Presentation of the Mainmorte Ravin
The Mainmorte Ravin is not exactly a real via ferrata but a descent of a dry canyon followed by a via cordata which crosses the Verdon gorges. It is located on the road called "La route de crêtes" near the La Palud sur Verdon village in the Alpes de Haute Provence department.
The dry canyon part of the activity is mainly made of abseil descent of 15-20 metres high, with an amazing and peaceful environment.
The via cordata on the other hand is more physically demanding. Indeed because its rises steeply, you need to be in a good physical shape and not being afraid of heights in order to undertake this journey. There is no bars like in via ferrata.
Difficulty : Medium / Hard
To plan to do this, you need to be in a good physical shape because the via cordata is quite demanding in physical efforts. However it may also fit to beginners, as long as they do not scare of heights and they are in a good physical shape.
The Planning of the Day
The meeting with your instructor takes place at La Palud sur Verdon. Then, with your instructor you will take your car to travel another 3-4 kilometres from there. 15 to 20 minutes of walk later, you will be at the beginning of the Mainmorte canyon. First, you will go down the canyon with many abseils descents and some small ziplines. The environment is great. You will continue your journey at the bottom of beautiful lime stone gorges with amazing shapes. Just before a 50 metres abseil ending in the Verdon, you will branch off on your left and join an impressive Via Cordata. Indeed you will climb some hundreds of meters upon the Verdon. This via cordata is very physical and will allow you to find some sleep easily at the end of the day.
Where is the Mainmorte ravin located?
The meeting point is located at la Palud sur Verdon in front of "Lou Cafetie". The GPS coodinates of the meeting point are the following :
43.7794, 6.3403 (decimal degrees)
43°46'46.0"N 6°20'25.3"E (DMS).
Comments
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Please consider taking some additional time than indicated on your GPS or on Google Maps.