Spain · El Chorro
Amptrax
The absolute El Chorro classic: a physical, sustained line that feels tough for the grade, with a 6a traverse right under the roof. Polished in places from heavy traffic.
6a9 pitches182 m
Apocalipsis
Frontales · El Chorro · Spain
Easy to bailBolting confidence: high
Seven pitches up a steep south face at Frontales, sustained, physical and technical on very rough, unpolished limestone. The fifth pitch (6b+) is a thin slab and the sixth (6c) has a strenuous start and a crux on grey rock. It is one of the few 6c multipitch lines here with a clean abseil descent.
- Hardest pitch
- 6c
- Pitches
- 7
- Length
- 195 m
- Approach
- 15 min
- Aspect
- S
- South-facing
- Rope
- 2×50 m
The route
Overview
A steep, varied sport route of seven pitches on the Frontales wall above El Chorro. The climbing is continuous rather than cruxy: a 2025 party says the grades read as an average for each pitch, with about 6b obligatory. The first pitch is physical on big, greasy-feeling holds; after that the rock is rough and clean. Belays are equipped for abseiling, and with two 50 m ropes the descent takes four abseils.
The climbing
Pitch by pitch
6a6b6a+5a6b+6c4+
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a | 25 m | Physical climbing on good holds that feel greasy. A 2024 party warns not to trust the first jugs. |
| P2 | 6b | 30 m | A steep, sustained pitch with no single hard move. |
| P3 | 6a+ | 30 m | – |
| P4 | 5a | 25 m | Given V on camptocamp. |
| P5 | 6b+ | 25 m | A thin slab section. The 2025 party calls this the best and most technical pitch. |
| P6 | 6c | 25 m | Strenuous start, then the crux on grey rock. A 2024 party found the 6b+ and 6c pitches not too fierce. |
| P7 | 4+ | 35 m | Easy pitch to the top. Given IV+ on camptocamp. |
Getting there
Approach
To the parking
El Chorro village is the base, about 45 minutes by car from Málaga. A hire car is the easiest option; trains run from Málaga María Zambrano to Álora and about once a day to El Chorro itself. The camptocamp parties parked at the upper car park above the village (camptocamp waypoint 'Parking haut El Chorro'). A March 2024 report notes that motor vehicles are supposedly not allowed inside the park, although in practice people were parking there without trouble; obey any signs you find.
On foot · about 15 min
About 15 minutes from the upper car park. Follow the track that heads towards the wall. At a hairpin bend leave it on a cairned path to the base. Scramble up stepped rock (grade II) to a ledge. The route starts on the left of the ledge at a small tufa column; there is an in-situ thread and the name is written on the rock.
Finding the route · 2 photos
OverviewEl Chorro from the air: the village and the lower reservoir are at bottom right, the Gaitanes gorge is the cleft left of centre, and the Frontales are the sunlit south-facing walls rising above the pine forest between the two. The upper car park and the track towards the wall lie between the village and the wall.Photo: Jakub Botwicz · CC BY-SA 3.0 Walk-inThe stepped rock (grade II scrambling) that you climb from the end of the cairned path to reach the ledge where the routes start. The photo was taken for the neighbouring El Corazón que no Siente, which uses the same access.Photo: Boyaudezèbre · CC BY-SA 3.0
Map of the walk-in
- Crag
- Parking
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
36.90949, -4.75580
Upper car park, camptocamp waypoint 1630126
Point from Mountain Project area 106828258 (Frontales)
For your phone or watch
Download GPX
Contains the route point and parking. 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: 36.91235, -4.75985 (crag) · Parking: 36.90949, -4.75580
Getting down
Descent
Abseil the route: with 2×50 m ropes go R7 to R6, R6 to R4, R4 to R2, R2 to the ground. A 2024 party found this very efficient and a 2025 party took one hour. Walking off from the top is also possible; camptocamp gives no detail for this route, but neighbouring routes on the wall walk east along the top to the Escalera Árabe.
Retreat
Bailing off the route
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is a normal descent and camptocamp states that the belays are equipped for it. With two 50 m ropes you can retreat from any belay; the documented sequence from the top is R7 to R6, R6 to R4, R4 to R2, R2 to the ground.
- Retreat from
- Any belay. From odd-numbered belays below R7 the rope lengths needed are not documented, so go one belay at a time if unsure.
- Point of no return
- None reported.
- Carry
- Two 50 m ropes. A single rope is not documented for retreat.
- Basis
- Stated in the sourcesCamptocamp route page (belays equipped for abseil, sequence given) and two parties who abseiled in 2024 and 2025.
Safety
Hazards
- The first holds on pitch 1 feel greasy and should not be trusted (2024 report).
- The obligatory grade is about 6b (2025 report; camptocamp lists 6a+), so you cannot aid every hard move.
- Abseiling a seven-pitch face: knot the rope ends and watch for parties below.
- Heat on sunny days outside midwinter.
Sun and weather
Conditions
South-facing and sunny, so best from October to May and on cool or cloudy days. Both March 2024 parties wanted cloud or wind to make the wall bearable, and one says it gets really hot from about 11:00. The rock is very rough and not polished. A November 2025 party climbed in T-shirts under clear skies.
Usual season · Jan to Apr, Oct to Dec
JFMAMJJASOND
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
- January (usual season): not yet worked out
- February (usual season): not yet worked out
- March (usual season): not yet worked out
- April (usual season): not yet worked out
- May: not yet worked out
- June: not yet worked out
- July: not yet worked out
- August: not yet worked out
- September: not yet worked out
- October (usual season): not yet worked out
- November (usual season): not yet worked out
- December (usual season): not yet worked out
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 El Chorro are not available yet
What to carry
Gear
Two 50 m ropes for the abseils. No source gives a quickdraw count; the longest pitches are 30 to 35 m, so carry a full sport rack of at least 14. Helmet.
Checklist
- Quickdraws
- Number not given in the sources
- Rope
- 2×50 m
- Helmet
- One each
- Abseil device and prusik
- The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports
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 Apocalipsis.
Worth knowing
Tips
- Allow about 4 hours for the climb and 1 hour for the abseils (2025 party).
- The same ledge is the start of El Corazón que no Siente, which leaves from the far left by an unchained belay; Apocalipsis has its name written at the base.
- A photo-topo exists on cartowall.com (linked from camptocamp); it could not be opened for this guide.
Open questions
Where sources disagree
- Obligatory grade: camptocamp's header gives 6a+; a November 2025 party thinks 6b is closer.
- Only one site (camptocamp, three independent contributions) could be read. The cartowall topo linked from it was not reachable.
Provenance
Sources
- Camptocamp – El Chorro: ApocalipsisUsed for: pitch grades and lengths, approach, abseil sequence, equipment rating
- Camptocamp – trip report, 26 November 2025Used for: equipment and rock condition, obligatory grade, timings
- Camptocamp – trip report, 20 March 2024Used for: greasy first pitch, abseil with 2×50 m, equipment
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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.