Over the next few days before flying out to the Ecran to meet up with the UeMC I will be posting some useful stuff about the area. Between 1st and 15th July I hope to post more information about the area and crags whilst out in the Alps.
The Ecran national park is located in the southern french alps, the main town is Briancon. We will be based near the village of Vallouise which is in the centre of the park at an altitude of 1,100m
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We rent chalets from Jerry and Jackie Gore who run www.alpbase.com providing self-catered accommodation, bespoke mountain courses and guided days throughout the year.
UeMC will be staying about 10 minutes walk South-East in Vallouise-la-Casse in a chalet similar to Chalet Choucas
So what do I need to bring for a summer trip climbing?
June, July, September and October offer the best climbing weather as you are likely to get great weather every day with temperatures exceeding 25C without the afternoon storms of August. This means lots of cool clothes, hats and suntan lotion. If you do get rain or storms the whilst the temperature dips significantly it is never cold so a light waterproof is fine. If you plan on going above 2500m/3000m then you will need extra clothing, especially if you head for the Glaciers.
If you are climbing then you will need a basic sport rack for most locations including a 60m rope, 8 quick-draws, a couple of screw gates and slings, belay device and possibly a helmet. If you intend on doing longer multi-pitch routes then a handful of nuts is useful if you don't like the long run-outs that you find in alpine routes. Typically if the climbing is not as hard as the pitch/overall route grade then don't expect a bolt until you have either reached or just completed a hard section.
If you are intending on bouldering at Ailefroide then a mat is needed for most problems.
For more information take a look at www.alpbase.com
For photos take a look at http://www.thelistings.co.uk/photos/climbing/vallouiseaug04/ and http://www.thelistings.co.uk/photos/climbing/vallouiseJun05/