Peña Cigal, south-west face (left side, second line right of the big roofs, just right of Amigos) · Liébana (Peña Cigal) · Spain
Long, sustained 6a pitches of slab, cracks and corners, then a technical 6c wall of small crimps on the third pitch, on the left side of the Peña Cigal wall. Stainless bolts and ringed belays throughout. Above the first pitch it is an autumn-only route because of nesting vultures.
Climbing mode: Big type, screen kept awake, tick pitches as you go.
Highest point about 1300 m above sea level (estimate: terrain height at the mapped point).
Included as an exception: well bolted with ringed belays, but by law only pitch 1 may be climbed until 1 September (or the end of breeding), so the full route is for autumn only.
6cVIII-5.11b4 pitches · 150 mEasy to bail
Sicigias is the second line of bolts right of the big roofs on the left side of Peña Cigal's south-west face, starting just right of Amigos. It has four pitches, about 150 m: two long, sustained 6a pitches of slab, corners and cracks, a technical 6c wall of small crimps that you have to read, and a 5c corner pitch to a ledge below the Vira. It is fully bolted in stainless steel with abseil rings on every belay. The exception to the atlas rules is access: under the Cantabrian federation's 2019 nesting rules you may climb only the first pitch until 1 September or the end of the breeding season, so the full route is an autumn climb.
The atlas doesn't show topos: they are the work of the people who bolt and document these routes. See the topo at Grupo de Montaña Altai – Peña Cigal topo (pared central), or in Peña Cigal: photo topo and route list (central wall).
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6aVI+5.10a | 50 m | A long, sustained 6a pitch. A delicate slab (6a direct) leads to small ledges below a steep corner with good holds, on the boundary between grassy, broken rock on the right and compact slab on the left. Athletic moves out of the corner, a channel slightly left, a long step right onto a slab (6a), then a delicate traverse right on broken rock (5c; test holds) and elegant slab moves up and right to the belay at the foot of a corner. The cracks are filling with vegetation (2015). This is the only pitch open before 1 September. |
| P2 | 6aVI+5.10a | 40 m | Up the corner above the belay, out onto compact slab with excellent holds to a grassy ledge (5b), steep long moves right into a short corner (5c), then a very elegant, vertical slab on small edges (6a). Easier but more delicate rock leads diagonally left to ledges at the foot of a gully and the belay shared with Amigos. |
| P3 | 6cVIII-5.11b | 30 m | The crux: the compact, vertical slab above the belay, sustained on small crimps and very technical, with the hardest move at the top of the wall. Then a delicate 3 m traverse left into a channel between blocks, where the holds get bigger but the rock is fractured (6a/5c), to a big grassy platform. |
| P4 | 5cVI5.9 | 30 m | A slab with big pockets into a perfect right-angled corner (5c), a harder move out right (6a) onto ledges and ramps of less compact rock, then a short corner to the last belay (5b). Graded V+ by the Altai topo and La Garafa. About 15 m of easy ramps and ledges (2b) continue to the Vira; do not go up there in the nesting season. |
Potes is the nearest town. From Potes take the CA-184 towards the Piedrasluengas pass as far as Pesaguero and turn off for Caloca (from the south, cross the Piedrasluengas pass from Cervera de Pisuerga). Just before Caloca, at the bend after the El Cigal apartments, a dirt track leaves on the right; park beside it after about 100 m.
About 30 minutes. Walk on up the track about 250 m to a junction, take the small path into the wood opposite, then climb the slope towards the face on the most-used path. Follow the foot of the face leftwards past the big roofs: Amigos is the first line of bolts after the roofs and Sicigias starts a few metres to its right and slightly lower.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Coordinates · crag
Point from camptocamp summit waypoint 1934281 (Peña Cigal); the route is on the south-west face below this point
Contains the route point.
Points from published sources, not surveyed.
Coordinates: 43.05462, -4.56012 (crag)
Abseil. The equippers say to abseil the route and link into the Amigos belays: five abseils of 30 m, or 60, 60 and 30 m on two 60 m ropes. La Garafa gives R4 to R2 (60 m), R2 to Amigos R1 (60 m) and Amigos R1 to the ground (30 m). From the Vira, about 15 m above R4, there is also an abseil line (50, 50 and 30 m) starting beside the last belay. Until 1 September walking down the Vira and the alternative abseil line between Sicigias and Amigos are both banned, but in that period you may not climb above pitch 1 anyway. The equippers warn against abseiling down the Amigos gully itself because of rockfall.
