The Vercors plateau

Text and pictures © 2007-2008 Guillaume Dargaud
Last updated on 2008/03/28

"Lamest response ever to 'Let's toss for the crux pitch ?': 'I don't have a coin'."    — Martin Carpenter.

Mt Aiguille

Left: West face of Mt Aiguille as seen from the Aupet pass in late afternoon.

Right: The summit of Mt Aiguille with the Meije visible in the far background.

The Vercors plateau is one of those semi-legendary mountain places where weird stories mix it up with tales of heroism. This is where famed climber Lionel Terray fell off. It's where the french put up the strongest resistance to the Nazi during the entire occupation, to the point that the occupiers sent paratroopers to raze entire villages, inhabitants included. This is where climbing was born while Columbus was sailing across the Atlantic. This is where roads get carried off in landslides so big that they don't get rebuilt. This is where tunnels get appropriated by ravers for all night parties. This is where tourists can get lost and walk for 3 weeks before getting back to civilization.

Left: Mt aiguille seen from the Selle pass upon reaching the Vercors plateau itself.

Right: Sunset on Mt Aiguille, birthplace of climbing 5 centuries ago.

Left: Mt Aiguille as seen through a gash in the ridge of Parquet on the edge of the Vercors plateau.

Right: Alpenglow on the west face of Mt Aiguille.

Seen from Grenoble or from the west, the Vercors looks unreachable thanks to a continuous cliff blocking access to the plateau itself. And indeed from Grenoble you have 2 roads at the very north, and then nothing as you go south until you completely reach the other side, a good 100km farther. Just like the Chartreuse the main summits are not very high: 2346m for the Grand Veymont, 2284m for Moucherolle, 1901m for the Moucherotte right above Grenoble... Half of the plateau has no road making it a haven for hikers and mountain bikers.

Left: Moon crescent and Venus on the edge of the Vercors ridge.

Above: Panorama taken from the edge of the Vercors plateau showing the Grand Veymont, highest summit of Vercors (2341m) and the distinctive Mt Aiguille (2087m). Grenoble is in the haze in the background between the two summits and the Devoluy is the range of mountains visible on the right.

Above: Morning panorama on Mt Aiguille and Grand Veymont from the summit of the Goutaroux.

Left: East face of Mt Aiguille under an ominous morning sky.

Climbing in Presles

Left: A view on the main cliff of Presles.

Right: Jenny up on Topomaniak, one of the most classic route.

Although there's rock around the entire plateau for hundreds of kms, not much of it gets climbed regularly for the usual reasons: long approaches and plenty of poor rock. But fear not, there's room for some gems like Presles which has long been considered the 2nd best cliff in France for long routes after the Verdon.

Left: Routefinding on Topomaniak.

Left: Coming up on Topomaniak.

Right: Vertical panorama of 'Le temps des Guenilles' done in HDR.

Left: Steep pitch, still on 'Le temps des Guenilles'.

Left: Summit of the route. You can either rappel down or take the trail along the clifftop back to the car.

Right: Sunset on some of the cliffs of Presles.

Right: Panoramic view from halfway up one of the climbing routes of Presles, with the Choranche lake and the other side of the valley across the cliff. . The famous Choranche cave is hidden at the base of the left wall. The highest ridge of the Vercors is visible in the background.

Left: Steep face climbing on 'Les cons qui s'adorent' (the self-loving assholes !)

Right: Flower covered ledge on 'Les cons qui s'adorent', Presles.

Right: Another italian team on the classic Topomaniak, parallel to our own route.

Left: Jenny on the hard 6c crux of Bamboustine Scatophage, a kind of edgy slab similar to what you can find in the Dolomites.

Right: Agostino on the 7a crux of Topomaniak.

Shortly after this picture I would take my longest fall ever, and on the easiest pitch of the route too. It's 6a after several pitches of 6c and stiff 6b and I'm running up as it's the next to last pitch and I want out. Suddenly as move my left hand up, the large hold in my right hand turns to sand and I'm airborne. My last piece is a good 5m below and it's just an old weather-worn sling around a stuck rock. I barely have time for a brief squeal, I bounce off the rock, keep going for seconds and stop. Jenny has moved several meters from a comfortable resting spot on the large departure rest and I'm 15 meters below my last position, barely 5 meters off the deck. The sling has doubled in length and is completely flailed, with only a few threads remaining. My previous flight was 4 years ago in Yosemite, let's hope it won't turn into a habit...

Other activities in the Vercors

Left: Mt Aiguille, considered by many the birthplace of climbing after its first ascent in 142 by Antoine de Ville under orders from Charles VIII. I can imagine this nowadays, being ordered to climb a 5.14 before the end of the month...

Right: Kids going on a dog sled ride in the remote south Vercors.

Right: Corrençon, a friendly sport cliff on the plateau of the Vercors. The lower cliff is not that impressive but the top one, although harder, is well worth a visit if only for the view.

Right: There used to be a village on the left of the image. It was razed during WWII and all its inhabitants pulled from their beds and executed. Nobody lives there anymore, only a church stands watch to the atrocities of the past.

Left: The Chabrinel hut at the southern end of the Vercors. We got there after a day of biking through the entire high plateau. Only one hour of daylight left, what should we do ? There are 3 guys and a nice fire going on inside, but it's a short descent to reach a hotel at the Rousset pass...

Right: Going down towards the Rousset pass.

Left: Unfortunately when we get there everything is closed for the season ! We have to bike another 17km before we can find a restaurant and accomodation, exhausted.

Right: Mountain biking through the woods of the Vercors.

Left: A short ski trip on the Moucherotte, barely 20 minutes from Grenoble.

Right: The eastern side of the Vercors as seen from the Moucherotte, quite visible are the Mt Aiguille and the Grand Veymont.

Left: Brocken spectrum seen from Peak St Michel, right below Mt Blanc and the northern tip of the Belledonne range.

Right: Mirage disturbing the atmosphere of the Gresivaudan valley, in the direction of Mt Blanc.

Left: Winter climbing at Presles. Yes, in T-shirt.

Right: Interesting route in Presles where a section goes in a cave, this way two routes overlap each others without charing a single bolt !

Left: Agostino on some wicked crux in Presles.

Counters: Page:3233, Section:2101834, Site:16388063.