Ax-Les-Thermes Climbing Guide
La Dent d’ Orlu & Ax-Les Thermes en-route to Andorra offers 200 routes over 7 crags. La Dent itself is a must for anyone looking for adventure, with 50 bolted routes up to 1000m in length its worth making an early start. There are plenty of Trad routes and 2 highly rated limestone bouldering areas. Around 30 minutes drive.
Three small sport crags around the thermal spa town below the ski resort of Ax Bonascre between 30 and 45 minutes drive from us.
Entreserres is a Gneiss crag with a good selection of slabby routes mostly in 4s and 5s making a good beginners venue.
Dalles de la Piscine, adjacent to the swimming pool in the town has 34 routes again on Gneiss graded between 3c and 7b.
Rocher de Bonascre on the winding road up to the ski resort has a harder selection of routes mostly 6s & 7s on vertical granite.
One of the most celebrated climbing areas in the Ariege, the ‘tooth’ is a substantial granite peak home to a huge range of climbing. Both trad and sport routes scale the 1000m peak on its South and East faces. The routes on the East face are shorter and less committing and also get some shade, the routes on the South face although mostly in grades 5 and 6 are none the less serious undertakings due to the length of climbing involved. The descent is on the tourist footpath, and 8-10 hours is required to complete the longer routes.
Sectors ‘Le Pujol’ & ‘Rui Fred’ are home to shorter and harder routes up to 5 pitches mostly in the 6s & 7s. ‘Le Pujol’ is highly recommended and has some of the best rock at Orlu. Orlu is around 30 minutes drive from us and the walk-ins range from 15 minutes for the shorter sectors to 1hr+ for the longer climbs.
5 trad and 2 sport routes in a stunning setting high in the mountains near the ‘étang d’En Beys’. The rock is granite and faces North and East so is mainly a summer crag. The walk-ins are at least 2 hours and the base of the climbs are above 2000m making a trip to En Beys a proper day out. Routes are up to 10 pitches.
Amongst the oak trees in the shadow of ‘La Dent’ are two high quality granite bouldering areas with about 70 boulders in total. Both areas are easily accessed and offer a good range of problems. The boulders are marked with ‘font’ style colour coded circuits ranging from the yellow ‘kids’ circuit to the ‘white’ expert problems. A cheap topo guide is also available if you need more information, can be a little cold & damp in winter but a fabulous setting during the warmer months.
