France has allways been curiously overlooked as a sport climbing venue, during the spring and autumn Spain and Italy seem to be the destinations of choice whereas in the summer people tend to stay closer to home. This leaves the whole of france relatively untouched by British climbers. However following on from the success of the Fontainebleau trip a party of MMC pioneers decided to go a little further and explore the sport climbing possibilities in the Drome region of France.

Shane, Julie, Jules and Mark arrived first on the Saturday morning and set up in a very peaceful campsite near Buis-les-Baronnies. They were joined later in the day by Nick, Steve, Clare and Simon who had managed to do the whole trip in one day (not withstanding Clare backing into a woman at a peage).

Well the weather was unceasingly beautiful and the crags were varied, challenging and by and large completely devoid of other climbers. The days evolved into a latish start with coffee and cereal and then a gradual shift to a crag. Climbing areas visited included Beaume Rousse, Trois Rivieres, Clapis Sud, Combe Obscure and the showcase crag of the area, St Julien. Too many routes were climbed during the week to be listed here but one of the highlights was Mark and Nick climbing a beautiful four pitch route to the top of St Julien just as the sun was leaving the crag. After that they met up with the others for a beer in Buis after which all of them apart from Shane and Julie went out for a pizza. On the way back, 6 crammed into the car, they were stopped by the gendarmerie. This was not altogether unexpected as they had been warned by a bar owner that the French were clamping down on drunk driving and so were conducting spot checks. With Clare driving there was no question of drink driving but the chief gendarme still gave them a bit of a going over, especially with regard to the condition of Nick's rear tyres. What really guiled Nick about this incident however was being asked, during this encounter, if there was anyone who could speak better French!

Shane, Jules, Julie and Mark left on the Friday morning planning to stop in Burgundy on the way back. This they did, finding the climbing style and grades a good deal tougher than in the South.

The remainder of the party joined them in Burgundy the next day before carrying on to Calais and getting home on Sunday Morning.

All in all it was an excellent trip and everyone had a great time. The campsite and general ambience was fantastic which demonstrated how comfortable camping can be in the right circumstances. It is quite a long way but not an impossible distance for a week and everyone thought that it was definately worth a return visit as this trip had barely scratched the surface of the possibilities.