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| A meeting of the elements – the Fab Four in France |
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In Provence in the south of France, there is a climbing area, the very mention of which is enough to make mountaineers’ eyes shine all over the world. When you look into their eyes you will see emotion and passion as well as awe and respect. But there are a number of reasons why this area is different to other top locations. For example, despite the fact that the rock face is up to 350 metres high in places, this is not a mountain. Climbing parties start off, not from the bottom, but at the exit. From the point where you can see the bottom of the gorge far below, you abseil down to the route entry points. After that, you can only go in one direction: When you pull in your rope at the belay station, you are trapped! There is only one way out.
You have to go back up!
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Insiders know immediately what spot you are talking about -
It is the “Verdon Gorge” or “Verdon” for short.
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Angelika Rainer (Italy), Barbara Büschlen (Switzerland), Andrea Maruna (Austria) and Florian Riegler (Italy) from the SALEWA alpineXtrem Team spent three days in June 2008 in France’s most famous climbing area. From the word go, all four were very impressed with the variety of climbing opportunities Verdon has to offer.
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When the skies open on the first day, Andrea, Angelika, Barbara and Florian have an unusual experience. Everything is dry in the morning when the four climbers start bouldering. Gradually they get warmed up, practising longer movements and getting used to the sharp ledges and edges, and to the many layers and sloping holes so characteristic of Verdon. The atmosphere is relaxed. Evrard, the photographer, is delighted to be able to capture so many emotional moments on film. In short, it is a fairy-tale start to a day’s climbing.
Then the first drops begin to fall.
The signal is given to retreat. The four athletes have to improvise. They head for the Annot climbing area that has one major advantage on rainy days – the rock face is so steep that the rain doesn’t reach in under the overhangs. As a result, the routes stay dry for quite a long time. But it’s not just the rain that has difficulty reaching the rock face. Our visitors also find it a challenge to get there. A mountain stream is transformed instantly into a rush of white water – opaque, very slippy and, to put it mildly, freezing cold.
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However, a true mountaineer will always find a way.
A fixed rope is hung across the stream, so it’s off with the trousers and over the rock!
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What follows is athletic climbing up to 8a and a good day’s work on the first day in Verdon.
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If it’s going to be water, then let it flow.
On day 2, water is a constant companion for the four on the pursuit of adventure in the limestone region of the south of France. However, today it is a lot easier to put up with. After all, it is carrying them along! And the warm June sun puts a permanent smile on the faces of our vertical artists. First they paddle from the reservoir called Lac de St. Croix in a north-easterly direction from the gorge towards the canyon. After a bit of deep-water soloing, the four discover an impressive climbing arena with what is probably Central Europe’s largest sandclock. A playground that has to be seen to be believed. Muscular arms and big smiles guaranteed!
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Day 3 – The GREAT ROCK FACE
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“When you stand up there and look 300 metres down, everything seems the wrong way up,” says Barbara, the youngest of the group. Normally you would begin your climb from the ground upwards. Here at Verdon, you start at the exit. Then you abseil your way down. Angelika and Florian dare to be first. A gigantic, almost 20-metre-high overhang awaits on the pitch that the two South Tyrolean climbers are attempting. “Piazzing” is the name given to the move whereby first Angelika, and then Florian, moves up the overhang with arms outstretched, legs firmly pressed against the rock and the body tensed up in order to cleverly use counterpressure to advance, metre for metre.
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“By contrast to sports climbing and other alpine climbing routes at home, there are often great distances between anchor points. If you slip just beneath an anchor point, you will drop about 12 or 15 metres,” explains Florian, who can claim credit for many first ascents on alpine expeditions at home in the Dolomites. But as we can see, the heightened tension has not managed to ruin his enjoyment. Angelika, who is belaying from below, lets out a roar when he falls into the quick-draw, and she, 30 metres below, has to compensate for the drop with her much lighter weight. “He just likes flying,” she smirks as they arrive back at the exit, safe and sound.
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Then it’s Barbara’s turn to try her luck on a steep piece of rock. She picks a section that would normally be quite easy for her – her current limit is 8a – if it weren’t for the altitude and exposure of the rock face. At the end of the trip she mentions as an aside that her right wrist, which had been taped up the whole time, is not sprained as she had led everyone to believe. It is, in fact, broken! But she was so looking forward to the Verdon trip with her colleagues that she kept the information to herself and climbed for the entire three days despite the fracture. An impressive piece of rock had just witnessed another major achievement. We are already looking forward to the Fabulous Four’s next adventures.
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