Tête de la Maye – south face · La Bérarde (Écrins) · France
Bail not documentedBolting confidence: high
Fifteen pitches up the steeper centre of the face: steep cracks and walls in the first third, then a long sequence of sometimes very thin friction slabs. Mostly 5c to 6a+ with one short 6b+ that goes at A0. Rated among the best on the wall and much quieter than its famous neighbour.
The route
Maye Friend starts between Du V à tire-larigot and Maye Oh Niaise, about 50 m right of the big cave, and finishes on the fore-summit. Camptocamp rates it among the great routes of the face and insists on precise footwork. The 2021 rebolt made the route more even at 5c to 6a, added bolts high up and broke three very long pitches into four. Some 6a slab moves remain obligatory but are never exposed. Parties take six to seven hours and report having the route almost to themselves while teams queue next door.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5c+ | Start slanting left. A slightly thin mantel reaches the belay. |
| P2 | – | A ledge: go straight up from it to a belay at the foot of a chimney on the left of a big white overhanging wall. |
| P3 | 5c | Not sustained. |
| P4 | 5c | A good finish. |
| P5 | 6b+ | 6a, then a short 6b+ section that can be aided on three bolts. |
| P6 | 4b | Blocks that can be avoided by grass, then a final slab rightwards. |
| P7 | 6a | A fine black wall. Do not stop at the belay on top of the wall: continue up grass and a slab to the belay with a maillon. |
| P8 | 5b | A lovely traverse left, back right and over an easy overhang on magnificent rock. Slightly re-routed in 2021. |
| P9 | 6a+ | A 6a+ friction start, easier above. |
| P10 | 5b | A short pitch. |
| P11 | 5b | One friction move at the start. |
| P12 | 6a+ | The best pitch: a hard friction start, then a slab rightwards along a small dyke and a bulge. |
| P13 | 6a | Varied: a thin start, a traverse left, then aim for an overhang on the right. |
| P14 | 4c | Easy ground straight up, then left. |
| P15 | 4c | Straight up with a few easy moves to the top. |
Getting there
La Bérarde is the last hamlet of the Vénéon valley, at the end of the D530 from Bourg d'Oisans (Grenoble side). A flood on 21 June 2024 wrecked much of the hamlet and swept away the car park in the riverbed, and road access has been restricted since. In summer 2025 the road was closed to general traffic beyond Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans, with shuttles from Bourg d'Oisans. In 2026 a June party found the road still closed with a shuttle promised for July; a party on 18 August took the first shuttle from Bourg d'Oisans at 06:20 and was in La Bérarde at 07:25; and a report dated 9 September 2026 says the hamlet can be reached by car again, with parking beside the reception chalet out of respect for residents. Check the current rules before you travel: the Maison du Département de l'Isère in Bourg d'Oisans (04 76 80 03 48) and the Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans town hall publish them. Do not count on the pre-flood shops and lodging; confirm what is open.
From La Bérarde follow the path up to the spur of Pujolidal, pass left of the spur and continue up towards a large cave. The start is about 50 m right of the cave. There are three starts side by side: Du V à tire-larigot on the left; Maye Friend in the centre, immediately left of Maye Oh Niaise, slanting left at first and then straight up; and Maye Oh Niaise on the right, a clear line of hangers straight up black streaks where a depression bars the way. A 2023 party took 50 minutes from the car.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
La Bérarde road end and trailhead (camptocamp waypoint 106909). The riverbed car park was destroyed in 2024; check current access and where parking is allowed
Point from camptocamp waypoint 39728 (Tête de la Maye summit; the routes start on the south face several hundred metres to the south)
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: 44.94392, 6.28912 (crag) · Parking: 44.93268, 6.29186
Getting down
From the top walk up for about 10 minutes to join the Tête de la Maye footpath. Walk off by the waymarked Tête de la Maye footpath, which has cables and metal steps on its steeper sections, back to La Bérarde. Camptocamp allows 1 h 30; a 2023 party took the same from summit to car.
Retreat
Bail not documented
Retreat is not documented. Camptocamp mentions one belay 'with a maillon' at the top of pitch 7, which suggests some stations can be abseiled from, but no source says the route is equipped for descent or describes anyone going down.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
Full south-facing granite between about 1,900 and 2,500 m. Camptocamp gives May to October depending on snow, and warns that it is very hot in midsummer; the wall takes the sun early. Slabs with drainage streaks can stay wet after rain. This is a mountain setting: watch for afternoon storms, and note a June 2026 report of no phone signal on the face. A party in August 2023 met a violent, icy wind from the fifth pitch up, enough to unbalance them on the thin slabs.
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 La Bérarde (Écrins) are not available yet
What to carry
14 quickdraws plus material for the belays. Rope length is not stated in any source and pitch lengths are unpublished; the descent is on foot. 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 Maye Friend.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
The great classic of the Tête de la Maye: 13 pitches of rounded granite slab above La Bérarde with nothing athletic until the last hard pitch, a flake and wide crack of 5c+ that everyone remembers. Recently rebolted and very closely protected. It is camptocamp's reference route for the overall grade D.
5c+13 pitches350 m
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
One of the easiest long routes on the Tête de la Maye: thirteen short pitches of low-angle granite slab, mostly grade 3 to 4, broken by a few steeper steps. The exception is the first pitch, a steep 5a/5b wall that is clearly the hardest and best climbing on the route.
5b13 pitches300 m
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
A long, gentle introduction to multipitch: about fifteen pitches of easy-angled granite slab and short cracked steps, almost all at 4b, with one 5b move. The hikers' path crosses the route, giving easy escapes after pitches 6, 7, 8 and 13. Sunny from early morning.
5b15 pitches400 m
France · La Bérarde (Écrins)
The longest route on the Tête de la Maye at this grade and by far the most popular: fourteen pitches, sustained at 5b with three pitches of 5c. Steep steps, slabs, a roof, a layback crack on a pillar and a few grass ledges. The fives feel honest and only one 5b move is obligatory.
5c14 pitches400 m
Around 6b+ · about 15 pitches
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
A big, fully bolted mountain route straight up the middle of a wall of the Peña Foratata to its summit. Three technical corner pitches at 6b+ low down and a 6b and a 6a above the grass terrace, separated by easy transition pitches. Short pitches by design, a long descent, and a seasonal closure for bearded vultures until the end of July.
6b+14 pitches420 m
Read the cautions
Austria · Inntal (Haiming Geierwand)
bergsteigen.com calls this the best route on the Geierwand: steep, almost always vertical pocket climbing on the left side of the wall. The hardest move comes on pitch 2, but the upper half stacks several 6b pitches one after another and tires the forearms. Recommended to climbers who are comfortable at 6b.
6b+13 pitches355 m
Austria · Grazer Bergland
Possibly the longest route in the Grazer Bergland: sixteen pitches that start up the Ratengrat (Don Kamille) and continue up the Breite Wand (Pepperone). The lower half is among the best climbing on the Ratengrat; the upper half begins gently over slabby steps in the forest and then steepens. Two passages of UIAA 7- and several of 6+.
6b16 pitches440 m
Switzerland · Ticino
The long classic of Monte Garzo: eighteen pitches from the valley floor. The first ten are compact slabs that punish the feet, then a 40 m walk leads to a steeper upper wall with athletic pitches up to 6b+. Sustained, obligatory and long; allow six to eight hours.
6b+18 pitches600 m
Read the cautions
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.