Escalès – Carelle Amont · Verdon · France
CommittingBolting confidence: high
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.
The route
Les Dalles Grises is the route most visiting climbers do first on the Escalès. It gives 175 m of climbing in six pitches, fairly straight up the wall above the Jardin des Écureuils, and finishes a short walk from the car. The lower two pitches follow cracks and small corners that are steep, physical in places and polished by fifty years of traffic; the upper three are on sculpted grey limestone. The 2023 rebolting with glue-ins added a new version of pitch 5 on untouched rock. It is rarely quiet: a party in May 2025 found ten teams queuing for the abseils. Because you abseil in, you need to be sure of climbing 5c.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5c | 30 m | Vertical, on cracks and small corners, fairly polished. After 10 m the line divides: follow the glue-ins to the left. The 12 mm bolts to the right are Cocoluche. |
| P2 | 5c | 35 m | Less steep, but with quite physical crack sections, also polished. |
| P3 | 4b | 20 m | Straight above the belay (Cocoluche goes left). A linking pitch on good holds. |
| P4 | 5c | 35 m | The first of the fine grey slabs, with pockets and runnels. A 2025 party found it 5b almost throughout with one harder move before the last bolt; the belay is on a small terrace on the left. |
| P5 | 5c+ | 35 m | The 2023 version: straight above the belay up a steep, heavily sculpted wall on new rock. The old version to the left is still equipped with the bolts of the 1990 rebolting, but its 5c+ crux is very polished. Several parties find this pitch stiff for the grade. |
| P6 | 5a | 20 m | More of the same sculpted grey limestone to the top. |
Getting there
Base yourself at La Palud-sur-Verdon, which has campsites, gîtes and a climbers' bar. From La Palud drive the Route des Crêtes (D23) to the Belvédère de la Carelle and park there. A 2025 party found the car park full and recommends cycling from the village.
From the Belvédère de la Carelle take the path north-east along the cliff edge for about 100 m to a big block carrying the abseil chain of Les Dalles Grises. Four abseils lead down to the Jardin des Écureuils, a wooded terrace part-way down the wall. A second abseil line starts a few metres lower to the right as you face out, reached by a handrail, which helps when the first is busy. Allow 40 min to 1 h for the abseils. On the terrace the route starts on the left, in a small vertical corner: one 12 mm expansion bolt, then follow the glue-ins. The line starting further left on a leftward diagonal is the shared start of Afin que nul ne meure and Pichenibule. A 2025 party found the name painted in red as 'dalles et coco'.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Belvédère de la Carelle on the Route des Crêtes (camptocamp access waypoint 127667)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 1205951 (Verdon - Escalès - Carelle Amont)
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: 43.77551, 6.38511 (crag) · Parking: 43.77509, 6.38340
Getting down
From the top it is 100 m on foot to the viewpoint, among the tourists.
Retreat
Committing
You start by abseiling 150 m to a terrace in the middle of the wall, so retreating down the route only takes you back to the Jardin des Écureuils, from where you still have to climb out. The abseil lines run beside the route, which makes going down easy, but no source describes a way off the terrace on foot. The easiest way out is this route.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-east facing between about 950 and 1100 m and sheltered from north-west wind. The wall has the sun in the morning; a late May party found it in shade by 15:00, and too hot earlier in the day. Spring and autumn are best, a mild winter day works (one party climbed it in January), and in summer you climb in the afternoon shade. It can be damp after rain.
Sun on the wall · SE-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
12 quickdraws, slings for the belays (a January 2025 party had to build part of some belays themselves) and two ropes for the abseil approach. Helmet. No cams or nuts.
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 Les Dalles Grises.
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
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.
5b+5 pitches120 m
Around 5c+ · about 6 pitches
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
Kalymnos's best-known introduction to multi-pitch: a series of steps and slabs, always with plenty of holds, finishing on top of the Grande Grotta. The upper pitches feel very exposed. Real pitch lengths are shorter than the guidebook says (20–25 m).
5c+6 pitches175 m
Committing
Italy · Sardinia
A rising rightward traverse across the smooth granite dome of Monte Pulchiana, following a thin quartz vein. Pure friction climbing, well bolted but insecure if you are not used to granite slab. The rock is lichenous from pitch 3 and should be left alone after rain.
5c+6 pitches150 m
Austria · Salzkammergut
The slightly harder neighbour of Reise durchs gelobte Land, just to its left, and climbed very often. Six short pitches with the crux, a traverse at UIAA 6-/6, on the second; the rest is 5 or easier. A few short passages are less attractive, among them an earthy ledge with a fixed rope.
5c+6 pitches145 m
Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
The easiest multi-pitch on Kokkinovrachos, following the easy-angled arête and pillar above Leonidio, with tufas, crimpy walls and a great view of the town. Rock is good apart from the scrappy P2–P3.
5c+7 pitches175 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.
