Pont Saint-Joseph · Annot · France
Read the cautionsBail with caveats
A short, homogeneous and varied 6a/6b route on Verdon-like limestone right above the RN 202 near Annot. Arête, a wild traverse, corners, cracks and technical walls, with a walk midway to a detached pinnacle called the menhir. Very well bolted and close to the road.
Climbing mode: Big type, screen kept awake, tick pitches as you go.
Highest point 925 m above sea level (camptocamp route 936561).
The route itself is very well bolted, but the exposed descent path relies on fixed ropes reported rotten in 2021 and damaged in 2025.
6b+VII+5.10d8 pitches · 200 mBail with caveats
Les Amants de Saint Jean climbs the limestone pillar above the Pont Saint-Joseph, on the RN 202 a few kilometres from Annot. It was opened from the ground up in March 2014 by Marie Line Madelaine and Lionel Catsoyannis, the first equipped multipitch in the sector. Eight short pitches stay consistently in the 6a to 6b+ range, with a walk of about 60 m between pitches 5 and 6. Every report praises the rock and the bolting, and the openers stress that it is easy to get back to the ground if you turn round.
The atlas doesn't show topos: they are the work of the people who bolt and document these routes. See the topo at Camptocamp – topo photo, or in Escalade à Annot (topo leaflet, 2015).
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a+VII-5.10b | 40 m | 9 bolts | Start in some scrub and climb the west arête of the pillar. The rock looks shattered but has been well cleaned and the holds are solid. A steep, sustained section with one or two boulder moves at the end leads to an unlinked two-bolt belay on the ledge to the right. A 2021 party notes that you climb a little between the bolts. |
| P2 | 6aVI+5.10a | 20 m | 7 bolts | A fine, exposed traverse right, well bolted, using a few juniper bushes as holds. |
| P3 | 5cVI5.9 | 20 m | 6 bolts | Start right, then straight up a vertical wall on good holds to the top of a spike, then descend rightwards to the belay. About 15 quickdraws if you link pitches 2 and 3. |
| P4 | 6b+VII+5.10d | 35 m | 12 bolts | A crack-corner, easy at first, then a hard move and a technical, sustained finish. |
| P5 | 6b+VII+5.10d | 20 m | 6 bolts | A steep wall rising right (not too hard), then a sustained section straight up to the belay on a ledge. Then walk about 60 m right to the foot of a monolith, the menhir; the fixed ropes there are for the descent, so continue straight above. |
| P6 | 6aVI+5.10a | 20 m | 6 bolts | A fairly wide crack-corner leads to a chimney-crack. The bolt is inside the chimney: squeeze in, or bridge outside with your shoulder on the outer flake. Belay on top of the menhir. |
| P7 | 6a+VII-5.10b | 25 m | 7 bolts | A tricky start, then a fine ramp-corner with a thin slab move, then trend left to the belay. |
| P8 | 5cVI5.9 | 25 m | – | A wall with good holds; test them, as the rock is less sound here. Belay on a small wall at the end of a ledge. |
Annot is just off the RN 202 between Digne and Nice and has a station on the Chemins de fer de Provence line. Park in the car park just downstream of the Pont Saint-Joseph on the RN 202.
About 15 min. Do not walk along the road to the bridge. From the car park go up the small ravine on a faint path, which starts at the seventh crash-barrier post counted from the road (overgrown in June 2025). It soon climbs steeply right, then traverses across the slope to come out just above the rockfall nets. At the second post holding the netting, go up 15 m to the foot of a small pillar (arête) where the route starts. An old paved mule track (via romana) also climbs towards the cliff: that is the way back.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Coordinates · crag
Parking
Point from camptocamp waypoint 1782364 (Pont Saint Joseph)
Contains the route point and parking.
Points from published sources, not surveyed.
Coordinates: 43.94002, 6.69217 (crag) · Parking: 43.94192, 6.69041
From the top, cross the crest and go down the north side on a path with fixed ropes (exposed; the ropes were described as rotten in 2021 and damaged in June 2025) to the first abseil station. Abseil 30 m down a steep wall; the next station is just to the right behind a juniper. Abseil 35 m, free-hanging, to near the top of pitch 5. Traverse left (facing out) to the fixed ropes at the foot of pitch 6, which lead to the third station, and abseil 40 m past newer single-pitch routes. Then do not follow the foot of the wall: traverse left across the slope to the end of the spur to find the old paved mule track back to the start.
Bail with caveats
The openers say it is easy to get back to the ground if you turn back. The belays are two unlinked bolts, so you would need to leave a maillon or cord to abseil, and the 20 to 40 m pitches need the abseil ropes you carry for the descent. Above pitch 5 the abseil descent line itself is close by, via the fixed ropes at the foot of pitch 6.
France
112Emergency; sends PGHM or CRS mountain rescue
Emergency; sends PGHM or CRS mountain rescue
Position of the crag
43.94002, 6.69217
Marks the crag, not the route: give route and pitch.
Say what happened, how many are hurt, and where you are. Checked October 2026 (sourceofficial sources).
12 quickdraws (15 if you link pitches), 2 or 3 60 cm slings to extend runners against rope drag, material to build belays on the unlinked two-bolt stations, and ropes for 30 to 40 m abseils. The openers' French gear list says cams are hard to place in this rock, the Spanish one that nuts are useless, and both call the route fully equipped. A 2018 party suggests a few extenders.
South-west facing, from about 785 m to 925 m. In shade in the morning, but the sun arrives quickly and the afternoon is hot, so the openers recommend spring, autumn and winter. The route dried quickly after a day of rain in 2019. Traffic noise, especially motorbikes, on the RN 202 below.
Forecast · next 7 days · 925 m
Loading the forecast.
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| High °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rain mm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chance of rain % | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strongest gusts km/h | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Model forecast for 925 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 · SW-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 | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec (usual season) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 6 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 7 |
| Mean daily low °C | −4 | −4 | −1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 1 | −3 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 8 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 952 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.
Around 6b+ · about 8 pitches
Spain · Montanejos
Eight pitches up a vertical prow deep in the Maimona canyon, on orange rock full of pockets (agujeros means holes). Sustained at 6a+ to 6b and physical throughout, with a huge roof start to the crux pitch and a bench to sit on at the third belay. Closed from January to June.
6b+VII+5.10d6b+VII+5.10d8 pitches235 m
Read the cautions
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
A sustained wall climb on the Telendos south face, seven pitches of 6a to 6b+ on very sharp, sculpted limestone with a short walk between the second and third. It needs route reading and tough skin. The line stays in the shade longer than its neighbours, until about 11:30.
6b+VII+5.10d6b+VII+5.10d8 pitches215 m
France · Ariège Pyrenees
The finest line on the big grey slabs of the Peppermint sector, a notch harder than Peppermint itself. A reachy 6b+ move and a chimney-corner start the day; a ledge splits the wall; the two pitches above it, a corner and a thin, sustained 6b slab, are the highlight.
6b+VII+5.10d6b+VII+5.10d8 pitches280 m
Italy · Sardinia
A sea-level start reached by abseil, then seven short pitches up the seaward face of Pedra Longa. The third pitch is a wildly exposed traverse above a line of roofs; two easy pitches on rock that needs care lead to a technical 6b and 6b+ finish on grey slab.
6b+VII+5.10d6b+VII+5.10d7 pitches175 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.