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Aiguille du Sugiton, Calanques de Marseille

Publié le 13 February 2021 | Bouches-du-Rhône Eng, France Eng

The south face of the Aiguille du Sugiton offers beautiful sunny walls overlooking the calanque of the same name. Discover 2 southwest-facing sectors, Angelvin and Aïe Aïe Aïe, featuring a fine series of one- and 2-pitch routes in all grades from 4 to 7. The excellent rock, unobstructed views and airy ambience make this an ideal spot for a fine winter's day. The short hike from Luminy to the spot via Port de Morgiou is also very pleasant, despite a certain amount of traffic.

Technical summary

Type ✦ Rind climbing
Location ✦ Calanques de Marseille, Morgiou
Region ✦ Bouches-du-Rhône
Country ✦ France
Orientation ✦ South-West
Rock ✦ limestone
Route difficulty ✦ 4a to 7a
Equipment ✦ sealed pins
Interest ✦ ★★★

Access to the place

From Marseille, head for Cassis on the D559 and branch off to Luminy at the entrance to the Parc National des Calanques. Park on campus, near the trailheads to Morgiou and Col de Sugiton.

Map & topo

The sector topos are taken from the Calanques de Marseille climbing topo.

Voir en plein écran

Itinerary description

Hiking to the start 45' à 1h

Head up the main track towards the Col de Sugiton and just before reaching it, fork right to take a path towards the Calanque de Morgiou, marked with 3 small yellow dots. The path gradually descends as you go deeper into the landscape. You'll soon discover the Calanque de Morgiou and the harbour below. Further down, you pass through a sort of gap at the level of a small rocky spur, where there's a 5m descent equipped with chains. Descend a little further, then cross the path to stay below Morgiou. Red markings. Further on, there's a short, steep climb over a first ridge and then another. We gradually go around it to head east. Once you've reached the south face, easily recognizable from the photo, leave the main red path and climb to the left to reach the base of the walls.

Course

All the routes and belays are ideally equipped, well protected at the start and with a distance between the points so as not to scare you.The limestone rock is excellent. The south-west exposure is ideal for winter or mid-season climbing. The sectors are also relatively sheltered from the wind, and the view of the sea and the Calanques is exceptional. The reference guide is the Calanques guide published by Nota Bene.

Angelvin sector

The most easterly along the wall. The routes we've climbed are described from right to left on the wall.

Exceptional Permission (5a)

1st pitch of a 2-pitch route. Easy on inclined slab. Relay on upper shelf.

L'Angelvin (5b)

Idem, 1st pitch of a 2-pitch route. The start is more complicated, the rock is slippery. The rest of the route is easier and exits on the same flat as the 5a.

Les Vieux Clous (6a+)

Nice vertical slab to negotiate.

Fissure Sud-Ouest (6b+)

Climb a thin, shallow crack. Delicate, sustained climbing.

Sector Aïe Aïe Aïe

Le départ des Stars (7a)

A solid start at the start to negotiate a nice bulge. A well-supported second section in 6c.

L'Aïe Aïe Aïe (5b)

A long route that flies up a sloping crack at the start, then becomes more vertical. Not so obvious in the middle section for 5b.

A question of balance (6a+, 6c+)

The 2 pitches can be linked with an 80m but rappelled in 2 stages. A big step in a bulge in the upper section. Very nice route!

Back

Approach path in the opposite direction. Another option: continue on the path around the Aiguille du Sugiton to the east and climb up the valley to the Col du Sugiton.