Céüse is a limestone mountain in the Hautes-Alpes département of France near Gap and Sigoyer. The "Pic de Céüse" is at an elevation of 2016 m, and the whole massif is included in the Natura 2000 protected area. The mountain has a distinctive large horseshoe-shaped cliff (the Corniche de Céûse) which contains some of the most extreme sport climbing routes in the world. It is also the site of a ski resort.

Naming

According to Lou Tresor dóu Felibrige, the name "Céüse" comes from the Latin for flint, and also means "flint, pebble" in Occitan.

Geology

The mountain is an example of a perched syncline, which presents as a south-facing horseshoe-shaped limestone cliff.

Ski resort

The northern end of the mountain is the location of a small ski resort, called Céüze 2000 (or also the Gap Ceuse Ski Resort 2000); it was built after the Second World War and updated in the 1990s, and contains 8 lifts serving 35-kilometers of green, blue, red and black runs, from an elevation of 1550 m to the peak itself at 2016 m.

Climbing

The southern end of the mountain's long horseshoe-shaped limestone cliffs, the Corniche de Céûse, is the home to one of the world's best rock climbing crags, including several notable extreme sport climbing routes such as Realization/Biographie, and Bibliographie. Its south-facing cliffs have a distinctive blue and ochre colouring, and the climbing is via pocket-marks in the limestone rather than via cracks. The Corniche has over 600 climbing routes from to the highest grades in rock climbing, and is situated at an elevation of 1800 m. Most of the climbs are single-pitch 25 to 40-metre climbs, with long-run outs often between bolts, however, there are also 200-metre sections with multi-pitch routes.