Rock Climbing near Barcelona

Rock Climbing in Gelida

Gelida has a great crag only a 30 minutes’ drive away from Barcelona. It’s possible to get there by public transport (train to Gelida + bus + 30 minutes walk).

Topos of the 3 sectors can be found in the Climbaround App (http://climbaround.com/zonas/alrededores-barcelona/).

Cavall Bernat – Punsola Reniu 6C+

Fully equipped multipitch
Grade: 6c+ or Ae
7 pitches

Cavall Bernat is probably the most iconic climb in Montserrat. There are several multipitch routes that vary from hard (8a+) to easy (5b) and they are between 7 and 3 pitches long. We opted for Punsola Reniu (6b+) on the north side of Cavall Bernat.

To get to the north side you can park at the Monastery Santa Cecilia and walk from there. The approach time is about 50 minutes. The approach is obvious as you can see the Cavall Bernat along the way.

The place was busier than we expected. 6 other climbers started Punsola Reniu before us and another 6 people were opting for the nearby La Gran Ilusió (7a+).

The route starts very moderate. The first pitch (grade 3) is very easy but not equipped. The next two pitches are graded 4+ (50 meters) and 5+, then 6a, 6c, 6c+, and 6a. The 6c pitches are very slippery.

To get down it’s recommendable to rappel the much shorter Via Normal on the south side of Cavall Bernat.

We weren’t able to do that. The route was so busy in the morning, so we started our climb in the afternoon and by the time we got to the last pitch, it was completely dark and we couldn’t find the bolts anymore. So we turned back.

Penya del Moro (Begues – Torrelles de Llobregat)

This is a nice rock climbing spot for a day trip near Barcelona. The car ride takes about 1 hour (30 minutes on a dirt road). The rock is the same as in Vallirana (calcareous). Most grades range from 5 to 7a. The topos can be found in the Climbaround app (http://climbaround.com/zonas/alrededores-barcelona/).

Climbing El Grau dels Matxos

El Grau dels Matxos is a supercool climbing spot (one of my favorites) about 40-50 minutes drive from Barcelona. There are more than 170 routes for all tastes and skill levels. We climbed Andrex 6a, Tuareg 6a+, Skins 6b & King of Kongs 6b+ (both supernice routes!) and Torchwood 6c (also supernice, very recommended). Another couple of routes that I highly recommend are (if you like slabs) Piano Piano 7a and L’escarbat copulador 6b.

Garraf Platja – Rock climbing by the Mediterranean sea

If you are looking for a place for rock climbing close to Barcelona, by the sea, and that’s accessible by train: Garraf Platja is the right place for you.

You can get there by train (30 Minutes from Sants Central Station). When you get to the beach in Garraf turn right, walk passed the harbor, turn right again, walk through the tunnel, after the tunnel just follow the dirt road up the hill and there you are.

There are three climbing zones: El Coti (5-6c), El pas de la mala dona (5-8a), and El Balcó del Teixi (5-8a).

Here are a few routes that I recommend:
EL COTI A
Nocilla Experience (6a), La mataré (6a+), El Pitufo (6a), Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir (6a).
EL PAS DE LA MALA DONA C
Promethea (6b), Arale (7a), Mossa (7b+)

Routes are available in the Climbaround Appp (http://climbaround.com/app/).

Solius – Costa Brava

This amazing rock climbing area is located in Girona not far from Sant Feliu de Guíxols, a 1 hour drive from Barcelona. The rock is granite.

Les Escletxes del Papiol

Another rock climbing spot within 30 minutes from Barcelona and that can be reached by train is El Papiol. It’s for all skill levels.

It’s perfect for the summer months because there is shade all day long. The routes are overclimbed and very slippery.

You can find the names and grades of most routes at the bottom of every route. You can also have a look at them here.

Penya Ginesta – Rock Climbing a stone through away from Barcelona

Penya Ginesta is a popular rock climbing spot located in Garraf natural park southwest of Barcelona only a 30 minutes car drive away.

Climbing grades range from as low as 3 up to 6c which makes it perfect for beginners.

From top of the rocks you’ll get amazing views at Castelldefels and the Mediterranean Sea.

1 = Human Fables (V+); 2 = Fraguel Rock (6b); 3 = Nospot (7a); 4 = The secret of the wine (7a); 5 = And now what (6c); 6 = Que Morro (6b); 7 = Hurting the finger (6a); 8 = Tremendous Delirium (6a+); 9 = Lalu (6c); 10 = The prisoners are coming (6b); 11 = Pedro (IV); 12 = Pepi I (V+); 13 = Vico 1 (V/6a); 14 = The children of Burkina Faso (6b); 15 = Gavatxo (6c); 16 = Mediterranean (V); 17 = Buscu Shunt (6a+); 18 = Artifo; 19 = Marta (7a); 20 = Gargol teu banya (6c+); 21 = Zoe 1 (V+); 22 = Andromeda prelude (6a/6b); 23 = Zoe 2 (V+); 24 = Raticulín (V); 26 = Zoe 3 (V); 27 = Plain (V); 28 = It’s not normal anymore (IV); 29 = Normal (IV); 30 = To start with (III); 31 = The next one (III); Don´t touch the edge (III).

