Bitard · Gorges de la Jonte · France
Easy to bailBolting confidence: high
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.
The route
Le Bitard follows the front of the detached pillar east of the Cirque des Vases and finishes on its flat top, a regular perch for griffon vultures. The four pitches are short, at 5b, 5b, 5c and 5a, and the line stays on a spur without feeling very exposed. Camptocamp describes it as the right route for a first visit, bolted more closely than the local norm. It has 84 logged outings and is often busy with groups, who tend to stop after two pitches. Stronger parties can add one or two harder pitches above the pillar to reach the plateau.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5b | A steep grey wall of blocky rock. Three recent parties found the start hard for 5b. |
| P2 | 5b | A slab with good holds scattered across it. |
| P3 | 5c | A vertical crack followed all the way; sustained for the grade and the pitch people remember. |
| P4 | 5a | A short, juggy pitch to the top of the pillar. |
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.
From the road take one of the paths that climb straight towards the pillar; an August 2025 party used the Roche Décollée path and then followed the foot of the cliff, and mentions an unsigned path a few dozen metres after the Body Building path that leads directly to the base. The route name is painted in red at the start. A party on the neighbouring Jardin Enchanté start reports 25 minutes; the regional tourism sheet gives 10 minutes for the sector.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
D996 Cirque des Vases car park by the SOS phone post (camptocamp waypoint 187443)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 103408 (La Jonte - Bitard)
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: 44.19248, 3.23555 (crag) · Parking: 44.19222, 3.22556
Getting down
Abseil the route from the chained belays. Camptocamp lists four abseils, one per belay. An October 2025 party went down in three with 2×50 m (top to R2, R2 to R1, R1 to the ground), and two parties in 2025 did it in two abseils with 60 m ropes, which they measured at 55 m and 57 m. Camptocamp warns that the 2022 guidebook understates these two as 50 m and 55 m, so knot the rope ends. If you continue above the pillar, a single free-hanging abseil from the chained belay of 'Engagez-vous qu'il disait', 15 m west of the exit of 'À moi la légion', returns you to the top of the Bitard.
Retreat
Easy to bail
The normal descent is to abseil the route from chained belays, so you can go down from any belay. With 2×50 m you descend belay to belay. Expect other parties on the line.
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. The route is in shade in the morning. A September 2025 party found the rock starting to polish and noticeably slippery when damp.
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
12 quickdraws cover the route (11 bolts at most on a pitch); take 15 if you add the 50 m pitch of 'L'appât du grain'. Two 50 m ropes for the abseils, or two 60 m ropes to do them in two. 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 Le Bitard.
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
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
France · Gorges de la Jonte
Five pitches beside the Fusée monolith, built around a superb 35 to 40 m corner that ends under a big roof and escapes left across a wildly exposed but easy traverse. Rebolted in 2012 and better protected than most routes here. Rated a must at the grade by several recent parties.
6a5 pitches120 m
Around 5c · about 4 pitches
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
The best-known route on the Mallo Colorado. Two steep, juggy panza pitches have a well-protected boulder move, giving a short taste of real Riglos steepness at a friendly grade.
5c4 pitches150 m
Italy · Monte Argentario
Four pitches on the sea-facing wall of Capo d'Uomo: a featured slab, an easy linking pitch, and two vertical, athletic pitches on sculpted grey limestone to the crest below the old watchtower. The final wall is the highlight. The lower pitches need care with holds.
5c4 pitches110 m
Read the cautions
Slovenia · Osp
The easiest line on Osp's famous overhanging Big Wall, following an obvious right-slanting ramp, the only non-overhanging part of the face. It is in shade until about 11:30 in July.
5c4 pitches110 m
Read the cautions
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Four pitches of steady 5c up the needle beside the Pilier du Couchant, in the heart of the gorge. A short easy first pitch, a crux a few metres below the second belay, a crack pitch and an athletic finish.
5c4 pitches167 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.