Peña Rueba west face (Mallo Calva), Murillo de Gállego · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos) · Spain
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium
Starts past the huge roof on the west face and climbs to the Punta Blanca. A superb short 6a corner on pitch 3, then a long run of grade 4 and 5. In shade in the morning.
The route
A long, easy-angled bolted spur on the west face of Peña Rueba, starting beyond the huge roof and finishing on the Punta Blanca above Mallo La Calva. The difficulty is concentrated low down: a steep first wall, a fine short 6a corner on pitch 3 and a thin wall on pitch 4. Above, it is a long run of grade 4 slabs where the main challenge is spotting the next bolt, and a loose ridge to finish. Bolting is close on the hard moves and the route is much quieter than the sunny south-face lines because it stays in shade. One source suggests treating it as a mountain outing rather than just a long sport route.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5+ | 30 m | V+. Straight up a compact, vertical wall, moving right up a crack; one thin V+ move, otherwise V. |
| P2 | 4+ | 20 m | IV+. Right up an easy corner-gully past a small step by a bush, then a long traverse left to the belay below the corner. Mediocre rock before the traverse. This belay is equipped for abseiling. |
| P3 | 6a | 20 m | Straight up the superb slanting, cracked corner and out over a small overhang. The exit is 6a if you do not touch the tree; otherwise easier. |
| P4 | 5+ | 30 m | V+. Steep wall above the belay with thin moves on small holds, then easier. One source gives V+/6a and a 2026 report suggests 5c+/6a. |
| P5 | 4 | 35 m | IV. Straight up an easy-angled slab. |
| P6 | 4 | 25 m | IV. Another laid-back pitch. Start rightwards, drift right at a tree; belay on the right. |
| P7 | 4 | 25 m | IV. Rising rightwards as the wall gradually steepens; belay on the left. |
| P8 | 5 | 35 m | V then IV. Steeper wall drifting left to a belay in a niche at the foot of the upper spur. From here a grade III ledge leads right to Mallo La Calva. |
| P9 | 4+ | 30 m | IV+ (V- in one source). A cracked corner, then out left up a vertical wall; you have to weave to find the line. Loose rock at the start and the second bolt is some way off. Belay at a giant thread. |
| P10 | 3 | 30 m | III. Along the slightly loose ridge to the top of Punta Blanca. Belay on the summit or continue about 15 m down to the notch (brecha) with the abseil station. |
Getting there
Base is Murillo de Gállego. From the village follow the sign for Hotel Real Posada de Liena; after about 290 m turn right at a bend, and at a house about 700 m in take the dirt track beside it. Pass the first water pond and park in the clearing on the left by the second pond, where a sign bans further traffic, about 2.1 km from Murillo. Camptocamp describes the same track from the A-132 (about 3 km along the Barranco del Barello, with ruts and two steep sections); it was rebuilt in 2022. A 2022 party came in by a decent track from Agüero to a small parking for 3 or 4 cars.
About 30 min on a waymarked path. Walk about 450 m along the track and take the path on the right towards the walls. Near the Cueva Calva overhang keep left at the fork (the right branch goes to the south face). Go round the wall on the left, passing under the big roof of the west face, and continue along the base. Where the path starts to descend, at a rock terrace, climb the sloping ledge to a single bolt (R0). In 2018 a tape with the route name hung from a hanger. Parties report the start is easy to find.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Los Ballatíes (camptocamp access point)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 752245
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: 42.36198, -0.76557 (crag) · Parking: 42.35191, -0.76694
Getting down
Two options. (1) From the notch beyond Punta Blanca, abseil on the south side from a station of two widely spaced bolts with rings to the grassy ledge: 20 m according to Camptocamp and a 2025 party, about 30 m according to another source. Follow the ledge east for about 50 m to the foot of the small summit wall; from there either climb one of the summit-face routes (Sendero Límite, Lorenzo Ortas) or keep following the ledge to a small col with a fixed rope, then a faint cairned path up to the crest to join the ferrata (Ferrata de la Mora / south via ferrata). (2) Skip the abseil and continue along the loose ridge for about 70 m (I then III+, one or two more easy pitches, a few bolts and a pine with a sling but no belays) to the twin summits of Peña Rueba, then follow cairns down to the same ferrata. The ferrata descends a slabby wall to another col and then alternates walking and cabled sections to the foot of the walls. Allow about 1 h back to the start. A 2026 party mentions two ferrata lines, 'red' and 'yellow'; they went back and took the red one.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Easy low down, awkward higher. A 2026 report says R2 is the last belay equipped for abseiling, so above it a retreat means leaving gear at every stance on a ten-pitch route. No party is recorded retreating from the upper pitches. The climbing eases to grade IV from pitch 5, so once past pitch 4 finishing is usually the simpler way off.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
West facing and shaded: in shade until about 11:00 in late April, and until about R8 for nearly the whole day in mid-November, when one party climbed in down jackets. That makes it a good choice in hot weather and on busy weekends, and a cold one in wind. Above pitch 8 the route is exposed to the north wind (cierzo). The route is described as little travelled, though five parties were on it one hot June day.
Sun on the wall · W-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
12 quickdraws (12 to 15 in one source). Two 50 or 60 m ropes if you want to link pitches and for the abseil from the notch; one source notes a 60 m rope reaches the next belay from the notch and 70 m from the Punta Blanca summit. Slings for the ridge. Helmet. Warm clothes outside summer.
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 Espolón de Poniente.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
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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.