Easy to bail
Every belay has abseil rings and abseiling is the normal descent, so you can retreat from any stance. The lower abseils link into the Amigos belays; on two 60 m ropes the sequence is about 60, 60 and 30 m from R4.
16 quickdraws and two 60 m ropes (the equippers recommend climbing on double 60 m ropes and you need both for the abseils). Helmet. The equippers' page also lists 'material para dos reuniones' (gear for two belays), a line that appears on all their route posts; no source describes a belay that needs it, and every belay has rings. Nothing beyond quickdraws is needed for protection: the exception on this route is the seasonal closure.
South-west-facing limestone below the 1532 m summit of Peña Cigal, in the afternoon sun. A vulture colony nests on the face: under the Cantabrian federation's 2019 notice (based on Cantabria's nature conservation law) only pitch 1 may be climbed until 1 September or the end of breeding, so plan the full route for September and October. The equippers put the nesting season at roughly early February to late September, so read the sign at the car park before you go; a July 2026 party saw one saying some routes are closed. The last detailed ascent report found is from October 2015, and a 2021 report on a neighbouring route said the face is now little climbed, which does not help cleaning.
Forecast · next 7 days · 1300 m
Loading the forecast.
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| High °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rain mm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chance of rain % | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strongest gusts km/h | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Model forecast for 1300 m. It cannot tell you whether the rock is dry. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Time plan · 4 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 · SW-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 | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 6 |
| Mean daily low °C | −2 | −2 | −0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 1 | −1 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 13 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 1316 m; rain is for a 10–25 km grid cell. Weather and climate data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
No reports yet.
Spain · Liébana (Peña Cigal)
Sustained 5c to 6a climbing on grey limestone slabs, cracks and corners at the left end of the Peña Cigal wall, with short harder sections up to 6b. The hardest move is the first one off the ground. Bolted in stainless steel and abseiled from every belay.
6bVII5.10c6bVII5.10c5 pitches140 m
Spain · Liébana (Peña Cigal)
Six pitches up the big characteristic corner of Peña Cigal, with a 50 m third pitch that steepens to a 6c+ finish (A0 on two bolts and a peg). The rest is sustained 6a to 6b on good rock. Stainless bolts and ringed belays throughout.
6c+VIII-5.11c6c+VIII-5.11c6 pitches200 m
Spain · Liébana (Peña Cigal)
The hard neighbour of Greim: a perfect corner and a technical roof traverse (7a) on pitch 2, then a sustained, airy slab of 6b+ to 7a, before joining Greim for three pitches of 6a to 6b. The obligatory grade is 6b, so the 7a moves can be aided on the bolts.
7aVIII5.11d7aVIII5.11d6 pitches
Read the cautions
Around 6c · about 4 pitches
Italy · Sardinia
The harder classic on the Goloritzè spire: compact grey walls and smooth water-drop slabs at 6b to 6b+, then a 6c scoop and an airy finish to a tiny summit above the turquoise bay. Shaded, technical and on the feet.
6cVIII-5.11b6cVIII-5.11b4 pitches135 m
Greece · Meteora
A short, steep and very well-protected line up the middle of The Bell's smooth south-west wall, on typical Meteora cobbles. Three sustained pitches of 6a to 6a+ lead to a short 6c bulge that goes at A0. An unusually reassuring introduction to Meteora conglomerate.
6cVIII-5.11b6cVIII-5.11b4 pitches100 m
Read the cautions
France · Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
A short, sustained and very steep limestone line at the back of the Cirque du Bout du Monde. Four pitches of technical, hard-to-read wall climbing on sharp, grippy rock, with the crux on the third pitch. The grades on the local topo are widely considered stiff.
6cVIII-5.11b6cVIII-5.11b4 pitches120 m
Read the cautions
Bosnia and Herzegovina · Spijonik (Visočica)
A new four-pitch sport route on the tallest section of a remote limestone wall high on the Visočica range, with corners, cracks, small roofs and bulges. It is sustained in the 6a to 6b+ range, and the last pitch has a 6c crux: an overhanging, wide block that you pass with slaps and a knee bar.
6cVIII-5.11b6cVIII-5.11b4 pitches100 m
Read the cautions
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.