Ascent of Montagne de Cordeil on 2021-09-13| Other People: | Solo Ascent
Only Party on Mountain | | Date: | Monday, September 13, 2021 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Montagne de Cordeil | | Location: | France | | Elevation: | 6936 ft / 2114 m |
Ascent Trip ReportIt should have made me suspicious that there had not been any ascents posted at Peakbagger despite Montagne de Cordeil‘s height and rather significant prominence. Yet, it all started so well.
Having had chosen the small village of Argens as the obvious starting point I managed to get one of the few parking spots. Following a gravely forest road in NE direction was not exactly exciting but brought me within less than one hour to the col separating the „Montagne“ from its little sibling „Petit Cordeil“ (1‘780m high, prominence a little more than 70m).
Here I turned right (East) up a hill only to lose the elevation gained right again on the other side. No more trail here but at least the occasional cairn. According to my GPS the trail would traverse below Montagne de Cordeil to win its back further East, only to switch back from there to the summit. However, there was no more the faintest idea of a trail and I had run out of cairns, too. So I opted for an uphill slog directly to the mountain back.
This was anything but fun, however, it got me to the summit soon enough; pretty much 2:00 hours from my car. About 40m or so additional elevation gain.
Views from the top are nice, yet the surrounding mountains are all of similar shape with no distinctive or even defining element. So just a short break at the summit cairn and back down.
Not wishing to navigate the steep hillside down I followed the wide mountain‘s back in a SE direction. Unfortunately, no sign of a trail anywhere. Hence, I simply headed pretty much straight into the direction of Argens. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to follow the back of the mountain a little longer and only then to head for Argens.
Anyway, my choice got me once again into steep terrain, the only difference being that further down the mountain this was all bushes and trees, requiring frequent climbs back up whenever I appeared to be stuck. Probably 100m or so of reascent albeit this is hard to tell in such terrain.
Eventually, I got off the mountain and followed along pastures towards the village of Argens. Overall, 10% pleasant hiking, 25% boring forest road hike and the remainder a bushwack in open country. To put it short: not very appealing. I suppose there are smarter ways to climb this mountain though… |
The bulky summit of Montagne de Cordeil as seen from the col to Petit Cordeil (2021-09-13). Photo by Jörn Fiege.
Click here for larger-size photo. | | Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 2933 ft / 893 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 459 ft / 138 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 7.8 mi / 12.5 km | | Quality: | 6 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Road Hike, Open Country, Bushwhack | | Gear Used: | Ski Poles | | Weather: | Pleasant, Calm, Clear | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 2605 ft / 794 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 2474 ft / 754 m; Extra: 131 ft / 39m | | Loss on way in: | 131 ft / 39 m | | Distance: | 4.7 mi / 7.5 km | | Route: | via col to Petit Cordeil | | Start Trailhead: | Argens 4462 ft / 1360 m | | Time: | 2 Hours | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 328 ft / 99 m | | Gain on way out: | 328 ft / 99 m | | Distance: | 3.1 mi / 5 km | | Route: | via back of mountain and direct descent to Argens | | End Trailhead: | Argens | | Time: | 2 Hours |
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