Climbs 182
Rocktype Limestone
Altitude 955m a.s.l
Faces all
Shauna Coxsey On Sighting Muscleman F7b - 2009 © Gaz Parry
Crag features
A remote and varied crag with some magnificent climbing on either side of a dinosaur-back fin of rock. Pride of place has to be Sector Super Heroes; a steep shady wall of soaring, overhanging walls and pocket-lines and a must for people into steep grade 7s and 8s. The rest of the shady north-facing side is less imposing but still offers some quality challenges in the mid-grades. For easier stuff you need to head round to the slabby southern side; a totally different proposition with routes at a much friendlier angle and in a beautiful sunny setting, with magnificent views. The majority of the climbs are well bolted. A 70m rope is useful for Sectors Super Heroes and Elecciones.
Apart from the soaring overhanging pocket-lines the other major attraction of this crag is its usefulness in extreme weather. Foradà North Face is a great place to head for if it is really hot and it also has plenty to go at in wet weather, but it can be very cold compared to other crags in the area because of the altitude, at almost 1000m. In cold weather clever climbers will head straight for the South Face so that while the hard team are freezing in search of a big tick on the North Face, the less ambitious members of the team can sun themselves just round the corner.
Approach notes
Take the A-31 towards Madrid as far as the junction to 'Petrer, Elda, centro commercial' - large Carrefour supermarket. At this slightly complex junction on the slip road, turn back right following signs for 'Xorret de Cati' - a rather fine hotel up in the mountains. Follow the road and signs for around 10km to an unsigned junction on the right.Turn down here (still surfaced) and park opposite the pond. The track which you used to be able to drive along to get to parking by the chapel is now blocked to cars and motorbikes, adding about 20 mins to the walk in.
About 1 km from the parking at the pond, just before Ermita de la Puríssima, branch left along the gravel road towards the North Face which is now clearly visible to the south.
To get to the North Face and Villanos, the easiest way is to take the footpath branching right off the main approach track (just before this turn sharp left and down). This can be followed past Sector Villanos to a flat open area where the path splits. To get to the South Face, continue on the main track as it drops down underneath the fin. See buttresses for approach from here.
No Access Issues
The track is now closed to traffic so the approach description is out of date. You now need to park at the stone gatepost (obvious parking) and walk along the track from there.
| Track is now closed to traffic which means you have to park at the stone gatepost and walk from there. Takes about 30 mins. spidermonkey09 - 10/Jan/22 |
|
| It is noted in the guidebook that access down the unpaved track may be "difficult" after heavy rain. I would update this to:
"After even relatively small amounts of rain, the unpaved track is likely to be essentially unpassable for anything other than tractors and/or high ground clearance 4x4s."
We were there after a couple of days of fairly heavy rain and even the high ground clearance 4x4's had abandoned the attempt on the track and parked 1.5km from the crag and walked the rest. John_Hat - 09/Mar/13 |
Climbs at this crag
| Name | Grade | Stars | Type | Logs | Partner Ascents |
|---|
These climbs you have climbed by seconding or top-roping.
These climbs you have Dogged.
These climbs you Did not Finish.
Climbs are waiting to be checked by a crag moderator, and may not be accurate. Climbs can't be verified by a crag moderator, and they need more information to confirm it. Climbs are no longer climbable.