Cabeçó d'Or (Cabezón de Oro), Busot · Costa Blanca (Cabeçó d'Or) · Spain
Easy to bailBolting confidence: high
Delicate, technical wall climbing on small edges up a detached pillar and then the magnificent grey headwall above the hanging garden of the Paredón de los Alcoyanos. Sustained at 6b and above with little rest for the feet, and bolted as a sport route. A step across the void from the top of the pillar is the route's oddity.
The route
Delicatessen is the other fully bolted line on the Paredón de los Alcoyanos, a few routes right of Chica Sputnik, and two of the three camptocamp parties climbed both in a day. It is in two halves: two pitches up a detached pillar and the wall above it to the big terrace, then the compact grey headwall in two or three pitches. The name is accurate. The climbing is slabby to vertical on spaced small edges and demands precise feet throughout. The provincial guide and Rockfax both give it three stars, and climbers who have done it rate it among the best routes of the area, while warning that the guidebook grades are low.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6b | 40 m | 9 bolts | Straight up the detached pillar right of the cave. Not easy and committing in places: a 2006 party counted 9 bolts in what they measured as nearly 45 m, so the easier sections feel run-out. Camptocamp and Rockfax give 6b; the provincial guide gives 6a+. |
| P2 | 6c | 30 m | – | Step down from the top of the pillar and stride across the gap at the level of a bolt. Once across, unclip that quickdraw to avoid drag, then go straight up the grey wall just right of the corner, where the hangers are hard to see. Do not go left: a 2022 party did and found themselves on much easier ground off route. Graded 6b+ by Rockfax, 6b+/c on camptocamp and 6c by the provincial guide and by the first ascensionist. The belay is at the big terrace. |
| P3 | 6a+ | 20 m | – | Walk straight up the terrace to the foot of the impressive final wall. Two route names are painted at its base; Delicatessen is between them. Then technical climbing on spaced small edges. The upper wall has three belays about 20 m apart; this first section is 6a+ in the provincial guide and 6b for other parties. |
| P4 | 6c | 20 m | – | The same style, and the hardest part of the headwall: 6c in the provincial guide, 6b+/6c for a 2006 party. Linking pitches 3 and 4 gives one sustained 40 m pitch that the first ascensionist rates 6c. |
| P5 | 6b | 20 m | – | The last section to the notch: 6b in the provincial guide, about 6a for a 2006 party, and 6c/6c+ if you ask the equipper about the top pitch as usually climbed. Do not stop at the first belay you reach; continue 5 m to the chained belay just under the notch. |
Getting there
From Alicante take the A-7 towards Valencia to the El Campello exit, cross the town and follow signs to Busot. At the roundabout at the entrance to Busot follow 'Cuevas de Canelobre'. About 100 m before the caves a track with PR waymarks leaves on the left; park in the lay-bys at its start (38°31'07"N, 0°24'44"W in the provincial guide). Rockfax and camptocamp parties park in the wide bay on the bend by the caves; it is possible to drive further along the track but parking there is awkward.
About 35 minutes uphill. Follow the track for roughly 1.4 km, level at first and then up a concreted rise, to a small solitary house below the walls (painted in bright colours, with a hen run and, according to Rockfax, big dogs). The path to the cliff leaves on the right, opposite the house, and zigzags up to the foot of the face near where 'VIA GENE' is scratched on the rock. Follow the base of the wall rightwards. The route starts right of a small low wall, to the right of a big orange overhang, and climbs a detached pillar right of a cave.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Lay-bys at the start of the PR track before the Canelobre caves (Senderos de la Roca guide)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 470970 (Cabezon de Oro)
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: 38.52269, -0.40590 (crag) · Parking: 38.51861, -0.41222
Getting down
By abseil down the route. From the top belay one 60 m abseil reaches the terrace, or make two shorter ones (the belay below is chained). Walk down the terrace to a distinctive pine, and abseil 50 m from it through the overhangs to a path that leads back to the foot of the route. Rockfax also describes abseiling off the back of the Alcoyanos face and walking round, which is the descent used for the routes that top out.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the normal descent. The headwall belays carry abseil stations added around 2004, and from the terrace you walk down to a pine and abseil 50 m to the ground. The lower two pitches are not described as an abseil line: from there the documented way down is the pine.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
The wall faces south-west to west and is in the shade until early afternoon (the sun arrives at about 15:00 in late October), so it suits warm days in autumn and spring and is cold on winter mornings. Trip reports are from October, December, January and April. UKC gives the crag altitude as 778 m.
Sun on the wall · SW-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 Costa Blanca (Cabeçó d'Or) are not available yet
What to carry
Quickdraws only according to the provincial guide; no source gives a number, and the pitches are long, so carry a generous set including some extendable ones. Two 60 m ropes for the abseils (60 m and 50 m); a 2022 party found double 60s made life easier. Rockfax says a 70 m rope is required, which fits lowering or linking the upper pitches but does not cover the 50 m abseil from the pine on its own. 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 Delicatessen.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Spain · Costa Blanca (Cabeçó d'Or)
Five very long pitches of old-school wall climbing: edges, flakes and water pockets where footwork counts more than strength. The 40 m fourth pitch, a steep slab beside a corner, is the highlight and the crux. Remote feeling, in the shade until early afternoon.
6c5 pitches200 m
Read the cautions
Around 6c · about 5 pitches
France · Sainte-Victoire
Five pitches of demanding slab climbing on flawless grey rock at the left side of the Surplomb de la Carrière: two pitches of 6c, one of 6b+ with a finger crack, and a pocketed final wall. Closely bolted where it is hard, with an obligatory grade of 6a+.
6c5 pitches120 m
Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
The harder companion to We Salute You: five pitches, three of them 6c, on steep red and grey rock with good holds and bolts close enough to make the obligatory grade only 6a. The steep red sections of the second and fifth pitches are the highlights.
6c5 pitches155 m
Austria · Wilder Kaiser
A short alpine sport route in the Schneekar that steepens as it goes: a scrambling start, fine water runnels on rough rock, then a smooth slab into an overhang on pitch 4. The crux is UIAA 7 to 7+ and can be aided on the bolts.
6c5 pitches180 m
Austria · Rätikon (Montafon)
Starts up an inclined slab at the lowest point of the Gelbeck, climbs three long, easier pitches through the front spur to a sloping ledge, then finishes with two very steep wall pitches on sharp solution pockets that most parties climb with a few aid moves.
6c5 pitches200 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.