Multipitch Atlas

Sierra Slabs

High Sierra Dome · Tafraout (Anti-Atlas) · Morocco

Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: high

Two easy friction pitches, one short and vicious boulder move, a pleasant grade 5 slab and a pitch up the perched summit block of a granite dome. Not sustained, and the 6c move is usually pulled on the bolts, but it is one of the very few fully bolted four-pitch routes at Tafraout and combines well with a neighbour.

The High Sierra Dome among the granite tors south of Tafraout, photographed by a party that had just climbed itPhoto: Lulu002 · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Photo

The High Sierra Dome among the granite tors south of Tafraout, photographed by a party that had just climbed itPhoto: Lulu002 · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Hardest pitch
6c
Pitches
4
Length
105 m
Approach
–
Aspect
S
South-facing
Rope
2×50 m for the abseil from the third belay
a single rope if you walk off
Read before you go

Fully bolted, but the 6c boulder start to pitch 3 is hard to protect or aid for shorter climbers and the summit abseil anchor needed a second maillon in late 2025.

The route

Overview

Sierra Slabs is the left-hand bolted line on the classic face of the High Sierra Dome, one of the granite domes south of Tafraout, just before the steep Back Side wall. It gives 105 m in four pitches: two easy slabs to ledges, a third pitch that starts with a single hard move and continues as a good grade 5 slab, and a last pitch up the perched summit block. The guidebook grade for the third pitch is 5c; repeat parties put the opening move at about 6c, probably after holds broke, with 5c obligatory. Reports from late 2025 and early 2026 agree on a pleasant, undemanding outing spoiled only by that move.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeNotes
P14bA short friction slab to a belay on a ledge. Camptocamp gives 4b, Vertical Pirate grade 4.
P23More of the same and easier, to the ledge below the steep step.
P36cOne hard bouldery move off the ledge, poorly bolted for anyone under about 1.70 m, then a good grade 5 slab rising leftwards to a belay on the abseil chain. A November 2025 party found three bolts close together at the start and went through on aid. Graded 5c in the guidebook.
P45aA pleasant pitch up the perched summit block. You abseil back down it (about 15 m).

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

Tafraout is in the Anti-Atlas, about three hours by road from Agadir, where most visiting climbers fly in and hire a car. The High Sierra Dome is in the granite country south of the town, in the same group as High Tor. Parking and the walk in are shown in the Tafraout Granite guidebook; the sources read here do not describe them.

On foot

The sources give no time or directions beyond saying the approach is by sight. The route starts on a block at the foot of the face, at the left end of the classic sector.

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag

Loading map

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

Coordinates · crag

29.69643, -8.98041

Point from camptocamp waypoint 1740319 (High Sierra Dome)

For your phone or watch

Download GPX

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.

Getting down

Descent

Abseil about 15 m off the summit block to the third belay. From there either abseil into the Back Side sector (one abseil of 50 m, or two of 25 m) or walk off. A November 2025 party abseiled the block and walked down.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

The route is short and the first two pitches are easy slabs ending on ledges, so backing off low down is simple. The third belay is on the chain used for the 50 m abseil into the Back Side sector, which is part of the normal descent. Rigging of the first two belays is not described.

Retreat from
The third belay (50 m abseil or two of 25 m, stated). The ledges after pitches 1 and 2 (inferred).
Point of no return
None. If the first move of pitch 3 will not go, you are still on the ledge at the second belay.
Carry
Two 50 m ropes for the abseil from the third belay, or walk off. A maillon for the lower belays.
Basis
Part stated, part inferredThe abseil from the third belay is stated by Vertical Pirate; retreat from the lower ledges is inferred from the pitch descriptions.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • A fall from the first move of pitch 3 could land you back on the ledge; aiding it is not straightforward for shorter climbers.
  • The summit-block abseil anchor had only one maillon on one of its two bolts in November 2025.
  • Coarse granite: crystals and small holds can break, which is the likely reason for the regrade of pitch 3.
  • Another bolted line on the dome has been stripped of its bolts; make sure you are on the left-hand route.

Sun and weather

Conditions

South-facing granite at about 1,160 m, climbed from October to April. The reports are from November and January, both in fine weather with some wind. No source gives drying or shade details.

