Mallos de Agüero, east face · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos) · Spain
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
The steeper neighbour of Tierra de Naide on the east face above Agüero, with five pitches of 25 to 31 m that change direction often. Pitches 2, 4 and 5 give sustained vertical conglomerate at 5b to 5c, with a slightly overhanging finish on small holds. Very well bolted, but several parties warn of hollow flakes and loose cobbles.
The route
A five-pitch route up the right-hand spur of the east face of the Mallos de Agüero, the quieter conglomerate towers across the Gállego from Riglos. It was opened in 2018 by the team behind Sendero Límite on Peña Rueba and has the same close bolting. It is a little longer, steeper and more sustained than Tierra de Naide next door, with the best climbing on pitches 2, 4 and 5. The east face gets the first sun and loses it late in the morning. The catch is the rock: recent parties describe hollow-sounding flakes and blocks that move, so climb gently and wear a helmet.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4c | 25 m | 9 bolts | An easy-angled slab that steepens and curves left to the first belay. Nine bolts and one thread. |
| P2 | 5c | 31 m | 14 bolts | A wall left of the belay for about 20 m (5c), then a rising traverse up the grey streak (4a to 5b) to a belay on its left. The Spanish camptocamp text gives 35 m and 13 bolts. |
| P3 | 4b | 25 m | 7 bolts | A rising traverse to the squeeze beside the big crack that splits the face. Seven bolts, plus one thread in the Spanish text. |
| P4 | 5b | 30 m | 9 bolts | Traverse right from the belay across the wall to the middle of the face, then straight up. Sustained; several parties found this the best pitch and a touch harder than the last. Two old threads on cobbles remain beside the bolts. The belay is hidden in a recess under the final steepening; do not stop at a poor belay lower down on the left, above a bush and a big loose flake. |
| P5 | 5c | 30 m | 10 bolts | A slightly overhanging start on small holds that look fragile (5c), then easier climbing (5a) straight to the summit at about 895 m. |
Getting there
From Huesca take the A-132 towards Ayerbe and Murillo de Gállego; about 1 km before Murillo turn left on the Z-534 to Agüero. As you reach Agüero take the road on the right to the east car park at the entrance to the village (about 725 m).
About 25 minutes. From the car park take the path beside the information board for the 'Vuelta a los Mallos de Agüero', which climbs north-east on the right bank of the stream bed and then enters the side valley. At about 760 m it crosses to the left bank and turns north; by 795 m the east face is in view, with its deep crack between two spurs. The path crosses back to the right bank; 50 m further, at about 800 m, take the cairned track on the left, then a second track left across the slope through bushes (cairn) to the foot of the spur. The start is marked with a tag bearing the route name at the first bolt.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Point from camptocamp waypoint 1160100 (Mallos d'Agüero)
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: 42.35920, -0.79598 (crag)
Getting down
On foot. From the summit go north, keeping just left of the crest, to a cairned notch at the top of a steep gully-chimney. A 3 m cable lets you traverse into the line of the chimney, where abseil rings or a chain protect the first chimney. A doubled rope and a knotted rope help you down the second chimney, and a third is down-climbed by bridging. At the foot of the gully a path through the box scrub follows the base of the walls rightwards back to the approach path. The belays on the route are also equipped for abseiling.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The belays are equipped for abseiling, so you can retreat from any of them, but you need two ropes because the pitches are 25 to 31 m. The line wanders, with traverses on pitches 2, 3 and 4, so abseils will not follow the pitches exactly.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
East-facing at about 800 to 900 m. In winter the lower part is in the sun only until about 10:30 and it is cool in the shade afterwards (February 2024 party). It dries fast and catches the morning sun, so parties use it the day after a storm. Outings are logged from September to June; camptocamp gives March to June and September to October as the best months for Agüero.
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 (usual season) | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 9 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 18 | 12 | 9 |
| Mean daily low °C | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 612 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
14 quickdraws plus belay gear. A 50 m rope is enough for the climb and the gully descent (camptocamp says 2×30 m just works, and is tight on pitch 3); take 2×60 m if you plan to abseil the route. Helmet. No cams or nuts needed.
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 Tierra de Todos.
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.