Pico de Anayet east face, Formigal · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys) · Spain
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
A long, easy mountain route to a 2545 m summit above the Anayet lakes, on the dark volcanic rock of an old volcanic plug. Mostly 4c to 5a with one fine 5c corner on pitch 4; the lower half has broken rock and grassy channels, the upper 'balconies' are better. The day is long: two hours in, a via ferrata step on the approach and two hours out.
Well bolted and easy, but the bolts are 8 mm, the lower rock is fractured andesite, one ridge belay is on a sling and the whole day is long and high.
The route
Los Balcones de Anayet climbs the east face of Pico de Anayet (2545 m) straight to the summit, in view of the Anayet lakes for the whole day. The climbing is moderate and easy to follow, 4c to 5a on most pitches, with the crux in a three-sided corner on pitch 4 where the 5c is obligatory. The rock is andesite: fractured and sometimes grassy in the first six pitches, more solid on the upper ledges that give the route its name. It is a popular outing, and several parties on a summer weekend are normal. Treat it as a mountain day, not a crag route: the approach, the climb and the descent add up to nine to twelve hours for most parties.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5a | 35 m | 9 bolts | A sustained first pitch up the plinth in one push; the holds tend to slope downwards. |
| P2 | 4c | 20 m | 6 bolts | A channel of fractured rock to the belay. camptocamp counts pitches 2 and 3 as one 45 m pitch with an intermediate belay on the left (7 bolts and a peg in total). |
| P3 | 3c | 25 m | 2 bolts | A grassy gully: first a horizontal traverse, then a low-angle chimney. Two bolts and a peg. |
| P4 | 5c | 25 m | 8 bolts | The crux: a fine three-sided corner with obligatory 5c climbing. Eight bolts and a peg; a 2022 party that missed the peg found the third point a little far, while a 2016 party calls the pitch slightly committing but very well protected. |
| P5 | 3c | 25 m | 4 bolts | Another more or less grassy channel in line with the last pitch. |
| P6 | 5a | 35 m | 10 bolts | Leave the belay well to the left up a vertical wall of fractured rock (5a), then stepped slabs to the edge of the spur. |
| P7 | 4b | 35 m | 6 bolts | An easy-angled slab with one thinner move in the middle. Six bolts and a thread. camptocamp gives 4a. |
| P8 | 4c | 35 m | 8 bolts | Slab, a short wall, then steps. Eight bolts and three threads. camptocamp gives 40 m. |
| P9 | 5a | 35 m | 8 bolts | 4c climbing with a harder finish. Eight bolts and two threads. camptocamp gives 5b; the 2022 party gives 5a. |
| P10 | 4c | 25 m | – | Up to the summit ridge. The belay on the ridge is built on a sling (take slings). From here you can escape left to the normal route. camptocamp counts 11 bolts for pitches 10 and 11 together. |
| P11 | 3b | 20 m | – | Easy ground along the ridge. |
| P12 | 4c | 35 m | – | Along the crest, which steepens into fractured rock, to a belay a few steps from the summit. camptocamp gives grade 4, 45 m and 4 bolts; the 2022 party counted 8 bolts for pitches 11 and 12 together. |
Getting there
The route is reached from the Formigal ski area above Sallent de Gállego in the Tena valley (A-136 towards the Portalet pass). Parties in 2016 and 2022 found the road to the upper Anayet car park closed to cars and left the car at Corral de las Mulas (1625 m) beside the A-136, adding a few kilometres of tarmac (one party cycled it in 17 minutes). The openers suggest starting instead from the Portalet car park, going by Espelunciecha and the Canal Roya col.
About 2 h; allow up to 3 h if you walk the closed road. From the upper Formigal car park follow the track to the Puerto de Canal Roya, follow the crest for about 150 m and drop onto the west side, traversing on a cairned path towards the Anayet waterfalls. A short via ferrata climbs the rock step onto the plateau of the Anayet lakes (a 2017 party says to look for a red plastic plate marking it). Cross the plateau past the automatic weather station to the path that climbs to Anayet from Canal Roya. Leave it at about 2150 m and cross scree to the face, about 50 m left of the Couloir des Français. The alternative is the GR 11 from Formigal straight to the lakes. The start is where the reddish and grey rock meet and is marked with a large blue disc.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Formigal, Sarrios sector (camptocamp access waypoint 131638). In summer the road above Corral de las Mulas on the A-136 has been reported closed to cars.
Point from camptocamp waypoint 178515 (Pico de Anayet summit); the route's own camptocamp point is a midpoint and was not used
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: 42.78160, -0.45486 (crag) · Parking: 42.76479, -0.39436
Getting down
On foot by the normal route of Pico de Anayet: down a grassy gully on the east side, then a horizontal traverse to a section with chains, and the path to the col (2404 m) between the Pico and the Vértice de Anayet. From there descend to the Anayet lakes and reverse the approach, or cross the plateau on the GR 11 and take the blue-and-white marked path that traverses north-east from the top of the Culivillas ravine back towards the ski area. Parties report 2 h to 2 h 30 back to the car.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The only retreat the sources describe is high up: where pitch 10 reaches the summit ridge you can escape left to the normal route. Lower down nobody reports abseiling, but every belay has 10 mm bolts and no pitch is longer than 35 m, so a 50 m rope would get you down belay to belay if you leave gear.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
East face: sun in the morning, shade in the afternoon. The base is at about 2200 m and the summit at 2545 m, so this is a high-summer route; a party on 3 July 2016 still found a small snow patch at the foot of the wall, a few metres short of the start. A seep below the pitch 4 corner did not get in the way in August 2022. It can be cool in a north wind even in August.
Sun on the wall · E-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.
| 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 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 7 | 5 |
| Mean daily low °C | −3 | −3 | −1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 0 | −2 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 14 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1564 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
12 quickdraws, a 50 m rope and a few slings (for threads and for the ridge belay). Helmet. Via ferrata lanyards are not mentioned by any source for the short ferrata step on the approach.
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 Los Balcones de Anayet.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
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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.