Usual season · Jan to Apr, Oct to Dec

Sun on the wall · S-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 (Moroccan time), for the 15th of each month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean daily high °C161720232630353530252016
Mean daily low °C67911141823231815107
Rain days 1 mm or more345222243334

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1082 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

Quickdraws only; no number is published. Two 50 m ropes if you want the single 50 m abseil from the third belay; otherwise walk off. Carry a maillon or two for the summit-block anchor. A stick-clip is suggested for shorter climbers on pitch 3. Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws
Number not given in the sources
Rope
2×50 m for the abseil from the third belay; a single rope if you walk off
Helmet
One each
Abseil device and prusik
The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Maillons or spare karabiners
To leave behind if you retreat

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 Sierra Slabs.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • Allow about 1.5 hours.
  • Combine it with another route on the dome, or continue along Skyline Ridge, a three-pitch bolted link to High Tor (5c).
  • Vertical Pirate publishes a hand-drawn topo of the line.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Pitch 3: 5c in the guidebook according to Vertical Pirate; both camptocamp and Vertical Pirate give about 6c for the first move, with 5c obligatory.
  • Bolting of that move: Vertical Pirate and a January 2026 report say the first bolt is too high; a November 2025 party describes three bolts very close together at the start and aided through. Both agree the move is hard.
  • Pitch 1: 4b on camptocamp, grade 4 on Vertical Pirate.
  • Camptocamp's summary calls the route 'four pitches, more or less bolted' while rating it P1+; Vertical Pirate calls it entirely bolted.

Provenance

Sources

Same area

More in Tafraout (Anti-Atlas)

All routes in Tafraout (Anti-Atlas)
Leading a granite slab pitch of The Silk Road on the Second Dome of Tazka.

Morocco · Tafraout (Anti-Atlas)

The Silk Road

Bolted granite slabs to the top of a dome above the Tafraout valley, with a hand-traverse across a gully on pitch 3. Short, but a rest day from trad in an area that is otherwise almost all cams.

5c4 pitches95 m

A view of the region, not this route's wall. Leading a granite slab pitch of The Silk Road on the Second Dome of Tazka.

Morocco · Tafraout (Anti-Atlas)

ZZ

Four short, varied pitches up the rounded spur of a striking granite monolith just behind Tafraout: a technical slab, a corner-chimney, an awkward chimney and a fine slab on the crest to a real summit. Graded 5c in the guidebook, but the first pitch has lost holds and is now about 6b free; it goes on the bolts at the original grade.

6b4 pitches60 m

Read the cautions

Around 6c · about 4 pitches

Similar elsewhere

The Aguglia di Goloritzè, the 140 m limestone spire above Cala Goloritzè, seen from the approach path with the Gulf of Orosei behind.

Italy · Sardinia

Sole Incantatore

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.

6c4 pitches135 m

The Paredón de los Alcoyanos on the Cabeçó d'Or in evening light, seen from the pines on the approach. Delicatessen is on this wall; the line is not marked.

Spain · Costa Blanca (Cabeçó d'Or)

Delicatessen

Delicate, technical wall climbing on small edges up a detached pillar and then the magnificent grey headwall above the hanging garden of the Paredón de los Alcoyanos. Sustained at 6b and above with little rest for the feet, and bolted as a sport route. A step across the void from the top of the pillar is the route's oddity.

6c5 pitches160 m

The Schneekar cirque and the north side of the Treffauer in the Wilder Kaiser; the route climbs the lower rocks of this flank, but the exact line is not marked.

Austria · Wilder Kaiser

Via Max

A short alpine sport route in the Schneekar that steepens as it goes: a scrambling start, fine water runnels on rough rock, then a smooth slab into an overhang on pitch 4. The crux is UIAA 7 to 7+ and can be aided on the bolts.

6c5 pitches180 m

The Drusenfluh massif from the north, seen from Rellseck above Bartholomäberg. The Gelbeck is a buttress low on this side of the mountain above the Gauertal; the wall and the line are not identified in this view.

Austria · Rätikon (Montafon)

Alchemist

Starts up an inclined slab at the lowest point of the Gelbeck, climbs three long, easier pitches through the front spur to a sloping ledge, then finishes with two very steep wall pitches on sharp solution pockets that most parties climb with a few aid moves.

6c5 pitches200 m

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.