Sanctuary

Ceuse. Two words. HOLY CRAP! Quite possibly the most intimidating place I’ve ever been. The walk in is a complete mission. One hour of straight up, mostly on shale. No breaks in the rise, no rest stops to catch your breath, just straight up a massive hill to the sensational crag above. Upon catching your breath at the top it is instantly taken away from you again by the sheer awesomeness of the crag and then again by the view below as you turn around. It was a truly surreal moment. 

The level of climbing there is beyond anything we have experienced at home. Random dudes everywhere just jumping on 8b’s and 8c’s like they are nothing. Young and old, men and women; all projecting things that look impossible. We found some of the world’s hardest and most famous climbs and were left in awe of their lines. As it was already almost dark, we headed back down the mountain, excited to get an early start the next morning. 

Happy Birthday to me! Birthday in Ceuse - Yewwww! We started with the hike in again, it didn’t get any easier but I figured I was earning my wine later that afternoon. We had breakfast and coffee at the crag, again, just an epic view. Excited, I jumped on a 5 as a warm up. HA. Warm UP!!! I couldn’t get past the third bolt and that was after falling off the first about 7 times. It was so polished it was crazy. When you climb at world class crags you have to expect there has been a super amount of traffic and this was very evident here. I was in tears and scared to death. Rich knocked a 6a+ just to get a feel for the rock but I had already pulled birthday rank and we headed down to the base so I could start my birthday picnic by the lake. 

Officially my best birthday ever. We spent the afternoon swimming in the lake with Ceuse as our backdrop. We had decided that today was going to be our ‘When in Rome’ (or France) day and have fondue for dinner. I had googled the recipe and we bought some fondue forks and had home made gas stove fondue by the lake and a beautiful bottle of white wine. It was epic. Two hours later however it was not so epic. Perhaps we should have weened ourselves onto the cheese before going the whole hog. It had been 3 years since I’d eaten cheese and I can happily say I’ll wait another 3 to try it again but regardless, it was an awesome evening and watching the sun go down behind the mountain was breath taking. 

We headed to Orpierre so I could get a better grasp on some of the less intimidating climbs. Did some awesome climbs and felt like I got my groove back but after a few days of sun stroke (you get beaten by the sun there) and sleepless nights due to the world’s loudest church bell that goes off not only on the hour but every half, we had only one thing on our minds.... Gorge Du Verdon! 

As a self confessed water child, I was so excited to see the green water created by the limestone cliffs. As a climber, the grandeur of those cliffs is mind blowing. It was a visual explosion of epicness and I felt as if we were driving into a painting. The colours so bright and vivid I felt it couldn’t actually be real. We had bought bikes in Orpierre and decided to get a lay of the land. 11km’s up hill (everything seems to be up hill). It was a great view from the top and a very fun ride back down. We hired kayaks and took the scenic route up the Gorge. There was a million other people on the river but we didn’t even care as the sights are just spectacular. We found the cave where we had seen a bunch of youtube videos posted about the climbs, we swam through the little rapids and I got to dance in a waterfall.  The water that flows through the waterfall comes from the mountain and is much cooler than the river. It was amazing. 

Our first climb was epic. A steady first pitch followed by the scariest traverse we’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ve ever breathed so heavily in my life but again, the view made it all worthwhile. All you can see and hear for miles is the river running through the Gorge and the cliffs that surround it. I was devastated to have forgotten my camera but it is an image that will never leave me. Unfortunately, we had to bail off the route due to an incoming storm. An impromptu wrap of a tree but we weren’t quick enough. We hiked out in the rain, our gear sopping but our spirits high. This is what we live for. We had to have a rest day as all the gear needed time to dry so did the famous Belvedere Drive and the tunnel walk we had also seen in many a video. This was an amazing day. We jumped off the track, hiked down as far as you can then scurried along the edge of the gorge until we found a nice private little nook to go for a nudie swim. The water was freezing. Like snatch your breath away, instantly cold to your bones freezing! Luckily the sun was beating down so we layed on the rocks like lizards trying to get some feeling back. Clearly though, we didn’t scurry far enough off track as not long after a canyoning guide came around the corner with his client and we had to make a quick exit.

We spent the next couple of days doing hectic walks ins and climbing. One track (albeit the wrong one we soon discovered) had us tumbling down a dry river bed and carving our way through the forest trees. A super fun adventure as we had just read about the vipers and adders in the region at the time it was also quite a cautious one! Wrecked, it as time to move on but Verdon is definitely a place we will be returning to next year and I can not wait!