La Granota (above the monastery, Fra Garí path) · Montserrat · Spain
Easy to bailBolting confidence: high
Seven short pitches a quarter of an hour from the monastery, mostly 5b on very good conglomerate, with one 8 m wall of pockets at 6a that can be avoided. Two walking sections break the climbing, and the last pitch up the edge of the summit pillar is airy. Green paint marks, now fading, show the way.
The route
A varied, well-bolted outing up La Granota, the 'frog' needle just above the monastery on the way to the Fra Garí viewpoint. Two pitches climb the plinth below the tourist path; after a walk along the path, three more climb the pillar, a short pocketed wall gives the 6a, and a final pitch takes the edge of the summit needle. The grades are steady at 5b with the 6a short, well protected and avoidable. Recent consolidation work on the needle added cables and metal ladders near the top, which now offer both a bypass of the 6a pitch and a way off. Allow about 4 hours for the climb.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5a+ | 15 m | 5 bolts | A slab to a belay on two bolts and a chain. Easy and well bolted. |
| P2 | 5b+ | 25 m | 8 bolts | Up and left across a corner, then a slab where the bolts are a little further apart and a 5b move is obligatory. Belay on three unlinked bolts. Then traverse left for 20 m, climb up to step over the wooden fence of the Fra Garí path, follow the path left to the base of the pillar (left of a metal plate and a water building) and go 10 m up the gully on the left to a small crack. |
| P3 | 5b | 30 m | 12 bolts | The slab following the crack, then straight up following bolts of different shapes and ages and the green marks, past two chained belays side by side, to two further chained belays. Sustained and the pitch parties like most. A small cam is possible before the first bolt but not needed. |
| P4 | 4c | 20 m | 4 bolts | Left up a slab that lies back, then a crack, leaving it leftwards. Three bolts and a peg. Belay on three linked bolts. |
| P5 | 5b | 20 m | 7 bolts | Right, following the bolts up the right side of a slab, left of a crack. Pass a tree, then a rock thread with a cord, and squeeze through a narrowing without climbing to the abseil belay visible on the rock to the right. Belay at a tree at the foot of the 6a wall. Pitches 4 and 5 together are 37 m. |
| P6 | 6a | 8 m | 3 bolts | A short wall of pockets: 6a using the wall alone, 5c with bridging, and good holds to clip the first two bolts. Belay on the cable. The pitch can be avoided on the right by the metal ladders. Then follow the cable towards the summit needle and clip into a bolt at the notch. |
| P7 | 5b+ | 15 m | 7 bolts | The edge of the pillar, exposed and fine, to a belay of five linked bolts on the north side just below the summit. |
Getting there
Montserrat monastery, reached by road from Monistrol (BP-1121) or by FGC train from Barcelona (Manresa line) connecting with the rack railway or the cable car. Camptocamp suggests parking just above the hairpin at the monastery toll, which it describes as free, and walking up through the car parks; a 2016 party paid €6.50 for the day in the monastery car park, which fills early at weekends.
15 minutes from the monastery. Follow the track towards Sant Miquel and very soon leave it for a staircase on the right, signed Fra Garí, then a path towards the Miranda de Fra Garí. You quickly reach the foot of a rock band with several starts, including single-pitch routes. The route starts at the left end of the band, just right of a vegetated gully; do not climb the bank on the left. The first bolt has a green paint mark below it.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Point from camptocamp waypoint 1365868 (La Granota)
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: 41.59093, 1.83652 (crag) · Parking: 41.59545, 1.83938
Getting down
By abseil, about 1 hour: from R7 to R6 bis, follow the cable and go down the ladder beside pitch 6, climb to the abseil station on the block above the narrowing, then R5 bis, R4, R3 and R2 bis; with 2×40 m you can skip R4. From the bottom follow the Fra Garí path, with its wooden fences, back to the track. On foot: after the first abseil to R6 bis, go down the ladders to the foot of the summit needle, then follow the cable up earthy gullies beside the needle for about 15 minutes to a viewpoint, and join the concrete track between Sant Joan and Sant Miquel. A 2025 party thought the walking exit took longer than two more abseils would have.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Camptocamp states that the belays are equipped for abseiling and abseiling the route is a normal descent. The pitches are short (8 to 30 m) and two of the breaks between them are on paths, so you can walk away after pitch 2 and again from the foot of the summit needle.
Safety
Sun and weather
East-facing between about 770 and 900 m, a few minutes above the monastery. A November 2025 party had full sun low down and shade on the last pitches. The first pitches were climbable in damp, misty weather in October 2021 when the north faces higher up were soaked.
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 (usual season) | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 6 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 7 |
| Mean daily low °C | −3 | −3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 1 | −2 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1072 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
Two 30 m ropes (or longer), 12 quickdraws plus a long extender, and a sling for the tree belay. 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 Pique Longue.
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.