On our last day in Cassis, we climbed another classic, La Grande Candelle.

We had to drive towards Marseilles, park at some university, and hike in. It was another pre-sunrise start.

The approach was pretty long, and we had a little trouble finding the climbers trail turn-off, so we got to watch the entire sunrise.

Along with all the morning flights heading somewhere…

The sun started to get high, and it started to get hot… We were trying to find the trail down to that pillar in the center of the photo

We tried topping out over a ridge to see if there was a trail behind it… but there wasn’t

We eventually found the way though. It involved some pretty exposed scrambling (have your ropes, prusik cords, and a few draws out)

And eventually, we got to the base of the climb. This thing was first climbed in 1929, and it was SLICK. Keith did some amazing leading on this pitch

The allure of this route, is that you can climb to the top of the candle, then there’s a big airy step to the Arête. I’m not gonna lie, I contemplated my life decision before making the move across… Here’s Keith leading the pitch.

From there, it was just fun climbing!

The view from the top of the candle!

After making the hop across, I waited for Stephen to top out on the candle.

Killer views!

Stephen making the move across!

From here, I didn’t take any photos until I reached the summit. Here’s Stephen getting belayed in.

Stats:

• Date: 21-August 2019
• Objective: La Grande Candelle – Arête de Marseille
• Grade: 5c (5.9+)
• Elevation: 1526-ft / 465 m
• Length of climb: 6 pitches (94-ft / 120m)
• Accommodations: Cassis!