Subirats

Subirats is another popular rock climbing spot about 40 minutes drive from Barcelona. Climbing grades range from 4 to 7a. The area offers amazing views at the surrounding natural park and the Subirats Castel.

You can find the tops of all 4 sectors in the Climbaround App and below.

Topos Subirats (Source: https://grupmuntanyasantsadurni.wordpress.com)Download

Penya Senyal (Castelldefels)

This is a small but very nice rock climbing spot in Castelldefels (20-30 minutes drive from Barcelona). It can be reached by train (Train to Castelldefels Platja + 30 minutes walk).

The topos can be found in the Climbaround app (http://climbaround.com/zonas/garraf/

La Facu (Sitges)

La Facu is a rock climbing spot between Sitges and Vilafranca del Penedès. La Facu is perfect for beginners. All routes, except for one 6c, are graded between IV and 6a.

Berga – Mirador de Garreta

This beautiful climbing spot close to the monastery Santuary de Queralt is only about a 1 hour drive away from Barcelona. The surrounding area is beautiful.

You can park at the monastry and from there it’s only about a 15 minutes walk to the wall (mirador de la Garreta). There is a restaurant in the monastry were you can get a snack and Alhambra beer 🙂 Plus the area is great for hiking.

There are 26 sport climbing routes and 2 multipitch routes (see topo below). The climbing is very easy (4 – 6b). It’s the perfect place for a relaxed day!

MULTIPITCH: VIA QUERALTINA
Semi-equipped multipitch
Grade: 6A
3 pitches
90mt.

MULTIPITCH: VIA Quercus
Fully equipped multipitch
Grade: 4+ or 5
5 pitches
100mt.

Plecs de la Vinya Nova – Multipitch in Montserrat

Fully equipped multipitch
Grade: 6A+
4 pitches

Plecs de la Vinya Nova is a great sector if you are looking for a variety of easy multipitch routes (5-6a). We chose to do GEM (6a+, 160 meters, 4 pitches, fully equipped). We didn’t find any anchor on top so we had to use a quite loose tree (there was nothing else). To get down it’s best to rappel the neighbouring route Urquiza Olmo. The anchors of Urquiza Olmo are equipped with rings for rappeling.

The sector can be reached from the Vinya Nova restaurant where you can park you car. The walk takes about 1 hour.

BTW, the Vinya Nova restaurant is a great place to have a beer or lunch. They have a huge terrace with great views and self service. You can bring your own food or get something from the bar.

Via 98 Octanos 6A Multipitch (Los Gorros – Montserrat Norte)

Fully equipped multipitch
Grade: 6A
4 pitches

This classical multipitch route is located at Los Gorros (Magdalena Superior – see picture). It’s a one hour walk from the Monasterio de Montserrat. You can get there by taking the Camino Circular de Sant Jeroni. The reverse path direction (via de Funicular de San Joan station) is a little closer. You could also take the funicular to avoid the 45 minutes walk. From the Funicular station walk down and follow the Sant Jeroni trail for about 15 minutes. All the routes can be accessed easily from the hiking trail.

98 Octanos has 4 pitches (3+, 4+, 6a, 4+). We did the route at the end of November which is not exactly the best time to do it. The rock was icecold, it was superwindy and the 6a pitch felt quite slippery. The holds are really good but it’s better to do this climb in the spring or summer. In general, north walls in Montserrat are not the best option in cold weather.

La Falconera (Southside) – Garraf Platja

This is a great spot superclose to Barcelona to practice multipitching. You can take the train from Sants to Garraf Platja. The train leaves every 30 minutes and takes 30 minutes.

The multipitches on the southside of La Falconera are perfect for sunny winter days. You’ll have sun all day and the most amazing views at the sea. Most routes you can see on the topos below are fully equipped except for Mojito pal nenito & Sweet home buenos aires.

RECOMMENDED ROUTES:

1) Via Gaudi (V+, 2 pitches) + Via El Vuelo del Jigero (6a+, 2 pitches).
Fully equipped. Can be rappeled.
2) Via Piset (V+, 3 pitches) + Via La Dama de Piedra (6a, 1 pitch).
Via Piset starts on the edge of the wall just beside the ocean. The first bold is about 2 meters to the right of a sign saying “climbing on the right hand side or above this sign is not permitted from January to May”. We thought Via Piset was fully equipped but it didn’t seem so. Especially the beginning of the first pitch which is quite athletic is missing bolds. The beginning of the 2nd pitch is very athletic and equipped with sufficient bolds (A0). Some bolds and ankers are extremely rusty. The views are spectacular but the route itself didn’t feel too save. Via La Dama de Piedra, on the other hand, is a supernice, fully equipped slab and highly recommended. Via La Dama de Piedra can be rappeled and from there you can rappel Via Gaudi or Via Bavaresa.

