December on Froggatt, little wonder we had the place pretty much to ourselves, I could have stopped at home but Graham is always keen for a bit of Grit. Trapeze Direct was the warm-up, the grade remains a bit of a puzzler, HS or VS, and 4b, 4c or 5a? Its as safe as they come though its a tricky pull with little for the feet. Chequers Arete (HVS 5a) was catching the sharp edge of the north-west wind, a true classic with superb positions and lovely balancy climbing. I have done it dozens of times and it is always worth the effort.

Three Pebble Slab (HVS 5a) was a bit more sheltered, and the sun came out for a while, and then to finish with it was a quick trip up Nanoq Slab, a real rarity a Froggatt route that neither of us had done before! The grade in Eastern Grit is E3 5c, though I must be honest, I don’t know where that came from, E1 5a is nearer the mark, and although a bit of a filler in we both enjoyed it.
The sun was dipping fast so we rattled back down through the woods into the gathering gloom.

OUTWARD
Return flights from East Midlands to southern France for £30 a pop was too good an offer to miss. Dave Gregory and Colin Binks joined me and Sherri, an early flight (7:15) meant we were in Carcassone before midday and at ClimbAriege - in a steady drizzle - in time for a late lunch. The clouds hung on the hilltops but we decided to have a ride up to the granite crags at Auzat - ‘just in case’. Halfway there the roads dried up and at the crag conditions were fine if a little cool, half-a-dozen routes later we staggered down through the gloomy woods, heading back for a late evening meal and a welcome kip.

CALAMES
Morning was cold and clear, the max/min thermometer showed a low of -4 the night before, the grass was covered with hoar frost. A steady climb saw us up at Calames and superb and extensive cliff which was full in the sun. Turns out it was half term week so the place was quite busy. The locals were amused at out attempts to climb as a three on 40m pitches, with a 60m and 30m rope but we managed OK. It was HOT! Mid afternoon and we were frazzled (November!) so it was time to head to the Supermarche to stock up.

AUZAT
Another superb clear day so it was back to the granite and a visit to the slightly more remote Montcalme area - we didn’t see a soul all day. Ten routes later we were homeward bound, Dave and Colin were starting to like the area!

ROQUEFIXADE
For the final day it was something different, an impressively tall limestone crag with a ruined castle on the top, and with quite an English feel about the place. It was one of the first cliffs in the area to be climbed on, though in those days, bags of pegs were used and the routes went all the way to the top - nowadays it is the lower pitch - (or occasionally two) that is bolted up. Our host , Graham from ClimbAriege turned up and joined in the fun. Eventually after some excellent if occasionally loose and polished (I said it was like the UK) routes I rested my fingers and escorted Sherri up the steep path for a wander round the castle, the views were superb but I bet the postie used hate delivering there! Finally we wandered back to the village and sat on the edge of the fountain feeding the goldfish with the remnants of our butties, sadly tomorrow saw an early start and homeward bound.