Pic Negre d'Envalira – north face (above Pas de la Casa) · Andorra · Andorra
Read the cautionsBail not documented
An easy, very well-bolted mountain route that tops out on a 2,816 m summit above Pas de la Casa. Short pitches of IV to V- on granite with good holds, an hour's walk up the ski pistes, and a path down. Ideal as a first alpine-style multipitch, but the rock still sheds loose stones.
Climbing mode: Big type, screen kept awake, tick pitches as you go.
Highest point 2816 m above sea level (camptocamp route 1807047).
Closely and recently bolted throughout, but loose rock is reported on every recent ascent and the 15 m summit scramble is unbolted.
5aV+5.75 pitches · 175 mBail not documented
A short, homogeneous route up the north face of Pic Negre d'Envalira, straight to the summit at about 2,816 m. It was opened in 2019 and rebolted in 2023, and every recent report praises the close bolting: the hardest move (V-, about 5a) on pitch 4 is well protected and has big holds. The climbing is easy, mostly IV to IV+ on granite with good footholds, so the route suits newcomers to multipitch or a short day at altitude. The one recurring complaint is loose rock: the face is young and still needs cleaning by traffic.
The atlas doesn't show topos: they are the work of the people who bolt and document these routes. See the topo in Juclar Vertical: Guia de escalada Andorra.
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4aIV5.4 | 35 m | UIAA IV. Three bolts straight up, then traverse right under a roof to a two-parabolt belay further right. The traverse is well protected with plenty of footholds. |
| P2 | 4bIV+5.5 | 40 m | UIAA IV+. Move right and climb a vertical wall on good holds; the start is a little thin, then it becomes a staircase. The rock in the upper part is poorer; watch for loose stones. |
| P3 | 3 | 20 m | UIAA III. A link pitch: pass a big block on its left, then a few easy metres straight up to the belay. |
| P4 | 5aV+5.7 | 30 m | UIAA V-, the crux. Step up onto a block that helps you past the hard move, which is well protected, then easier ground. |
| P5 | 4aIV5.4 | 35 m | UIAA IV. Go right along a ledge, leave it halfway and follow the bolts to the belay (there are two belays; one party used the left one). A 15 m unbolted scramble leads to the summit (one party belayed it from a block on top); pitches 5 and the scramble can be run together. |
Drive to Pas de la Casa on the Andorra–France border (the CG-2 over the Port d'Envalira from Andorra la Vella, or the N22 from Ax-les-Thermes in France). Park before Pas de la Casa at the bend by the Costa Rodona ski pistes.
About 1 h. Walk up the ski pistes towards the south to the top of the last drag lift, cross the boulder field below the north faces and go a few metres up the gully. The start is marked by a bolt with a green pennant (another party describes a piece of wood next to the first bolt).
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Coordinates · crag
Point from camptocamp waypoint 40508 (Pic Negre d'Envalira summit)
Contains the route point.
Points from published sources, not surveyed.
Coordinates: 42.51722, 1.72250 (crag)
Walk off, about 1 h to 1 h 25 min. From the summit follow the easy path down to the Coll de l'Isard, then over the Coll de Fontnegre to the ski piste you came up, and down to the car.
Bail not documented
Retreat is not documented: every source walks off from the summit. All belays are two parabolts, and the route goes straight up the face apart from short traverses on pitches 1 and 5, so abseiling from them looks feasible, but pitches are 30 to 40 m and the route is normally climbed on a single rope.
12 quickdraws (one party carried 14, 8 of them extendable) and material for the belays. One 60 m rope; a 2026 party said 50 m would have been enough. No cams or nuts needed. Every recent report mentions loose rock, so take a helmet.
North-facing at roughly 2,600 to 2,800 m, so it is a summer route: you climb in the shade in the morning and it can be cold and windy (one August 2026 party had strong south-west wind and a brief shower of hail at the summit, below 10°C). All the reported ascents are from mid to late August.
Forecast · next 7 days · 2816 m
Loading the forecast.
| Measure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rain mm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chance of rain % | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strongest gusts km/h | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Model forecast for 2816 m. It cannot tell you whether the rock is dry. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Time plan · 5 pitches
Working out sunrise and sunset.
An estimate. Queues and route finding cost time, and shaded walls go dark before sunset. Local time (Central European time), flat horizon.
Sun on the wall · N-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
From the aspect alone; terrain is ignored. Local time, 15th of each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −4 | −4 | −1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 6 | −0 | −3 |
| Mean daily low °C | −11 | −11 | −9 | −7 | −3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | −2 | −8 | −10 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 11 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 2785 m; rain is for a 10–25 km grid cell. Weather and climate data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Straight-line distances, up to 30 km.
No reports yet.
Around 5a · about 5 pitches
France · Barousse (Central Pyrenees)
A short, friendly pillar of wonderfully rough, sculpted limestone above a Pyrenean village, bolted in 2022 as a first multipitch. Five pitches of grade 3 and 4 with single moves of 5a (4c obligatory), fifteen minutes from the car. Ideal for learning rope work; experienced parties move together and are up in an hour.
5aV+5.75aV+5.75 pitches132 m
Switzerland · Orny (Champex, Mont Blanc massif)
A short, easy outing on beautifully sculpted granite half an hour from the Cabane d'Orny. Pitches 2 and 3 are the good ones, steep for the grade; the last two are more broken. Mind the first few metres, where the first bolt is high.
5aV+5.75aV+5.75 pitches160 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Sardinia
An easy and popular line on the big amphitheatre above Cala Gonone: three 4c pitches of juggy steps and easy-angled slabs, a short walk left through bushes, then a 35 m wall of heavily sculpted rock at 5a. Expect queues.
5aV+5.75aV+5.74 pitches120 m
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
The classic way up the Geiselstein, the 'Matterhorn of the Ammergau Alps'. After two scrappy pitches it follows a slabby corner system up the middle of the sunny south face: steep, exposed and on good rock, at about UIAA IV with one polished move of V at the start of the corner. The descent by the normal route needs as much care as the climb.
5aV+5.75aV+5.77 pitches260 m
Researched and aggregated by AI from published sources, last compiled October 2026. It can be wrong, and bolts, anchors and access change: check a current guidebook and read the disclaimer.