Mallo Colorado, Riglos · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos) · Spain
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
The best-known route on the Mallo Colorado. Two steep, juggy panza pitches have a well-protected boulder move, giving a short taste of real Riglos steepness at a friendly grade.
The route
The best-known route on the Mallo Colorado (Colorao), the first separate tower right of the Visera at Riglos, and a common first taste of Riglos conglomerate. Two long pitches of steep, juggy climbing over a series of panzas are followed by an easy ramp and a short final wall. The steep sections are well bolted, including the boulder move on pitch 1; the easy ground is run-out. It is short, about 1 h 30 for most parties, and often busy.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5b/5c | 40 m | 14 bolts | An easier plinth, then a succession of panzas that need a little route-reading, a passage between two distinctive blocks, and a last left-then-right bulge with a well-protected boulder move. The angle then drops and the rock becomes friable just before the two-ring belay. Recent parties counted 12 bolts. |
| P2 | 5b | 45 m | 10 bolts | A wall slightly less steep than pitch 1, very even in difficulty, climbed as a series of steps. After an easier section a final bulge with one bolt and a small rib lead to the belay on 2 rings, on the left. |
| P3 | 3b | 30 m | 1 bolts | Grade 2 to 3b. An easy-angled diagonal ramp with a single bolt, to a belay on one ring on the left. |
| P4 | 5b | 35 m | 4 bolts | Leave R3 slightly leftwards and climb a vertical wall of 15–20 m (5b), with the first bolt a little far and a panza around the third; pull up to a good jug and squeeze through. The slab then lies back (4b) over loose gravel to the summit belay on a big ring. |
Getting there
Riglos is about 45 km north-west of Huesca on the left bank of the Río Gállego. From Huesca take the A-132 through Ayerbe towards Jaca and turn right to the village after a few kilometres; from Pamplona or France come via Puente la Reina de Jaca and the A-132 south, turning left shortly after Murillo de Gállego. You cannot drive into the village: use the pay car parks at the entrance (3 EUR per day in 2024–25; one report says cash only). There is a railway station just below the village. The climbers' refuge is the modern building between the bus and car parks.
About 30 min from the Riglos car park. Either go up through the top of the village and take the path up the barranco, or follow the GR1 out of the village and after a few hundred metres take the 'Camino del Cielo', the path that circles the Mallos. Climb towards the Mallo Colorado, then leave the Camino del Cielo to the left at a hairpin; the path is indistinct and partly hidden by low scrub. Anorexia is on the left-hand bolt line of the face, starting from a clearing, the large flat area on the path along the base. Look for a block lying on the ground to the left and a letter 'A' carved on a boulder of the conglomerate slightly right, with a bolt above it.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
GPS line: a line of the walk-in and the descent drawn by its source, not a recorded track. Line on the Camptocamp route page: loop from the Riglos car park to the Mallo Colorado and back. Do not follow it blindly.
GPS line: Camptocamp contributors · CC BY-SA 3.0Point from OpenStreetMap node 659541730 (Mallo Colorado)
Contains the route point and a GPS line. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 42.35051, -0.72391 (crag)
Getting down
Preferred: from the last belay follow a cairned path for about 20 m up along the edge of the face to a juniper with a cable and a large metal ring. One abseil of 20–25 m (comfortable with a 50 m rope) lands on a stony, slightly outward-sloping ledge. Go left to a fixed rope that leads down to the col and the path, returning by the barranco path. A 2024 Mountain Project report describes the same descent as a single-60 m abseil to a ledge followed by an established hand line with little exposure. Alternative: three abseils down the route, but the abseil from R2 is 45 m, so this needs two ropes.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Yes, but only with two ropes. Abseiling the route is a documented alternative in three abseils, and the abseil from R2 is 45 m. With the single 50 m rope the route is normally climbed on, you cannot get down from R2; from there it is easier to finish, since pitch 3 is an easy ramp and the normal descent is one short abseil off the back.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-east to south facing and sunny from the morning; the face was in shade by late afternoon in mid-November. Riglos is climbed mainly from autumn to spring. Parties report dry rock and ideal conditions in March, April and May. Expect company: the face holds several popular routes side by side and there is often a steady stream of teams on this one at weekends.
Sun on the wall · SE-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Riglos & Agüero (Mallos) are not available yet
What to carry
Single 50 m rope for the climb and the rear descent (two ropes or a tagline if you abseil the face). 14 quickdraws including 2 long ones (Mountain Project says 12). Helmet.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Anorexia.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
This is the gentlest way to sample Riglos. Polished pockets and two bulging 'panzas' lead to a 6a crux that can be pulled through on the bolts (A0). The upper spur is easy, and the Pisón towers loom close by.
6a7 pitches175 m
Read the cautions
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
A long beginner's big route on good conglomerate at a moderate angle. Pitches can be linked in pairs with a 60 m rope. A four-pitch headwall with a couple of panzas finishes high above the Gállego valley.
5c14 pitches375 m
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
An airy spur with sustained 5b–5c climbing, a single 6a step on pitch 7, and big views over the Mallos de Riglos and the Pyrenees.
6a9 pitches230 m
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
A morning-sun route at the quieter Agüero mallos. Easy slabs separate two fine steep walls, including a superb vertical 5c plaque on pitch 4. Take care with some loose cobbles on the last traverse.
5c5 pitches145 m
Around 5c · about 4 pitches
Slovenia · Osp
The easiest line on Osp's famous overhanging Big Wall, following an obvious right-slanting ramp, the only non-overhanging part of the face. It is in shade until about 11:30 in July.
5c4 pitches110 m
Read the cautions
Morocco · Tafraout (Anti-Atlas)
Bolted granite slabs to the top of a dome above the Tafraout valley, with a hand-traverse across a gully on pitch 3. Short, but a rest day from trad in an area that is otherwise almost all cams.
5c4 pitches95 m
Italy · Gaeta & Sperlonga
This was the second route on Montagna Spaccata and is the cliff's classic moderate. It's never hard but never trivial, with continuous exposure above the sea: a horizontal crack traverse, an athletic juggy chimney and corners. Gulliver gives UIAA grades V–V+ / IV+–V / V+ / V / V–IV+ (5c max), converted here.
5c5 pitches125 m
Read the cautionsCommitting
Spain · Montserrat
A straightforward line up the 'Phrygian cap' visible from the monastery. Only the short vertical step on pitch 3 is sustained. It is a good route for learning Montserrat pebble technique and has a summit cross with a big view. The approach takes about 10 min from the Sant Joan funicular top.
5c5 pitches140 m
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.