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The curtains of Gwendal, Verdon

Obsession Minérale - Escalade et canyoning à Rodellar et en Royans-Vercors

After a few days of rinds in the South of France, particularly in Roquevaire, we are heading with Max to the Verdon to start the multi-pitch season at the beginning of April!

Obsession Minérale - Escalade et canyoning à Rodellar et en Royans-Vercors
Crushing crusts in Roquevaire! Photo: Fred Ripert

Our objective is a classic of the Gorges: the curtains of Gwendal, 250 m, 7b max.

The first pitches are pleasant then we arrive at the famous 7b pitch which turns out not to be very pretty: polished, bouldering and slippery... the slippery sauerkraut, frankly unpleasant! I work to pass and arrive at the relay rather disappointed with this length.

Obsession Minérale - Escalade et canyoning à Rodellar et en Royans-Vercors
Anthology Length

Fortunately, the length in 6c on orange rock and huge holes gives me some comfort. How beautiful it is ! It unfolds, there is atmosphere, everything I like. Arrived at R5, I take pictures of Max who joins me, misses the pocket of my jacket and… drops my phone for 150 m of gliding flight! We watch it drift and I spot where it falls, hoping to be able to find it after the route...

It's funny to notice how a small error, here unimportant, can affect the mind. This fall suddenly highlights gravity and our aerial environment. By dint of automatisms, we are no longer used to realizing the potential risk that surrounds us and with this reminder, I find myself checking my manipulations much more, hesitating a little and feeling a slight discomfort with this now almost tactile and omnipresent void... 

Obsession Minérale - Escalade et canyoning à Rodellar et en Royans-Vercors
Nooooo

Finally it is enough to refocus on the climb and I forget all these hassles. The following length is certainly the most beautiful of the whole route: an ultra aerial pillar on ceusian holes. For once we feel the gas and despite my concentration, I remain a little distracted by this small ball at the bottom of my stomach. No more errors...

I continue in the length in 6c+ slab which has really undergone the passages. The gray limestone, usually so adherent, has turned yellow and slips like ice. It adds a bit of spice to the sections but for technical climbing on the feet, it's not always pleasant!

Obsession Minérale - Escalade et canyoning à Rodellar et en Royans-Vercors
Last photo of the phone before the big theft

The last two lengths take place on beautiful rock. The sections, which are less compulsory, are also much less worn and we arrive at the belvedere after the last overhang which may surprise you for a length in 5!

Overall, I was a little disappointed by the hard length which was not very pretty and by the wear of the rock in places. I certainly expected too much for this reputedly incredible route… It's the price of success but I can't help but regret climbing it 15 years too late. On the same wall, for example, I had much preferred "Pichenibule" where all the lengths are splendid and which, in my memories at least, were less worn.

Obsession Minérale - Escalade et canyoning à Rodellar et en Royans-Vercors
One of the first lengths

To end our day, we went in search of the flying phone by the Martel trail! How beautiful it is to discover the faces that I do not yet know:

Endless projects...

After a bit of rocking to get to the foot of the track, I head straight for the tree that I had spotted from the top and into which the phone seemed to have fallen. Luckily, I find it at the foot, protective shell on one side and phone on the other, still on, screen dislocated but glass intact. After 150 m of fall, we weren't giving much of our skin!

Obsession Minérale - Escalade et canyoning à Rodellar et en Royans-Vercors
Incredible reunion

We have to believe that this time, luck was on our side to give us a good lesson without any consequences...

Caroline Minvielle

CLIMBING AND CANYONING INSTRUCTOR (DE)


Passionate climber, I officially started climbing at the age of 6. The exterior and the mineral correspond to my ultimate aspirations. The playground is endless and the rock always has new subtleties to submit and puzzles to decode. I practice outdoor climbing in all its forms at a sustained level: from bouldering to multi-pitch in adventure terrain.

On the canyon side, my father, Pierre Minvielle, introduced me to it at a very young age around Rodellar, the place of his finest explorations. He gave me a taste for adventure and discovery and above all passed on his love for the Sierra de Guara.

Trained as an engineer, I decided to venture into the world of teaching and the transmission of knowledge by becoming a climbing and canyoning instructor in order to be able to share this passion that drives me and help those who wish to achieve their dreams.

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Maxime Poirier

CLIMBING AND CANYONING INSTRUCTOR (DE)


I grew up far from the mountains, on an island in the middle of the Pacific and if my first ascents were those of coconut trees, I became passionate about climbing when I returned to France. Touch of everything, globetrotter and passionate about outdoor activities on all elements, I became a fan of thrilling sports such as highline, base-jump and canyoning.

For me, the mountains and these activities restore to us this capacity for admiration and wonder that modern existence can so easily evacuate. Live fully the happiness of the moment, the renunciation of living for tomorrow because today is enough.

My meeting with Caro will have finally sealed my destiny, here I am a climber, in love with the Vercors and the Sierra de Guara, ready to share my passion with those who wish.

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