Pilier W de l'Ascle · Orpierre · France
A short, easy beginners' multipitch on the west pillar of the Ascle: six short pitches of 4c to 5b on sculpted limestone with holes and edges, an airy but well-bolted traverse, and a fine slab to finish. Very closely bolted with comfortable chained belays.
5bVI-5.86 pitches · 130 mBail with caveats
Le Maître de la danse is the left-most route on the west pillar of the Ascle and one of the standard introductions to multipitch climbing at Orpierre. It has six short pitches, one of them a 15 m grade 3 link through bushes, with a maximum of 5b and 5a obligatory. The highlights are an airy 20 m traverse left on pitch 3 and a fine pocketed slab on the last pitch. Bolts are 2 to 4 m apart and the belays are chained and comfortable, so it suits beginners and guided or club days. Experienced parties climb it in about an hour as a short outing.
No topo we can show; see the sources.
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5aV+5.7 | 20 m | An easy warm-up on good holds, though the start is polished: one 2026 party found it easier to start a little right and come back left at the first or second bolt. |
| P2 | 5aV+5.7 | 25 m | Shares its belay with the first belay of Malkuth la Terre (there are three belays there). A little harder than pitch 1. Can be linked with pitch 1 on a 50 m rope; watch the rope drag. |
| P3 | 4cV5.6 | 20 m | An airy traverse left for 20 m, very well bolted. Easiest if you stay low. |
| P4 | 5bVI-5.8 | 15 m | A short pitch; links easily with pitch 5. |
| P5 | 3 | 15 m | A link pitch of 10 to 15 m through bushes; usually combined with pitch 4 or pitch 6. |
| P6 | 5a+V+/VI-5.7+ | 30 m | A superb pocketed slab, with a less obvious move before the belay (one party went slightly right to avoid an awkward flared crack). Bolts are a little further apart than below. |
Drive to Orpierre (about 10 km west-north-west of Laragne-Montéglin) and up to the Parking de l'Adrech above the village, about 15 minutes on foot from the village.
About 25 minutes. From the Adrech car park, take the climbers' path that heads right towards the Quatre Heures sector, then follow the signs to the Ascle. The route is the left-most on the face, after Pèlerin de Compostelle and Malkuth la Terre, with its name marked at the foot.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Parking de l'Adrech (camptocamp waypoint 178282)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 43675 (Orpierre - Pilier W de l'Ascle)
Contains the route point and parking.
Points from published sources, not surveyed.
Coordinates: 44.32198, 5.70010 (crag) · Parking: 44.31917, 5.70167
On foot: go up to the col between the west and east pillars of the Ascle and join the Quatre Heures path back down to the car park. One 2026 party took about 45 minutes from the top to the car park.
Bail with caveats
The pitches are short (15 to 30 m) and every belay is chained, so you can abseil from the lower belays. The 20 m traverse left on pitch 3 means that from above it a straight abseil will not follow the route, and the route is often busy with parties below.
12 quickdraws and a 35 m rope (camptocamp); with a 50 m rope you can link pitches 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 4 and 5, or 5 and 6. A few extenders reduce rope drag when linking. Helmet.
South facing, at roughly 700 m to 950 m. Climbed from early spring to late autumn and in winter on sunny days; it gets hot in summer. It dries quickly: a May 2026 party finished it after afternoon showers.
Forecast · next 7 days · 950 m
Loading the forecast.
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| Low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rain mm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chance of rain % | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strongest gusts km/h | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Model forecast for 950 m. It cannot tell you whether the rock is dry. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Time plan · 6 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 | Mar (usual season) | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 5 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| Mean daily low °C | −3 | −3 | −1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 1 | −2 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 9 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 |
● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 924 m; rain is for a 10–25 km grid cell. Weather and climate data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Straight-line distances, up to 30 km.
No reports yet.
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Committing
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Read the cautions
Compiled from published sources, last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.