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
Mal de Ojo
Frontales (right of the Poema de Roca cave) · El Chorro · Spain
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium
A twelve-pitch line to the top of the Frontales face, starting right of the big Poema de Roca cave. The hard pitches are short, bouldery and athletic; the upper half turns to technical water-pocket climbing. One party found it less coherent than its neighbours but worth it for the summit.
- Hardest pitch
- 7a
- Pitches
- 12
- Length
- 300 m
- Approach
- 10 min
- Aspect
- S
- South-facing
- Rope
- –
Read before you go
Rated well bolted, but the information rests on a single 2024 party, 6c is obligatory and abseiling endangers climbers below.
The route
Overview
The long way up the Frontales face: twelve pitches and about 300 m, with five pitches of 6b+ or harder and easy ground to finish. The lower cruxes are boulder problems above the belay, including an obligatory move on the first 6c+; higher up the style changes to slabs and water pockets. The camptocamp author grades it a hard TD+ or easy ED- overall and found the line a little disjointed, as if the equippers had looked for difficulty. It is the route to choose if you want to top out on the face on bolts.
The climbing
Pitch by pitch
45+6b+/6c6c+7a6a+4+6b6c+6a33
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4 | 20 m | Climb the corner. Chained belay just past the tree. Given IV. |
| P2 | 5+ | 30 m | Given V+. |
| P3 | 6b+/6c | 25 m | A physical boulder problem at the start of the pitch. |
| P4 | 6c+ | 35 m | Gentle start, then an overhang at the end with an obligatory boulder move. The 2024 party found this pitch hard. |
| P5 | 7a | 20 m | Short and athletic. The crux pitch. |
| P6 | 6a+ | 20 m | A good pitch, more slabby than those below. |
| P7 | 4+ | 35 m | Given IV+. |
| P8 | 6b | 30 m | Very good climbing on water pockets. |
| P9 | 6c+ | 25 m | A slabby traverse on water pockets. The French description notes a 'chasse d'eau' (a pull chain) on the second-to-last bolt. |
| P10 | 6a | 30 m | Good climbing that eases to grade III at the end. |
| P11 | 3 | 25 m | Easy ground. The 2024 party moved together on the last two pitches. |
| P12 | 3 | 25 m | Easy ground to the top. |
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 10 min
About 10 to 15 minutes from the upper car park. Walk towards the wall, aiming for the huge Poema de Roca cave at the foot of the face; several paths work. The route starts right of the cave at a corner with a tree above it. The name is written at the start.
Finding the route · 3 photos
OverviewThe Poema de Roca cave at the foot of the Frontales wall, seen from the path below. Mal de Ojo starts just right of this cave.Photo: Jakub Botwicz · CC BY-SA 3.0 Start of the routeThe start of the route: a corner with a tree above it, right of the Poema de Roca cave.Photo: Boyaudezèbre · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 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 lies between the village and the wall.Photo: Jakub Botwicz · 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 OpenStreetMap way 978508576 (Poema de Roca, Frontales)
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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: 36.91405, -4.75560 (crag) · Parking: 36.90949, -4.75580
Getting down
Descent
Walk off. From the top go right and follow cairns to the Escalera Árabe, the old stepped path, which leads back down to the main path past single-pitch sectors. The 2024 party took 1 hour to the car. Abseiling the route is possible, but the camptocamp author advises against it because stones would fall on the single-pitch climbs at the foot of the wall.
Retreat
Bailing off the route
Bail with caveats
Camptocamp says the route can be abseiled, but it warns of stonefall onto the single-pitch sectors at the base. No party reports actually retreating, and rope lengths for the abseils are not given. From the top the walk-off is the recommended way down.
- Retreat from
- Not documented belay by belay. Pitches are 20 to 35 m, so two ropes would cover any single pitch.
- Point of no return
- Not stated. After pitch 10 the ground is grade III and going up is the easy option.
- Carry
- Two ropes to be sure of reaching each belay; care with loose rock above the sport sectors.
- Basis
- Part stated, part inferredAbseil possibility and stonefall warning are stated on camptocamp; rope requirements are inferred from pitch lengths.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Hazards
- 6c obligatory: the first 6c+ (pitch 4) has a boulder move you cannot aid.
- Single-pitch sectors lie directly below. Take care with loose stones, above all if you abseil.
- A long route on a south face: start early in warm weather.
- The walk-off follows cairns along the top of the wall; allow daylight for it.
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.
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
No source gives a quickdraw count or rope length. The longest pitches are 35 m and the normal descent is on foot. Helmet.
Checklist
- Quickdraws
- Number not given in the sources
- Rope
- Length not given in the sources
- 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 Mal de Ojo.
Worth knowing
Tips
- The 2024 party took 5 hours on the route and 1 hour to walk down.
- The same party preferred El Corazón que no Siente and Apocalipsis for quality; choose this one for length and the summit.
Open questions
Where sources disagree
- Only camptocamp could be read for this route: one route page and one trip report by the same author. Treat pitch grades and lengths as a single opinion.
- Approach time: 10 minutes on the route page, 15 minutes in the trip report.
Provenance
Sources
- Camptocamp – El Chorro: Mal de ojoUsed for: pitch grades and lengths, approach, descent, equipment rating
- Camptocamp – trip report, 23 March 2024Used for: character, timings, parking, heat
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Read the cautions
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.