Multipitch Atlas

Briljantina

Mangart – west face · Mangart (Julian Alps) · Slovenia

Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: high

A long bolted climb up the west face of Mangart, starting at about 2,180 m and finishing near 2,580 m. Two 60 m pitches of 6a open the route and the first half is the best; a 6b corner that can be aided is the crux. An alpine outing with a tricky approach in cloud and rock that is not always perfect.

Mangart seen from the path above the Mangart saddle: the pale limestone dome that Briljantina climbs, above its scree apron.Photo: Erik from Laagri, Estonia · CC BY 2.0

Photo

Mangart seen from the path above the Mangart saddle: the pale limestone dome that Briljantina climbs, above its scree apron.Photo: Erik from Laagri, Estonia · CC BY 2.0
Hardest pitch
6b
Pitches
10
Length
400 m
Approach
60 min
Aspect
NW
North-west-facing
Rope
1×60 m minimum
Read before you go

Well bolted, but an alpine route with 60 m pitches, chainless belays, some poor rock and an unmarked approach.

The route

Overview

Briljantina gives about 350 to 400 m of bolted climbing on the west face of Mangart, reached from the highest road in Slovenia. Most pitches are 6a or 6a+, with one 6b corner that the camptocamp author says is easily aided, bringing the obligatory grade to about 6a. The guidebook grades are fair or even soft. The first half is the highlight. Treat it as an alpine route all the same: the pitches are up to 60 m, the belays have no chains, the rock needs care in places and the approach has no cairns.

In pictures

Photos

Approach photo

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeLengthNotes
P16a60 mA full 60 m pitch.
P26a60 mAnother 60 m pitch. One hanger was missing here in 2022 and had been replaced by August 2024.
P36a+40 mNo description published.
P46a30 mNo description published.
P55b20 mShort pitch; can be linked with the next.
P6110 mAn easy traverse, possibly with one bolt. Do not start the next pitch by going straight up from the pitch 5 anchor.
P76b50 mThe crux, in a corner. Graded 5c/6b: it can easily be aided. One hanger was missing here in 2022 and had been replaced by August 2024.
P86a+30 mMostly a traverse to the right at the start.
P9110 mEasy ground to an anchor round the obvious pillar, possibly without bolts. It can be linked with pitch 8, but watch for rope drag.
P105c40 mThe last pitch to the grassy ledges.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

Drive the Mangart road to the parking just below the Mangart saddle (Mangartsko sedlo, about 1,900 m); after rockfall you cannot drive further. There is a 10 euro toll and you can stay as long as you like. If the upper parking is full, a second one just before the tunnel adds a couple of minutes. A summer bus from Bovec to the saddle is advertised on a timetable photographed at the parking.

On foot · about 60 min

About 1 hour in clear weather. From the parking walk along the road or the marked trails towards Mangart. At some point you must leave them and traverse to the foot of the wall: there are no cairns or signs. It is probably best to start traversing before the first smaller rock face; if you reach the via ferrata sections you have gone too far. In cloud this is hard: the September 2025 party took 2.5 hours.

Finding the route · 1 photo

  • Walk-inThe point on the marked trail above the Mangart saddle where the September 2025 party left it and began the scramble traverse to the foot of the wall (here in cloud). They found it manageable but possibly not the shortest way.Photo: wimsijbers · CC BY-SA 3.0

Approach photo

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag
  • Parking

Loading map

The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.

Coordinates · crag

46.43946, 13.65465

Parking

46.43416, 13.63936

Parking below Mangartsko sedlo (camptocamp waypoint 1266555)

Point from camptocamp waypoint 38823

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.

Getting down

Descent

From the top keep scrambling up the grassy ledges to the obvious trails; the guidebook says to cross right, but going straight up was easy. Follow the trails to the marked path (via ferrata) and take it either down to the saddle or up to the summit of Mangart first. The route page allows 1 hour; the 2025 party took 1.5 hours.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

You can abseil off, but the belays are plain bolt hangers without chains, so you leave karabiners at each one. The first two pitches are 60 m long, which a single 60 m rope cannot abseil in one go.

