Situated on the banks of the Ardèche river, in southern France, is the impressive well featured cave of hard white limestone, Grotte des Branches. This is one of many crags situated in the Ardèche Gorge, but the locals enthuse that it is their most prized cliff. The climbing here is steep and strenuous, on anything from small tufa blobs to 5m long stalactites (hence the name Grotte des Branches). Be warned, the climbing tends to be sustained, requiring good levels of stamina and negotiating your way up/through/across the routes can end in an horrendous full body pump, if you’ve not prepped the stamina reserves before your arrival. The routes are well equipped and many have insitu draws, which is a godsend as stripping would be a nightmare. That said, I would recommend that you carry a couple of backup draws, as some of the insitu gates can be very stiff.

Best Time to Go and Conditions

The season starts around June, as it takes a while to dry out, and continues right through until the end of autumn, when the height of the river rises and stops play. Grotte des Branches is the perfect summer venue, by definition it’s in the shade all day, stays fairly cool and has a pleasant river to cool off in at the end of your session. The sheltered aspect of the cave does mean it can get quite humid on still muggy days. Once dry the grotte makes for a perfect wet weather venue, in fact on one particular day we didn’t even realise it had been raining heavily all day until we went to leave the crag.

Image: Chronopost, f8b+. Courtesy of montanhadaici.com

Getting There
The nearest airports to the climbing – serviced by budget operators – are Nimes and Lyon. These are about 1.5 hours (Nimes) and 2 hours (Lyon) drive from the climbing area and are well served by Ryan Air. It is also possible to fly to Avignon, however this tends to be a little more expensive.

From Lyon, travel South on the E15. Turn off at junction 19 and head west to Pont-St-Espirt. From here take the D290 sign posted to Vallon-Pont-d’Arc and park at the car park for the giant arch (Pont d’Arc).

From Nimes head for the E15 towards Orange, continue north on the E15 towards
Montelimar and turn off at junction 19 and follow as for Lyon.

Accessibility
The Ardèche is about 2 hours drive from major venues such as Ceuse and Buoux and can easily be included in a south France road trip. A car would make life easiest, but it is possible to get here via bus. It is worth noting that parking can be awkward during the summer months so watch where you leave your car, I’ve heard the authorities can be fairly officious when it comes to dealing with vehicles they see are poorly parked during the high season.

To accesses the crag you park for the giant arch (Pont d’Arc) and then wade across the river to the cave. This takes around 15 minutes. Make sure you follow the signs as locals do get annoyed with people shortcutting through their property.

Accommodation & Provisions
The Ardèche region is extremely touristy which means there are literally hundreds of campsites to be found around the nearby towns. However, do expect to pay a little more than in other more rural locations usual (around €10 a night). It is also possible to rent portable homes at many of the campsites. Vallon-Pont-d’Arc is the closest town (2miles away) and has several supermarkets, fuel stations, restaurants and bakeries to choose from as well as lots touristy shops. Take plenty of chalk, tape and other climbing supplies as there aren’t many climbing shops nearby.

Guidebook
Grotte des Branches can be found in the Ardèche guide that can be easily found in nearby Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, or any good climbing shop in France. Alternatively, a basic topo can be found online which along with the route names painted at the base of the climbs (some of which with the grades) will get you started - a free topo can be found here and another can be found here. The Ardèche, and thus Grotte des Branches, will also feature in the Rockfax "France: Languedoc-Roussillon" guide, due out October 2011.

Grade Spread and Recommended Routes
The best routes in the grotte are in the 7b+ to 8b+ range with the hardest route being 8c. The routes on the left hand side are also popular and offer plenty to go at in the mid 7’s. Warming up can be an issue here as there are only a couple of 6’s, we tended to jump straight onto harder things as there are plenty of rest mid route and the holds tend to be quite big.

My recommendations would be: Welcome to Disneyland 7b+, Paradise of Bites 7c, Nikita 7c+, Assedic Park 8a, Mauvias Grain 8a+, Chronopost 8b+.

General Tips
The standard sport climbing equipment is required, a 60m rope is sufficient for most (although some of the longer extensions may require up to an 80m). Long slings and extended draws are handy for reducing rope drag and a knee bar pad or thick pair of trousers will also come in useful.

As with most routes that follow stalactites, experiment with rests. Think double knee bars, over head heel toes, back and footing etc. there are lots of cunning stopping places that make all the difference in controlling the dreaded pump. Also, think three dimensionally, there may be a crucial stalactite that could be bridged out to or even leaned against right behind you!

The Ardèche is one of the best places I have visited for rest days activities. There are several options to suit your needs and wallet. My top three suggestions would be:

• DWS and jumping down by the arch. There is even a small cave which leads to a nice 5m drop into the river.
• Hire out a kayak for the day and enjoy more of the Ardèche gorge.
• Find a nice secluded beach on the side of the river to chill, swim and recover your previous days steep work load.

Useful Links

• Budget Flights: ryanair.com or easyjet.com
• Campsites: camping-les-cedres.fr
• Gites: gites-de-france.com