Pic de Luc – Le Claps · Pic de Luc (Diois) · France
A huge, easy grey slab above the Saut de la Drôme, steepening from 45 to 60 degrees: ideal for a first multi-pitch, for practising rope work or for learning to trust your feet. Grade 3 at the bottom, 4c to 5a at the top, and a fine view over the Diois.
Climbing mode: Big type, screen kept awake, tick pitches as you go.
Highest point 1000 m above sea level (camptocamp route 54775).
Rebolted and easy, but bolts are spaced on the slab, so a nervous leader should not treat it as a first lead; the walk-down is steep and loose.
5aV+5.78 pitches · 175 mEasy to bail
La grande dalle climbs the vast tilted slab of Le Claps, the landslide cliff of the Pic de Luc above the Saut de la Drôme near Luc-en-Diois. Two parallel bolted lines run up the grey slab a few metres apart and it is easy to swap between them; the right-hand line is described here. The first four pitches are very easy and can be climbed together on a short rope; the last three steepen to 4c and a step of 5a. It is one of the most frequented beginner multi-pitches in the area and a classic venue for club courses.
The atlas doesn't show topos: they are the work of the people who bolt and document these routes. See the topo at camptocamp.org, or in Escalades dans le Diois.
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 3a | 50 m | Easy slab, 8 to 9 bolts. The left-hand line has a 52 m first pitch. |
| P2 | 3a | 35 m | Easy slab, 7 to 8 bolts, to a small ledge. |
| P3 | 3b | 40 m | 7 to 8 bolts. |
| P4 | 3c/4a | 35 m | 5 to 6 bolts. The belay is just below a wide bushy ledge and is not visible from below: aim straight up above the last visible bolt towards a large box bush; further right the ledge is loose. |
| P5 | 2 | 50 m | Low-angled slab with bushes and stony patches, 4 to 5 bolts, to a comfortable belay level with a pine in line with R4. |
| P6 | 4b/4c | 45 m | Steeper, 9 to 10 bolts, to a chained belay below a flake. |
| P7 | 4cV5.6 | 30 m | 8 to 9 bolts. |
| P8 | 4b/5a | 25 m | 7 to 8 bolts to the chained top belay, with a view over the Diois. Pitches 7 and 8 link if the second moves up 2 to 3 m. |
Drive the D93 from Die towards Luc-en-Diois. The route is above Le Claps and the Saut de la Drôme, just south of Luc. The upper car park at the Saut de la Drôme is the best place to park; there are lower car parks by the road narrows.
25 to 45 minutes. From the upper car park follow a path marked with small red dots and cairns up the left bank of the boulder chaos to the foot of the slab, keeping right at the start. From the lower car parks, a path marked with blue squares and cairns starts just downstream of the road narrows. The route starts 20 m of easy ground above the bottom of the slab, at a comfortable terrace with bushes (R0: three grey glue-ins in the slab, hard to see).
Loading map
The point marks the base of the route.
Coordinates · route base
Parking
camptocamp waypoint 275388 (Le Saut de la Drôme)
Point from camptocamp route 54775
Contains the route point and parking.
Points from published sources, not surveyed.
Coordinates: 44.60594, 5.46092 (route base) · Parking: 44.60261, 5.46246
Abseil the line with 2×50 m ropes: 7 or 8 abseils (R8 to R6 may go in one; check on the way up), with 10 m to downclimb at the end; allow about 2 hours back to the car. Or go over the ridge and walk down the far side along the cliff, about 30 minutes to the lower car parks: steep, stony and tiring but not exposed. Good shoes or poles help.
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is a normal descent: every belay is bolted and the slab is easy to retreat down with 2×50 m ropes.
10 quickdraws (about 15 if you move together on the first four pitches). 2×50 m ropes to abseil, or a single rope if you walk down.
South to south-west facing at 600 to 1000 m: climbable almost all year, including winter (outings in December, February and March), but too hot in summer heat. The top can be very windy. Swimming is possible near the Saut de la Drôme when there is water.
Forecast · next 7 days · 1000 m
Loading the forecast.
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| High °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rain mm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chance of rain % | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strongest gusts km/h | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Model forecast for 1000 m. It cannot tell you whether the rock is dry. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Time plan · 8 pitches
Working out sunrise and sunset.
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.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
From the aspect alone; terrain is ignored. Local time, 15th of each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb (usual season) | Mar (usual season) | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec (usual season) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 5 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| Mean daily low °C | −3 | −3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 2 | −2 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 10 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 862 m; rain is for a 10–25 km grid cell. Weather and climate data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
No reports yet.
Around 5a · about 8 pitches
France · Cerdagne (Eastern Pyrenees)
A long, easy granite outing on low-angled slabs above the Carol valley, popular with Catalan and French parties as a first big multipitch. The few steeper steps are short and closely bolted, the belays are roomy, and the best climbing is saved for the last pitch, a steeper 5a wall on big holds.
5aV+5.75aV+5.78 pitches330 m
Switzerland · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal)
Eight short pitches of 4b to 5a on compact, grippy gneiss slabs above the Wiwannihütte, finishing on a 2880 m summit. Pitches 3 and 4 climb a big steep slab that is the heart of the route. Chained belays and an abseil descent make it the gentlest introduction to the Wiwanni routes, though the starting pitches feel stiff for 4b.
5aV+5.75aV+5.78 pitches180 m
Switzerland · Grimsel
The classic easy introduction to Grimsel granite: nine pitches of smooth, low-angle slab that follow a long, stair-like corner and a line of cracks, with a short steeper wall on pitch 7. Clean rock with no grass ledges, a short approach and an easy walk down.
5aV+5.75aV+5.79 pitches270 m
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
The classic way up the Geiselstein, the 'Matterhorn of the Ammergau Alps'. After two scrappy pitches it follows a slabby corner system up the middle of the sunny south face: steep, exposed and on good rock, at about UIAA IV with one polished move of V at the start of the corner. The descent by the normal route needs as much care as the climb.
5aV+5.75aV+5.77 pitches260 m
Researched and aggregated by AI from published sources, last compiled October 2026. It can be wrong, and bolts, anchors and access change: check a current guidebook and read the disclaimer.