Pared del Ibón, Baños de Panticosa · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys) · Spain
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
A mountain-style line on dark, weathered granite twenty-five minutes above the spa of Baños de Panticosa. It links ramps, a short overhanging break, slabs and a rounded boulder, with one well-bolted 5c move and the rest 4b to 5b. The rock between the good sections is earthy and lichenous, but the friction is excellent and the bolting generous.
The route
Vía del Ibón climbs a broken granite wall above the Argualas stream, on the way to the Garmo Negro from the Casa de Piedra hut at Baños de Panticosa. The openers, the Sendero Límite team, followed the lines of weakness to join up the best rock, so some stretches are still earthy. The fourth and fifth pitches, the 'Black Plak' and the 'Pine Plak', are the best, and the crux is a move at the exit of the fifth. Seven pitches of 30 to 40 m lead to rounded slopes from which you walk down. The base is at about 1720 m and the top near 2000 m, so it is the least alpine route in this group, but it faces the sun and sits in a high Pyrenean cirque.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5b | 35 m | 10 bolts | A succession of more or less earthy steps on an easy-angled spur to a short, well-bolted dark corner. Climb it trending left to an earthy platform and take the ramp to a belay on two bolts with rings. |
| P2 | 5b | 30 m | 8 bolts | Follow the hanging ramp, a little dusty, to a slightly overhanging broken zone on positive holds. Climb into it and leave it on the left to a cluttered ramp and a belay on a rock outcrop. One thread as well as the bolts. A variant with a fixed rope avoids the loose gully at the end (2024 report). |
| P3 | 4b | 35 m | 6 bolts | Continue up the ramp, past a dark corner with a good left handhold, to the foot of an obvious spur on the right. |
| P4 | 5a | 40 m | 13 bolts | Leave the belay on the right and cross a small gully onto a mossy slab that grips surprisingly well. Gain the foot of the 'Black Plak' and climb it. A 2022 party noted an unstable block at the start in the gully. |
| P5 | 5c | 40 m | 15 bolts | A step left off the belay, another over a short pale wall on rounded undercut holds, then a steeper slab called the 'Pine Plak'. Belay on 'La Balle', a big rounded boulder, or a few metres higher at an alternative two-bolt belay below the step with the pine. One party grades the hard move 5c+. |
| P6 | 4c | 40 m | 9 bolts | Climb the step above the upper belay and follow the gully as it steepens to a belay on two bolts with one ring. |
| P7 | 4a | 40 m | 3 bolts | A grassy ramp broken by rock steps, with three bolts and a thread, to a single-bolt belay. |
Getting there
Baños de Panticosa (1630 m) is at the head of the Tena valley in Huesca province, 8 km above the village of Panticosa by a mountain road from the A-136 between Biescas and the Portalet pass. Park at the car park beside the Refugio Casa de Piedra.
From the car park take the path of the normal route to the Garmo Negro. Below the Fuente de la Laguna shelter take the track that leads to the stream (barranco de Argualas) and cross it on a footbridge of two metal girders. A marked, cairned path leads to the foot of the wall. Do not stop at the first route, whose bolts you see in a corner on the right: it is harder and does not finish. Continue 50 to 80 m to the start, marked by the openers' usual strip of faded webbing with the route name. Camptocamp gives 25 minutes; parties took 18 to 46 minutes and regularly lose the path.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Baños de Panticosa (camptocamp waypoint 131736); the car park is beside the Refugio Casa de Piedra
Point from camptocamp route 1337894 point, which agrees with the high point of the GPS track attached to the route (42.7591, -0.2436); the generic crag waypoint 771276 for the Baños lies 800 m further north
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: 42.75897, -0.24308 (crag) · Parking: 42.75957, -0.23461
Getting down
On foot: from the last belay follow the line of cairns that winds over the rounded slopes to the path from the Ordicuso lakes, marked blue and white. Follow it down to the Malata Baja de Argualas and the Garmo Negro path, and so back to the Baños. Camptocamp allows 45 to 50 minutes; a 2026 party ran down in 25. Camptocamp also says the route can be abseiled.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Camptocamp says the route can be descended by abseil, and the first six belays are two bolts with rings. The pitches are 30 to 40 m, so the single 50 m rope the route is normally climbed on is not enough to abseil them. The line also follows ramps and traverses on the first two pitches, where ropes will not hang straight.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South to south-east facing: it takes the sun early and holds it through the middle of the day, and in late July a party found it in the shade from about 15:00, which made it pleasant in a heatwave. Reports run from mid-June to mid-September. In June the streams are in spate with snowmelt, but the wall itself was dry. The granite is dark with lichen and moss in places and still grips well when dry.
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 (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys) are not available yet
What to carry
15 quickdraws, a single 50 m rope and a helmet. Cams and nuts are of no use.
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 Vía del Ibón.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
Varied, sustained limestone of chimneys, dihedrals and compact fluted slabs high above the Tena valley. Bearded-vulture nesting closes the face from 1 Dec to 31 Jul unless lifted early, so check montanaregulada.org.
6a+10 pitches265 m
Read the cautions
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
A long, mostly easy slab-and-dihedral route with a single 6a slab on pitch 6, in a fine setting facing away from Candanchú. Wait about 30 h after rain because the lower gully drains water.
6a15 pitches400 m
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
High-mountain granite slabs and dihedrals above the Panticosa spa. Three 6a cruxes mix friction slab with a short flaky roof on pitch 7.
6a9 pitches300 m
Read the cautions
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
Ten short pitches of easy-angled Panticosa granite beside the Caldarés stream, twenty minutes from the car. Mostly friction slabs at 4b to 5a linked by walking-angle ground, with one polished bulge given 5b on the topo. A very gentle first granite multipitch, and a climbing approach to the walls above.
5b10 pitches220 m
Around 5c · about 7 pitches
France · Vanoise (Grand Bec)
A short, sunny high-mountain route at 2800 m in the Vanoise: five 25 to 30 m pitches of 4b to 5b with one or two moves of 5c that can be pulled through, then an easy scramble. The bolting is generous enough that parties with little experience enjoy it. The setting, below the south-west face of the Grand Bec, is the reason to walk up.
5c6 pitches180 m
Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
The easiest multi-pitch on Kokkinovrachos, following the easy-angled arête and pillar above Leonidio, with tufas, crimpy walls and a great view of the town. Rock is good apart from the scrappy P2–P3.
5c+7 pitches175 m
France · Sainte-Victoire
A sunny winter route on Sainte-Victoire's south-side socle. The highlight is a beautiful marbled slab on L5, and a stiff move off the last belay can be aided on a sling. Bring long slings to manage rope drag around the trees.
5c+7 pitches180 m
Switzerland · Susten
Relaxed, low-angle granite slab climbing on small edges, 15 minutes from the Sustenpass road. It makes an ideal first alpine-granite multipitch.
5b+7 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.