Pontamafrey is a small town in Savoie, Auvergne-RhĂŽne-Alpes, in the southeastern part of France. It is located south of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and east of Grenoble.
The Col du Galibier, famous for the Tour de France stage over the Alps, can be reached in about an hour's drive from Pontamafrey.
Climbing area in Pontamafrey
It is a small climbing area, but there are about 10 multi-pitch climbing routes about 200m. There seems to be more than 100 single-pitch routes as well.
There is a parking lot right in front of the climbing area, and it takes less than 5 minutes to get to the climbing area. This proximity to the approach was very attractive.
We climbed only a few routes, so I don't know the details, but the quality of the routes we climbed was high. The crag was well maintained and the bolt to bolt distance was close.
I would say that Pontamafrey
is an area for beginner to intermediate climbers.
If I had to guess, I would say it's like the South Face of Joyama in Izu, Shizuoka, Japan đŻđ”
My personal displeasure is that there are more than 100 routes in a small area and the routes are very close to each other I felt there might be some local restricted rules đ that was my only complaint.
Climbing in Pontamafrey 2021. This is my first time in Pontamafrey. It is good đ€ Nice atmosphere and nice view, nice route đ But it was a little cold......
Pontamafrey Droite
â Les LĂ©preux
Cotations : TD- 6a+ > 5c P1
Dénivelé des difficultés : 180 m
Type de rocher : Gneiss
đ±đ»ââïž L1:5c, đą L2:5b, đ±đ»ââïž L3:4c, đą L4:6a+, đ±đ»ââïž L5:6a, đ±đ»ââïž L6:5b, đą L7:5c, đ±đ»ââïž L8:5b đđ» from Camptocamp website
The location is great and the route is well protected by bolts, so even beginners (6a/6a+) will enjoy this route. I think it needs about 11 quickdraws.
It depends on the season you climb, but on the day we climbed (2021.11), the bottom started at about 14:00 and by 15:00 the whole route was in the shade, the temperature dropped a lot and the wind was blowing, so it was cold. If you climb in this season, you should top out around 14:00.
Sector : Jazz Méditerranée
Jazz Méditerranée (5b, 30m) FL warming-up.
Lily (6a+/6b, 25m) lead-TO
One TAKE because I couldn't find the move in that spot. I couldn't see the Big Jug that was a little higher up. If you don't know it, it's very difficult.
Sector : La perle de Maurienne
Conte de fouet (7a, 26m) m.lead-TO
The left side, corner, seems to be limited. It is a route to climb by grabbing small holds in a crimp. I feel like I've climbed this type of route for the first time in a while.
Micro-Brasserie "La Gwape" đș
After climbing, we had a review meeting at Micro-Brasserie "La Gwape" run by the daughter and her husband of my climbing partner đș
A very good time spent at "La Gwape". The beers are excellent. My favorite IPA & Triple đ
âđ» From Pontamafrey "Les LĂ©preux", you can see this view đ
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