Espolón de los Agujeros, Barranco de la Maimona · Montanejos · Spain
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium
Eight varied pitches on the pocketed pillar next to La Luna: pocketed slabs, bulges, a red corner that is the best pitch, and two short hard sections at 6c and 6c+ that can both be eased with a pull on the bolts. Opened in 1983 and rebolted in 2006. Some loose rock, especially on pitch 6.
Well bolted with A0 options, but there is loose rock on several pitches and a nesting closure for the first half of the year.
The route
The companion route to La Luna on the Espolón de los Agujeros, the pocketed pillar at the Plaza de las Catedrales bend, beyond the flood dam. It is a very varied climb: two easy pocketed slab pitches, bulges on big pockets, a fingery 6c wall, a red corner at 6b that all sources single out, and a short explosive 6c+ move near the top. Three topos agree on the line and on an obligatory grade of about 6a, so both hard sections can be aided on the bolts. Climb attentively: several sections have loose rock, pitch 6 most of all. The pillar is closed for nesting in the first half of the year.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5+ | 35 m | A pocketed slab, always trending right. Comfortable belay. Camptocamp gives 5c, 30 m. |
| P2 | 5+ | 30 m | Straight up a slab with rounded holds, then right. Comfortable belay. |
| P3 | 6a | 35 m | Start up a crack and small corner, then climb several bulges on good pockets. Very comfortable belay. |
| P4 | 6c | 30 m | Leftwards on good holds at first, then a sustained, bouldery wall on small holds with poor footholds. Watch for loose rock near the end, in the corner. |
| P5 | 6b | 35 m | The red corner, visible from far away and the best pitch. Slightly dusty and physical; the small roof is well protected and good holds follow. |
| P6 | 6a | 30 m | Up small corners and right. Easy and enjoyable, but this is the pitch with the most loose rock. The belay is on a terrace. |
| P7 | 6c+ | 25 m | An explosive boulder move off the belay on a short wall, then a sustained thin crack on small holds. Camptocamp describes the hard step as very short and gives 6a with A0. |
| P8 | 4+ | 20 m | An easy slab; loose rock at the exit. Can be linked with pitch 7. Camptocamp gives 10 m. |
Getting there
Montanejos is in inland Castellón province, on the CV-20 up the Mijares valley from Onda. The gorge starts at the climbers' refuge (Albergue El Refugio) by the Maimona bridge at the entrance to the village. Camptocamp says camping is not allowed, and that there is water at the village fountain or at the car park after the bridge. No source read gives public transport details.
About 30 minutes. From the refuge walk up the canyon to the flood-control dam. Climb the steps on its left, then descend with the help of a cable and a fixed rope back into the stream bed. About 300 m further the gorge bends at the Plaza de las Catedrales, with the pillar on the right. Obsesión starts on a dark slab before the prow, before an orange zone; camptocamp places it about 50 m right of La Luna. Two routes start together: Obsesión is the right-hand line and keeps trending right. If pools remain in the stream bed, cabled traverses pass the flooded sections.
Loading map
The point is approximate: it marks the area, not the crag.
Coordinates · area: approximate
Point from camptocamp route 1705135 (El Tubo sector point in the Barranco de la Maimona); this route starts further up the gorge and no source gives its own point
Contains the route point. 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: 40.07007, -0.53294 (area)
Getting down
Walking down is the advice of both camptocamp and elev-arte. Go up to the crest and follow it north to a signpost. Right ('to the dam by the Belle Époque slabs') drops down a gully back to the flood dam. Left ('to the refuge by the crest') descends a little, then follows a cable in several sections and cairns back up to a col, traverses and rejoins the GR path to Montanejos, about 1 hour. The route is equipped for abseiling, but camptocamp calls the abseils awkward above R3.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The route is equipped for abseiling according to elev-arte and Luis Alfonso's topo, and camptocamp says abseiling becomes awkward above R3. Retreat from the first three pitches is therefore the reliable option; higher up, continuing to the top and walking off is usually the better choice.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
East-facing (camptocamp). A party on the neighbouring La Luna in February climbed entirely in shade and felt cold; the pillar catches the wind. The stream bed must be nearly dry to reach the start; it was reported almost dry in October 2013 and October 2025. With the nesting closure, autumn is the season.
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 | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec (usual season) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 11 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 29 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 12 |
| Mean daily low °C | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 700 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
13 to 14 quickdraws and belay kit. Helmet. Luis Alfonso's topo says the route can be climbed in four long pitches with a single 70 m rope.
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 Obsesión.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Spain · Montanejos
Eight pitches up a vertical prow deep in the Maimona canyon, on orange rock full of pockets (agujeros means holes). Sustained at 6a+ to 6b and physical throughout, with a huge roof start to the crux pitch and a bench to sit on at the third belay. Closed from January to June.
6b+8 pitches235 m
Read the cautions
Spain · Montanejos
Seven varied pitches in two halves split by a big ledge: vertical walls and cracks below, then an overhanging red wall and a traverse on a carpet of sharp little spikes beneath giant roofs. In the sun from the morning, unpolished, with an easy walk down.
6b+7 pitches170 m
Spain · Montanejos
The easy multipitch of the Maimona gorge, bolted in 2019 as a first long route: four pitches of grade 4 slabs and walls with one 5+ pitch. The line climbs the grey wall on the right of the Tubo sector, beside Parados al Sol. The exits of most pitches have loose rock, so a helmet matters more than the grade suggests.
5+4 pitches125 m
Spain · Montanejos
A moderate four-pitch line up the middle of the Tubo sector: a grade 5 corner, a cracked corner with a traverse at 6a, a slab that steepens to 6a between two junipers, and an easy finish. All four belays are described as comfortable. A good step up from La Magia de tu Melena next door.
6a4 pitches130 m
Around 6c+ · about 8 pitches
France · Aravis
A fine modern line up the pillar that props up the Pointe Blanche, at 2200 m above the Col de la Colombière. Sustained 6a+ to 6b with one violent bulge of 6c+ at the start of pitch 3, then two pitches of perfect runnels, a short down-climb and two more steep 6a+ pitches. The approach and descent are alpine in feel.
6c+8 pitches250 m
Italy · Arco & Valle del Sarca
Eight sustained pitches up the wall opposite the Laterna restaurant, rarely easier than 6a. The crux is a short overhanging wall on pitch 5 that can be pulled through on the bolts. Less cleaned than its neighbours, with some broken rock on pitch 6.
6c+8 pitches220 m
Spain · Costa Blanca (Peñón de Ifach)
The sport classic of the Peñón: a thin slab, a corner crack that steepens into an overhang, a pillar, then a wild exit from a big cave 200 m above the sea. Sustained at 6b with a 6c fifth pitch on polished slopers and a 6c+ last pitch whose crux can be pulled through on a bolt.
6c+7 pitches220 m
France · Calanques
Seven short, steep pitches up the ochre sea cliff of Cap Canaille, through three kinds of rock: overhanging jugs low down, a leftward traverse on huge fragile holds into a cave, a big roof and a thin wall of sandstone, then vertical conglomerate where you choose your cobble. Homogeneous at 6b to 6b+ with one harder move leaving the roof. The lower two pitches are sandy and friable.
6c+7 pitches150 m
Read the cautionsCommitting
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.