightly.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5b | 24 m | A pleasant pillar on good holds, then a corner with big holds to a belay on two unlinked bolts. |
| P2 | 5b/c | – | Traverse right under a small roof, turn it on the right and climb a typical Verdon wall to a two-bolt belay above a tree. |
| P3 | 5b+ | – | Traverse all the way right, then climb a wall on good holds to a belay on two unlinked bolts. Variant (3 bis, 6a): from the belay go up and slightly right on a vertical wall of small holds with a thin move in the middle, then traverse horizontally right to the same belay. A 2026 party notes the 6a move is fairly obligatory. |
| P4 | 5b+ | – | A fine wall on good holds with a small overhanging bulge near the top, to a belay on two unlinked bolts above a juniper. |
| P5 | 5b | – | A last wall on good holds to a two-bolt belay. A 2026 party thought this pitch nearer 5c. |
Getting there
Base yourself at La Palud-sur-Verdon, which has campsites, gîtes and a climbers' bar. From La Palud take the Route des Crêtes (D23) towards the Chalet de la Maline and park at the first viewpoint, the Baou Béni, 4 km from the village.
Walk back up the road towards La Palud for about 100 m to the big bend. Go down following cairns to the handrail of the Mainmorte canyon escape route, then descend the wall on the fixed ropes for about 100 m; lanyards are advised and you should check the state of the ropes as you go (a 2025 party found them in very good condition). At the bottom, with your back to the cliff, follow the path to the right, downstream, along the foot of the wall. After 40 to 50 m a cairn marks a 10 m path to the start, which is just right of the route La Magie de l'Aléatoire. No source gives a time; parties take 2 h 30 to 3 h car to car.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Belvédère de Bau Béni on the Route des Crêtes (camptocamp access waypoint 1020584)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 43833 (Verdon - Mainmorte); the route's own camptocamp point is a midpoint and was not used
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: 43.76657, 6.32119 (crag) · Parking: 43.75957, 6.31705
Getting down
From the last belay pick up the path just above and follow it back to the road and the viewpoint.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Not documented. The belays are two bolts each, unlinked, and the pitches are short, so abseiling back to the foot on your own maillons looks feasible, although pitches 2 and 3 traverse right. From the foot you would have to climb back up the fixed ropes of the canyon escape route that you came down, which is a recognised way out.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-facing between about 600 and 810 m. Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons, and outings are logged from March to late October; summer parties start early. A June 2026 party climbed in a moderate mistral.
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.
| 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 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 8 |
| Mean daily low °C | −1 | −2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 3 | −1 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 7 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 822 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
10 quickdraws, not counting the belays, slings to link the two belay bolts, and a pair of lanyards for the fixed ropes on the way down. Helmet. No source gives a rope length; the first pitch is 24 m and the route is walked off.
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'Usage du Monde.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
France · Verdon
A modern (2019) line up a staircase of limestone pillars above the Chalet de la Maline, with short walking links between them. Harder than its old 6a grade suggests: recent parties report obligatory 6a+/6b moves on the first three pitches, and the last pitch is 6b+ or A0.
6b+10 pitches300 m
Read the cautions
France · Verdon
The easiest way to climb out of the Verdon gorge: a long, wandering ridge of short pitches at grade 3 and 4 that starts close to the river and finishes near the rim road. The climbing is modest but the setting is the full Verdon. You walk down a steep path with fixed ropes to reach the start, so the route is your way back up.
4c9 pitches180 m
Read the cautions
France · Verdon
Seven pitches of compact grey water-pocketed wall high above the mouth of the Verdon gorge, with a view over the Lac de Sainte-Croix. It zigzags a great deal, so both leader and second need to be happy on traverses. A short, bouldery 6c+ bulge (6a/A0) is the only move above 6b+, and the final pillar pitch is the highlight.
6c+7 pitches160 m
Committing
France · Verdon
The classic introduction to the Escalès cliff, first climbed in 1970 and rebolted in 2023. You abseil in to the Jardin des Écureuils and climb out: two steep, polished pitches of cracks and small corners, an easy link, then the grey slabs of pockets and runnels that give the route its name. A lot of 5c for a route with this reputation as easy.
5c+6 pitches175 m
Committing
Around 5b+ · about 5 pitches
Spain · Montanejos
The easy multipitch of the Maimona gorge, bolted in 2019 as a first long route: four pitches of grade 4 slabs and walls with one 5+ pitch. The line climbs the grey wall on the right of the Tubo sector, beside Parados al Sol. The exits of most pitches have loose rock, so a helmet matters more than the grade suggests.
5+4 pitches125 m
Croatia · Omiš
An easy, friendly route up a small tower and the ribs above it, on rock covered in knobs and warts. It is one of the very few bolted multipitch routes at this grade around Omiš and was put up with beginners in mind. The second belay touches the path, so you can walk off half-way.
5b+4 pitches130 m
Italy · Gaeta & Sperlonga
The easiest and one of the most repeated long routes on the Gaeta sea cliff. You abseil to a terrace just above the waves, traverse left, pull one polished 5c move and then climb chimneys and clefts beside a huge detached needle to the cliff top. The setting is the attraction: bridging in a chimney hanging over the sea.
5c5 pitches155 m
Committing
Austria · Karwendel (Innsbruck Nordkette)
One of the most popular routes on the Martinswand plinth: five short pitches of limestone slab that get better with height. The crux is a traverse right on pitch 3, hard from the first move, followed by a friction slab on pitch 4.
5b5 pitches135 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.