Retreat from
Any belay, leaving gear. Pitch 8 traverses right and pitches 6 and 9 are horizontal links, which complicates a retreat from the upper half.
Point of no return
Not stated. Above the pitch 6 traverse a retreat becomes more awkward than finishing, especially since the crux corner can be aided.
Carry
Two 60 m ropes to abseil the long lower pitches, plus spare karabiners or maillons for every station.
Basis
Part stated, part inferredcamptocamp states that when trapped on the route you have to leave karabiners to abseil because the anchors have no chains. The two-rope advice is inferred from the 60 m pitch lengths.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • Rock quality is not always good; take care with holds and with parties below.
  • Belays are bolts with hangers and no chains or rings. Retreating means leaving karabiners.
  • The two grade-1 linking sections have at most one bolt.
  • The approach traverse is unmarked and confusing in cloud.
  • High alpine setting: afternoon storms, cold and a descent on a via ferrata path.

Sun and weather

Conditions

North-west and west facing, at 2,180 to 2,580 m. The only dated report is from 15 September 2025, in cloud; the July to September season given here is inferred from the altitude and the seasonal toll road, not stated by a source. Cloud makes the approach much harder. Rock quality is mostly fine but not always the best.

Usual season · Jul to Sep

Sun on the wall · NW-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 Mangart (Julian Alps) are not available yet

What to carry

Gear

15 quickdraws and normal multi-pitch kit (camptocamp). A rope of at least 60 m is needed, otherwise you have to move together on the first two pitches. Carry a few spare karabiners or maillons: the anchors are plain hangers without chains, so a retreat means leaving gear. Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws
15
Rope
1×60 m minimum
Helmet
One each
Maillons or spare karabiners
To leave behind if you retreat

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 Briljantina.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • The 2025 party took 5.5 hours on the route.
  • Link pitches 5 and 6 to save time; linking 8 and 9 is possible but drags.
  • Arrive early for the upper parking.
  • plezanje.net's comment thread is the place to check for missing hangers before you go.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Length: 400 m on camptocamp and plezanje.net; the camptocamp pitch lengths add up to 350 m.
  • Approach time: 1 hour on the route page, 2.5 hours for the same author's party in cloud.
  • Descent time: 1 hour on the route page, 1.5 hours in the trip report.
  • Whether the grade-1 links have any bolts is marked with question marks by the camptocamp author.

Provenance

Sources

Around 6b · about 10 pitches

Similar elsewhere

The Frontales cliffs above El Chorro seen across the Tajo de la Encantada reservoir, with the big Poema de Roca cave at the foot of the central dome. The Solarium sector is towards the right-hand end of the cliff; the line is not marked.

Spain · El Chorro

Estrella Polar

Ten varied pitches on good rock in a superb position: a roof, slabs, a tenuous traverse by a cave and a steep corner. Several pitches feel stiff for the grade, especially the P2 crux.

6b10 pitches279 m

The classic view of Riglos from the south-west: the slender pinnacle of El Puro on the left, the great dome of Mallo Pisón beside it, and the main wall running right to La Visera above the village.

Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)

Normal al Puro

The way up the detached cigar that is the symbol of Riglos, first climbed in 1953. A polished corner, then the chimney between the Puro and the Pisón, then three short pitches on the outside of the needle to a tiny summit. Very polished in the chimney and on the boulder moves. In shade most of the day.

6b10 pitches180 m

Read the cautions

The orange limestone of the Paroi des Sources at Taghia, with climbers on its routes.

Morocco · Taghia

Belle et Berbère

Ten pitches of even 6b and 6b+ on compact rock ten minutes from the gîtes, mostly technical slab and wall climbing on your feet, with a 50 m sixth pitch on vertical edges that everyone singles out. It is among the most accessible long routes at Taghia, in the shade for most of the day, and a little polished low down.

6b+10 pitches330 m

Read the cautions

The big orange limestone wall of the Sierra de Callosa directly above Redován, seen from the edge of the village.

Spain · Vega Baja (Orihuela & Callosa)

Botri

The classic of Redován: ten pitches and 300 m of steady grade 5 with three steeper pitches on red rock. The eighth pitch, a traverse right into an overhanging corner above the orange cliffs, is the one people remember. Closed from January to June for nesting eagles.

6a+10 pitches300 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.