Matute

Agulla del Gos (Paret del Pessó) · Collegats · Spain

Easy to bailBolting confidence: medium

Four steep pitches up the pinnacle that leans against the Paret del Pessó, five minutes from the car. Rounded bulges and big holds in the style of Riglos: an athletic first pitch, an overhanging jug traverse, then easier bellies to the top.

Looking up the first pitch of Matute on the Agulla del Gos, Collegats, with a climber high on the pinnaclePhoto: Olive 65. · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Hardest pitch: 6b
Pitches: 4
Length: 125 m
Approach: 5 min
Aspect: E; East-facing
Rope: –

The route

Overview

The Agulla del Gos is less a needle than a 100 m pillar standing proud of the foot of the Paret del Pessó, at the point where the wall comes closest to the path. Matute takes its left side in four pitches and is the best short multipitch in the gorge: parties compare the overhangs and rounded bulges to Riglos and wish it were longer. The first pitch is the crux and is steep from the first moves. It is short enough to add to another route, or to climb with its neighbour Poppers in a day.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

6b5+4+5+

Pitches of Matute
Pitch	Grade	Length	Notes
P1	6b	40 m	Superb and covered in holds but athletic, with the hardest moves right at the start of the difficulties and a corner higher up. The printed guide gives 6a; camptocamp and Luichy give 6b and a 2019 party agreed, noting very rounded holds. Luichy gives 35 m.
P2	5+	20 m	Go right, then climb an overhanging wall on big jugs (V+), and traverse back left to the belay, which is hidden in a niche. Do not carry on up the obvious bolts on the right: they belong to Léon. Two parties ended up at Léon's second belay by mistake. 15 to 20 m.
P3	4+	30 m	Straight up well-featured rock over a series of entertaining bulges (IV+). It can be linked with pitch 2 if you manage the drag. Luichy gives 40 m.
P4	5+	40 m	Another fine pitch at V+ to the top of the pillar. Luichy's sketch marks a couple of points of A0 as an option on it.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

From La Pobla de Segur take the N-260 north-east towards Sort into the Collegats gorge. About 100 m after the exit of the first tunnel there is a gap in the crash barrier on the left with room for two to four cars, at the sign for the Cova de la Serpent path. If it is full, park just before on the old road that bypasses the tunnel on the outside. There is a campsite at the gorge entrance near La Pobla de Segur, which one party found closing for the season in early November.

On foot · about 5 min

Five minutes. Take the Cova de la Serpent path from the parking. The route starts where the path brushes the wall, at the foot of the pinnacle on its left side, just left of an overhang at head height. An old hand-drilled bolt (buril) marks the start; you have to look for it.

Map of the walk-in

Crag
Parking

Loading map

The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.

Coordinates · crag

42.28538, 1.03544

Parking

42.28611, 1.03667

Small pull-in between the tunnels at the Cova de la Serpent path (camptocamp access waypoint 207056, Congost de Collegats)

Point from camptocamp waypoint 697864 (Collegats - Agulla del Gos)

For your phone or watch

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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.

Getting down

Descent

From the top go left to reach a ramp equipped with ropes, cables and chains that brings you back down to the path; a 2015 party found the cables in very good condition and a 2014 party called this descent very quick. The belays are also equipped for abseiling, and a 2019 party abseiled after climbing both Poppers and Matute.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Easy to bail

A 2014 party reports that all the belays are equipped for abseiling, and a 2019 party abseiled from this pinnacle after each of its two routes. The route is only four pitches and never far from the ground. The traverses on pitch 2 are the one place where abseiling the line is awkward.

Retreat from: Any belay (stated as abseil-equipped). From the top the walk-off down the chain ramp is the usual and quicker way.
Point of no return: None stated. After pitch 2 the climbing eases to IV+ and V+, so going up is usually simpler than reversing the pitch 2 traverse (inferred).
Carry: Rope length for the abseils is not given for this route; the neighbouring Poppers is described as three abseils with 50 m of rope. Two ropes are the safe assumption for 40 m pitches.
Basis: Part stated, part inferredAbseil-equipped belays are stated in a 2014 camptocamp report; the rope requirement is inferred from pitch lengths and from the note on the neighbouring route.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

Route-finding on pitch 2: after the overhang, traverse left to the hidden belay. The visible bolts continuing right are Léon (7b or aid on its first pitch, V and 6a above).
The first pitch is steep and strenuous from the ground. It can be aided on the bolts (camptocamp gives 5c+ obligatory with A0).
No source states the age of the bolts. A different route on the old road nearby was reported in 2016 with ageing 8 mm bolts, so look at what you clip.
The parking is a tiny pull-in beside the N-260.

Sun and weather

Conditions

The pinnacle faces east (camptocamp lists E, NE and SE), so it has morning sun and afternoon shade. Reports come from January (a warm day, pleasant even in the shade), May, June and November. A November party describes it as very hot in the sun.

Usual season · Mar to Jun, Sep to Nov

JFMAMJJASOND

Sun on the wall · E-facing

Working out the sunlit hours for this month.

January: not yet worked out
February: not yet worked out
March (usual season): not yet worked out
April (usual season): not yet worked out
May (usual season): not yet worked out
June (usual season): not yet worked out
July: not yet worked out
August: not yet worked out
September (usual season): not yet worked out
October (usual season): not yet worked out
November (usual season): not yet worked out
December: not yet worked out
060912151821

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.

Monthly climate averages for Collegats, 1991-2020
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar (usual season)	Apr (usual season)	May (usual season)	Jun (usual season)	Jul	Aug	Sep (usual season)	Oct (usual season)	Nov (usual season)	Dec
Mean daily high °C	9	10	13	16	20	24	27	27	23	18	12	9
Mean daily low °C	−1	−1	2	5	9	13	16	16	12	8	3	−0
Rain days 1 mm or more	7	6	9	12	12	9	7	9	9	9	8	6

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 735 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

Gear

14 quickdraws. No cams or nuts are mentioned by any source. No source gives a rope length for this route; pitches are up to 40 m. The neighbouring route Poppers is described as abseiled in three with 50 m of rope, so take two ropes if you intend to abseil (inferred). Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws: 14
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 Matute.

Worth knowing

Tips

A party took 1 h 45 for the route; Poppers plus Matute with abseils took about half a day.
The printed guide's grades for this pinnacle are reported as stiff; expect 6b rather than 6a on the first pitch.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

First-pitch grade: 6b on camptocamp and Luichy's topo; 6a in the printed guide used by a 2019 party, who felt 6b was right.
Pitch lengths: camptocamp gives 40, 15 to 20, 30 and 40 m (125 m); Luichy gives 35, 15, 40 and 40 m (130 m).
Luichy's sketch marks 'A0 (2p)' on the last pitch; camptocamp gives it V+ free with no comment.

Provenance

Sources

Camptocamp – Collegats, Agulla del Gos: MatuteUsed for: pitch grades and lengths, approach, descent, quickdraws, history
Camptocamp – trip reports 2010–2019 (outings 1119926, 693537, 485228, 220654)Used for: grade comments, pitch 2 route-finding, abseil-ready belays, descent cables, timings
Camptocamp – Collegats, Agulla del Gos (crag)Used for: description of the pinnacle, aspect, approach time, coordinates
La Noche del Loro (Luichy) – Collegats sketch topos: Agulla del Gos, MatuteUsed for: independent pitch lengths and grades, 'equipada' statement

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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.