Multipitch Atlas

Spit On Cup

La Draye · Ailefroide · France

Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high

The beginners' multipitch of Ailefroide: seven short pitches of easy-angled granite slab with two steeper steps, bolted close enough for a first lead. It is very popular, so the belays have been doubled. The descent ends with a spectacular 50 m free-hanging abseil.

The buttresses below the Tête de la Draye above Ailefroide, with Spit On Cup in red and its two abseils in bluePhoto: Crupillouze · CC BY-SA 3.0

Topo

The buttresses below the Tête de la Draye above Ailefroide, with Spit On Cup in red and its two abseils in bluePhoto: Crupillouze · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardest pitch
5b
Pitches
7
Length
200 m
Approach
15 min
Aspect
S
South-facing
Rope
2×50 m

The route

Overview

Spit On Cup climbs the lower buttresses of the Draye, a quarter of an hour from the bridge in Ailefroide. It is seven short pitches, mostly slab at 4b to 5a, with a steeper crack on pitch 3 and a steep black slab on pitch 5 that give the 5b grade. The bolts are close and most belays are doubled or tripled, which is why it is the valley's standard first multipitch and why it is so busy. It runs just left of Le Dernier Néandertalien, with belays often a few metres apart. The descent needs more care than the climbing: a path with some down-climbing, then two abseils.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeLengthNotes
P14b–From the belay on the access ledge (moved a few metres left to separate it from Le Dernier Néandertalien), traverse a few metres right to the original line, follow the crest of the spur and belay on the left. An optional extra pitch (4b) now starts below the access ledge.
P25a–Short traverse left, a small wall, then a low-angled slab traversing left. Extend the draws to manage rope drag.
P35b–A crack that is awkward and a little reach-dependent but has good holds, and goes at A0 if needed. A mantel, then easy ground at 4a.
P43b10 mVery short and easy. You can carry on to the next belay, a 25 m walk right to the foot of a fine slab.
P55b–A very black, fairly steep slab with a few technical moves.
P64c–Easy slab, then a steeper little wall.
P72–Easy last pitch that can be done in trainers; stay roped.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

Ailefroide (1500 m) is at the head of the Vallouise valley: from Briançon go to L'Argentière-la-Bessée (railway station on the Marseille, Gap, Briançon line), then Vallouise, Pelvoux and Ailefroide. A seasonal bus runs between Briançon and the Pré de Madame Carle. The road is closed in winter at Pelvoux-les-Claux. Ailefroide has a large campsite and every route here is reached on foot from it.

On foot · about 15 min

About 15 min from the Ailefroide bridge. Take the path towards the Tête de la Draye (south-east, true left bank of the torrent). Shortly after the 'petites dalles' teaching crag, leave the Draye path and go right, horizontally, on the path towards Chambran for about 80 paces (signed 'sentier de la Galerie'; wooden sign after the fork). At a cairn just after a long pile of big stones, go up trending slightly right for 50 m and cross a short grade 2 step onto the access ledge. Route names were painted in red but fade fast: a 2026 party found the name gone from the cairn, started left of Le Dernier Néandertalien (written in white on a block) and found 'Spit' in faded red at the first belay, which is two bolts joined by blue cord.

Map of the walk-in

  • Route base
  • Parking

Loading map

The point marks the base of the route.

Coordinates · route base

44.88615, 6.45342

Parking

44.88434, 6.45069

Ailefroide (camptocamp waypoint 106735)

Point from camptocamp route 232551 geometry, within about 100 m of theCrag's point for the route (44.88659, 6.45259)

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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.

Getting down

Descent

Follow a path left, level at first and then steeply down towards the tops of the first routes you passed (a few cairns). A 2026 party stresses that this includes down-climbing, that there have been accidents and that it should not be done in the dark. The first abseil (10 m, shared by three routes) is from a belay in the wall just above a platform near a big tree; it can be avoided by 20 to 30 m of narrow, dirty, exposed ledge. The second abseil is 50 m exactly and almost free-hanging; it lands on a path that leads to the foot of the crag. Alternatively descend on the right by the two easy abseils of Le Dernier Néandertalien (2×50 m; 45 m is said to be enough). Camptocamp says the 2024 printed topo is wrong about the descent.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

The belays are bolted and mostly doubled, and the first has maillons, so abseiling back down the short pitches looks feasible. No source describes a retreat beyond one party that climbed only pitch 1 and came down. The normal way off from the top is a path and two abseils.

Retreat from
Any belay (bolted, mostly doubled or tripled). After pitch 4 there is a 25 m walk on a terrace.
Point of no return
None documented. The top is only seven short pitches up and the usual descent starts there.
Carry
2×50 m, which you carry anyway for the 50 m abseil; a maillon or two in case a belay has none.
Basis
Inferred from the route factsCamptocamp states doubled belays and maillons at the first belay; retreat from higher up is inferred from that.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • Crowds: in August 2026 one party warned that queues form on the route and again at the two descent lines, which serve several popular routes.
  • The walk to the abseils includes down-climbing; a 2026 party reports past accidents there and advises against doing it at night and securing children.
  • The 50 m abseil is exactly 50 m and free-hanging: knot the rope ends.
  • Parties climb and abseil close together; stones and dropped gear are a real risk below.

Sun and weather

Conditions

South facing between about 1600 and 1800 m, so hot in midsummer; start early. It is one of the busiest routes in the valley in July and August.

Usual season · May to Oct

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean daily high °C−015712182122171250
Mean daily low °C−7−7−4−038111173−3−6
Rain days 1 mm or more111011121417151312111212

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1496 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

Gear

Two ropes of 50 m for the abseil (it is 50 m exactly). Sources do not give a quickdraw count; the pitches are short. Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws
Number not given in the sources
Rope
2×50 m
Helmet
One each
Abseil device and prusik
The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Maillons or spare karabiners
To leave behind if you retreat

Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo

From climbers

Reader reports

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 Spit On Cup.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • Go early: a family that started at 7:45 was back at the foot by 11:45.
  • Allow about 3 h for the climbing.
  • The doubled belays let two parties share a stance, but do not start behind three or four teams.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Grades: the French camptocamp text gives 4b, 5a, 5b, 3b, 5b, 4c, 2. Its Spanish text gives lower figures (4a, 4b, 4c+, 4a, 5a+, 4c, 3a). theCrag follows the French grades except pitch 4 (3a) and pitch 7 (2c).
  • Aspect: south on camptocamp, south-west on theCrag.
  • Start: the original first belay has been moved left and a new 4b pitch added below the access ledge (2022 topo), so older descriptions of the start no longer match.

Provenance

Sources

Same area

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Committing

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.