Les Casetes de Vallirana

Topos can be found in the climb around app: http://climbaround.com/zonas/alrededores-barcelona/

There are over a 100 climbing routes: Grades 5-6b (Casetes East), Grades 6b-7b+ (Casetes West).

Cellecs – Maresme (Barcelona north)

Cellecs is a climbing area located 30 km north of Barcelona (45 minutes drive). The Rock is granite and the area has slab climbing, short boulder style routes and routes to practice artificial climbing.

We climbed in Sector Placa (mostly slab, grades from 4 – 6b) and Sector Agulla de Cellecs (slab, a few short routes with roofs to practice aid climbing).

Sant Llorenç de Munt

Sant Llorenç de Munt is a popular hiking and climbing area and only a 30-40 minutes’ drive from Barcelona. The rock is mostly conglomerate. There are over 500 sport climbing routes. Altough there are routes for all levels, Sant Llorenç de Munt is known for its harder routes. Over 300 of the routes are between 7a and 8c.

The rock reminded me of Montserrat but the climbing style is very different (more athletic/boulder style). We climbed in the sectors El Diafragma and La Sardineta de Baix because they are the only sectors with sun in the afternoon and both sectors have relatively easy routes (5-7b).

The topos can be found in the Climbaround app: http://climbaround.com/zonas/sant-llorenc-del-munt/

We climbed:
La Quinta del Tequila 5+: recommendable
Sonrisas rotas 6a: recommendable
Mai askatu 6b: We didn’t finish it. The start was really strange and hard. So we left it and moved to the next route.
Via del Yankee 6a+: recommendable
Mirage 6b: very recommendable, the last meters (small roof) are superfun.

Penyes de Can Marcer – Sitges

Penyes de Can Marcer is located in Sitges, 30-40 minutes by car and it’s the perfect crag for the summer – 100% shade all day.

The rock is limestone and the topos are on the Climbaround app.

We climbed:
Baby boom L1 (7a): last route to the left (not in Climbaround), name is written on the bottom, very recommendable, starts off very easy, 2nd half is a supernice slab.
Manel Muñoz (6b – 40 meters): very recommendable, starts off very easy. There is an anchor at about 15 meters – hard part (very physical) starts after the anchor.
Mai askatu 6b: We didn’t finish it. The start was really strange and hard. So we left it and moved to the next route.
Terminator (6b): very recommendable.
Hace falta valor (6b): very recommendable.
Empotrillo Àngel-Franco (6a): nice crack but overclimbed.

Paret de l’aeri

Paret de l’aeri is a vertical wall with a height of approximately 300 meters. From the parking at the Monasterio de Santa Cecilia it’s about a 30-40 minutes walk.

Paret de l’aeri offers excellent multipitch routes. As typical for Montserrat there is usually a lot of space between the bolds on the easy sections.

Here are a few recommendable routes:

Easy rider (6b) & Fraggel rock (6b+)

EASY RIDER
– 295 meter
– fully equipped but occassionally lots of space between bolds (7-8 meters on IV+/V) = mentally challenging
– positive feature: generally an easy climb, very easy pitches at the end
– most climbed multipitch on Paret de l’aeri but not overclimbed/slippery

FRAGGEL ROCK
– 265 meter
– fully equipped, bolts are not too spaced
– harder pitches are at the very top
– the second-last pitch has a very athletic and awkward start (not my cup of tea), however, on both of the last 2 pitches it’s easy to switch between Easy rider and Fraggel rock
– a highly recommendable climb

You can see paret de l’aeri from the parking at the Monasterio de Santa Cecilia. The hike takes about 20 minutes on a hiking trail (Camí de l’Arrel torwards the Monastery of Montserrat) + 15 minutes off trail.

After about 15-20 minutes on the Camí de l’Arrel keep looking left. When you see an old broken iron barrel on the ground, you need to turn right into the woods and walk uphill.
Close to the wall you should see some ferrata-like installation. You need to walk past that installation and walk up for another minute. Then you should find the first bolts that belong to Easy rider to your right.

Once you reach the last anchor walk further up another 5 meters and you find another anchor. From there you rappel 10-15 meter to a fixed rope. Climb up the rope and walk right through the forest up to the helicopter base. From there turn right and within a few minutes you should reach the Canal de Sant Jeroni which leads you back to the parking.