Multipitch Atlas

Arabesque

Calamès – Piliers des Cathares · Ariège Pyrenees · France

Easy to bailBolting confidence: high

The hard classic of the Calamès pillars above Bédeilhac: technical slabs, a well-bolted roof and a sustained 6c wall, capped by a short 7a slab pitch after a walk across a garden. Compact rock and close bolts make it a good place to try harder grades on a multipitch. The middle pitch is vegetated.

On the slabs of Arabesque, Piliers des Cathares, CalamèsPhoto: Marie ALLAIS · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo

On the slabs of Arabesque, Piliers des Cathares, CalamèsPhoto: Marie ALLAIS · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardest pitch
7a
Pitches
5
Length
180 m
Approach
45 min
Aspect
S
South-facing
Rope
–

The route

Overview

Arabesque is on the Piliers des Cathares sector of Calamès, the south-facing limestone hill crowned by a ruined castle above Bédeilhac, near Tarascon-sur-Ariège. It was equipped in 1992 and 1993. Four pitches lead to a garden: a teasing 6b+ slab, a slab and roof at 6c, a short vegetated 5c and a very sustained 6c that many think the best pitch. A 20 m walk then leads to a final steep wall with a very hard slab move, given 7a by the local club's topo. The route name is painted at the base. Allow 2.5 to 5 hours.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeLengthNotes
P16b+38 mA very pretty and rather stubborn slab, delicate on the feet, until a good hold in the upper half. A pocket low down can be damp.
P26c35 mSlab on unusual orange rock, a well-bolted roof that can be passed on aid (A0), then sculpted slab. Use long quickdraws against rope drag. One 2025 party found the bolts further apart at the exit, on good holds.
P35c20 mShort and vegetated.
P46c30 mVery sustained and strenuous. The first step is the hardest, and the final crack has few footholds. After the belay a cable helps you stand up on the rock, then an easy but exposed and unprotected step through bushes leads to the garden.
P57a30 mWalk 20 m across the garden to the smoothest, slightly overhanging part of the wall. There is no belay at its foot; a 2023 party slung a tree under the orange roof. A very hard, physical slab move, then delicate and easier to the top.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

From Foix take the N20 towards Tarascon-sur-Ariège. At the roundabout at the end of the dual carriageway take the D618 towards Surba, Saurat and the Col de Port as far as Bédeilhac. Park in the car park on the left at the exit of the village, before the cemetery. Trains on the Toulouse to Latour-de-Carol line stop at Tarascon, 5 km away.

On foot · about 45 min

About 45 min by the route page (a 2024 party took an hour at an easy pace). From the car park walk up the street into the village, pass below the church and, 30 m after it, turn right (yellow and green waymarks). Follow the path south-east round the hill to the foot of the routes. Pass the first sectors, then climb up to the right. The wall is right of the castle and barred by a few overhangs. Route names are written at the base.

Finding the route · 2 photos

Approach photo

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag
  • Parking

Loading map

The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.

Coordinates · crag

42.86972, 1.55806

Parking

42.87350, 1.56276

Bédeilhac car park (camptocamp waypoint 124849)

Point from camptocamp waypoint 102120

For your phone or watch

Download GPX

Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.

Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.

Getting down

Descent

On foot: continue along the crest to the castle and go down the waymarked path, about 35 min to the car park. Do not follow the yellow dots, which lead down the grassy, wooded north face where there is no path and a quarry at the bottom. The belays are also rigged for abseiling the route.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Easy to bail

A November 2023 report states that all the belays are chained and equipped for abseiling, each with a third point. A 2025 party climbed the first two pitches and came down. From the garden above pitch 4 you can also skip the last pitch.

Retreat from
Any of the first four belays, by abseil.
Point of no return
None stated. The stance below pitch 5 has no fixed belay, so decide in the garden.
Carry
Rope for abseils of up to 38 m: two ropes, or a single of 80 m (inferred from the pitch lengths).
Basis
Stated in the sourcesAbseil-ready belays are stated in camptocamp outing 1596438; the rope length is inferred.

Safety

Hazards

  • The step after the fourth belay is easy but exposed and has no bolt; the leader can give the second a back-rope from the garden.
  • No belay at the base of pitch 5.
  • A few small friable zones, easy to see. The ledge at the base is busy with parties on other routes, so do not drop anything.
  • Goats at the base are reported to raid rucksacks.
  • Vegetation on pitch 3 and the exit of pitch 4.

Sun and weather

Conditions

South-facing at about 900 to 1070 m, a winter-sun crag: camptocamp lists October to May as the season. In late November, after a morning frost, a party was warm by the time they started; another found it hot without a breeze. A small seep can linger on pitch 1.

Usual season · Jan to May, Oct to Dec

Sun on the wall · S-facing

Working out the sunlit hours for this month.

Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season

Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean daily high °C225812161919151263
Mean daily low °C−6−6−4−1379963−2−5
Rain days 1 mm or more111212151817171713121211
Sunshine hours a day7.18.510.010.811.612.412.912.110.48.97.46.8

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1785 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis (about 10 km grid): the wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.

What to carry

Gear

No source gives a quickdraw count or rope length; take long quickdraws for pitch 2. Camptocamp suggests an etrier (aider) if you want it for the roof. A sling is needed to belay at the foot of pitch 5. Pitches are up to 38 m, which matters if you plan to abseil. Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws
Number not given in the sources
Rope
Length not given in the sources
Helmet
One each
Abseil device and prusik
The descent or the retreat involves abseiling

Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo

From climbers

Reader reports

Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Arabesque.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • The first four pitches (maximum 6c, roof on aid) make a complete outing with an abseil descent if 7a is too much.
  • The neighbouring five-pitch route Rio (6a) is reported as much more spaced and is not an easier alternative in that sense.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Overall grade: camptocamp's header gives 6c (6b+ obligatory, A0), yet its pitch list and the CAFMA topo both give 7a for pitch 5. A 2023 report confirms a physical 7a and says no topo mentions the walk and missing belay before it.
  • Length: camptocamp's header says 180 m; the five pitches total 153 m in both sources, plus the 20 m walk.
  • Neither source says whether pitch 5 can be aided; only the pitch 2 roof is described as going at A0.

Provenance

Sources

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Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.