SOLUTRÉ - Climbing and Campervan
As part of our campervan/motorhome climbing series. We are bringing you SOLUTRÉ, the stunning sport crag in amongst a sleepy wine region, a must stop for the low to mid grade sport climber.
Rock Climbing in Solutré, France
The rock climbing at Solutré summarised, would read something like this:An outcrop of limestone rock, overlooking lush vineyards and rolling hills. Almost esoteric. Climbs up to around 20 meters. Quiet area, even though it is a tourist spot in the daytime. Accessible. A suntrap. Stiff grading. Fully bolted. Charming.Grading - Typical Bourgogne grading, they feel stiff. Not to worry, as the local wine will put a charming sparkle on that in the evening after climbing. When if you are lucky, you can sit outside your camper enjoying a view of the rock and countryside, looking at the stars while drinking a nice glass or bottle of white Bourgogne wine.
It’s good to note that not all of the route grades (as it seems in the guidebook) have been confirmed.
Guidebook – A local guidebook can usually be found in the Café de la Roche for 12 Euros. This will give a comprehensive guide to the crag at Solutré and the surrounding crags.
In good time I will update the routes and climbing sectors of Solutré on UKC for logging your climbs online.
The Café is located towards the village from the Roche de Solutré visitors centre (see map further below)
Directions – Follow the D54 all the way to the Roche de Solutré car parks. This road will be fine for most sized motorhomes and I should imagine, most RVs/Coaches.
If following Google maps however as we usually do, it will try and take you possibly through some impossible shortcuts. Campervans and motorhomes especially take note of this!
Coordinates: 46°17'46.6"N 4°42'44.8"E
Address: Route de la Roche, 71960 Solutré-Pouilly, France
The map below shows the two parking areas. Motorhomes and Campervans are advised to park in the higher parking area shown on the map as “Ma Table en Vigne”. This is also an unofficial parking spot if staying overnight.
1. The official aire: Vintners Secret Lands - Cave de Prissé, is a winery that has a handful of spaces for campers. No electric but they do have water for the usual small charge (2 Euro as of 2018), a chemical disposal and it is free to stay the night.
Coordinates: 46°19'19.9"N 4°45'11.9"E
Address: 158 rue des Grandes Vignes, 71960 Prissé, France
I believe there is a limit on nights to 1 or 2 but you will have to confirm with them. First come first served as usual with aires and stopovers of this nature.
2. The unofficial aire and probably the better one for climbers, is the car park shown in ^^ the first map further up the page ^^ .
It is 15 minutes to walk to the crag and a stunning home for the night, no facilities so be respectful and do the usual drills; take all litter home, keep noise down, don’t set up camp and stay for more than a couple of days and do a spot of litter picking in the morning. There was a large bin at the entrance of the car park when we were there last, which is handy for this.
How to get to the crag from the car park - If you have parked in the campervan/overflow carpark, then head back down the lane towards the main car park and rock, passing vineyards on your right. Follow the path up towards the Museum, Musée Départemental de Préhistoire. Passing this on the left, follow the obvious tourist path uphill 30m or so. Take a sharp right and the path seems to dip down a little. On your left after a few meters will be a rugged trail uphill with the usual sign "Escalade".
Take this trail up. It will split off in two directions, head towards the sector of your choice. The main "Secteur de l'éperon" is high up on the left. Take caution as always on paths like this. I should add that taking a childs buggy or similar up here is a negative. It can feel a little "off piste" at times but shouldn't be a problem for able bodied children, a "spot" may be required near the top.
The alternative walk in and a rather ostentatious/Tom Cruise way to enter the crag is by abseil off the top of the rock. There are ample abseil/belay rings and if you do it in the daytime on a weekend, then plenty of spectators too. Just head up to the top of the rock via the tourist path, it is well marked out and obvious.
Local shops, wineyards, wineries and supermarkets? – Yes plenty of these, even a SuperU a few villages down near Cluseau, just run a search.
Don’t forget to let us know of anywhere in the area you recommend. We are looking to go back again so we will be sure to update the article when we get more info. As always we concentrated more on climbing rather than taking good photos of the rock. The F4 gully shown above is a great little climb but not quite an ambassador for the rock there. I think for the mid 6s, to the F4-5 climber there are some great challenges here. Especially as it can feel exposed in a few places. Just remember to drop your grade a little while you get used to the grading.
>>>Please don't forget to join our Facebook group Climbing and Campervan and watch out for more articles like this here on TopRopeFreeClimber.com
Thanks for reading!
