Spain · Escales (Ribagorça Pyrenees)
Boney M
A modern two-tier line above the Escales dam. Six pitches of slab and a well-protected 6a gully lead to the big ledge, and four more pitches of 5b wall reach the ridge.
6a10 pitches295 m
Xin Xan
Paret d'Escales · Escales (Ribagorça Pyrenees) · Spain
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium
Five long pitches of easy-angled, sculpted slab with pockets and small cracks, right beside the Escales dam. The climbing is steady 5a to 5b on very rough rock, with a steeper fractured wall to finish. It is the usual first multipitch on the wall.
- Hardest pitch
- 5c
- Pitches
- 5
- Length
- 200 m
- Approach
- 10 min
- Aspect
- SW
- South-west-facing
- Rope
- 2×60 m
Read before you go
A generously bolted beginners' route, but a few hangers have been removed and the last pitch has loose blocks.
The route
Overview
Xin Xan climbs the slabs in the middle of the lower wall, to the half-height ledge where the old path cut into the rock runs. Camptocamp recommends it as a homogeneous route and a good one for a first multipitch lead. The first impression is of a vegetated wall, but the line itself is on clean, very adherent rock. Approach and return are quick. Many parties continue up Boney M from the ledge.
The climbing
Pitch by pitch
5a5b5a4c5c
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5a | 40 m | 15 bolts | Straight up a sculpted, pocketed slab that steepens a little towards the belay. Closely bolted. Recent parties give 5b. |
| P2 | 5b | 35 m | 10 bolts | More of the same, slightly steeper, with a blocky section half-way. The bolts are further apart and one has been removed. |
| P3 | 5a | 50 m | 17 bolts | A long slab pitch broken by short bulges, then right to a belay on a terrace above a small orange wall. This is the pitch that lost most hangers. Lengths of 45 to 50 m are quoted. |
| P4 | 4c | 35 m | 5 bolts | A rising diagonal across steps and small walls to a belay near that of García-Gutiérrez. The diagonal is given left to right by some reports and right to left by others; follow the bolts. |
| P5 | 5c | 40 m | 11 bolts | Fractured steps, then a steeper wall on good holds to a ramp and the upper path. Some loose blocks: a 2013 party called the rock doubtful, a 2024 party found it better than its reputation. |
Getting there
Approach
To the parking
Sopeira is on the N-230 between Lleida and Pont de Suert/Vielha, about 14 km south of Pont de Suert. Turn into the village and take the small road down to the river and the hydro-electric power station. Park on the right beside the power station, just before the bridge; parking is forbidden on the far side of the bridge, and stonefall onto cars left close under the wall is frequent. You can also park at the small car park by the dam, on the left as you come out of a tunnel on the N-230.
On foot · about 10 min
10 minutes from the power station: cross the bridge, follow the river, pass the low wall and the ladder left of the power station entrance, and walk up the true left bank to the foot of the dam. The route is the third from the right and is marked XX at its foot; the chrome bolts are close together on the first pitch. From the dam car park instead, cross the dam, go down a metal ladder, pass an exposed step with a fixed rope and descend the staircase cut into the wall (about 20 minutes; exposed, with damaged steps and a wire handrail).
Map of the walk-in
- Crag
- Parking
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
42.32110, 0.74518
camptocamp access waypoint 473447 (Presa d'Escales)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 187969 (Paret d'Escales)
For your phone or watch
Download GPX
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: 42.32417, 0.74528 (crag) · Parking: 42.32110, 0.74518
Getting down
Descent
From the top of pitch 5 you are on the half-height ledge. On foot: Follow the ledge west towards the dam to the tunnel that slopes steeply down (a big chain hangs in it; take a head torch, and watch for iron spikes at the sides of the path). At the tunnel exit take the ledge to the right, with a handline, then a roped 'staircase', and come back left towards the dam. From there either go down the rock-cut staircase to the foot of the routes, or walk out along the dam to the main road and back to the village. By abseil: follow the exposed ledge towards the dam, pass one tunnel and reach a second with a metal beam fitted with rings, for a free-hanging abseil onto the dam. The route itself can also be abseiled.
Retreat
Bailing off the route
Bail with caveats
The route can be abseiled: a 2013 party found a ring at each belay with cord in place (a chain at R1), and a 2023 party chose it precisely because retreat is easy. The cord may need replacing, and pitches reach 50 m, so two ropes are needed. From the top you walk off.
- Retreat from
- Any belay.
- Point of no return
- None described.
- Carry
- Two ropes (pitches up to 50 m) and some cord or a maillon in case the in-situ tat is worn.
- Basis
- Part stated, part inferredAbseil rings and cord are from a 2013 camptocamp report; no recent report describes the stations in detail.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Hazards
- Three or four hangers are missing, mostly on pitch 3. Parties report the gaps are on easy ground.
- Loose blocks on the last pitch.
- The staircase and ledges used on the approach from the dam and on the walk-off are exposed; a lanyard for the cable is suggested.
- The tunnel is dark and has iron spikes at the sides.
- Stonefall is frequent near the bridge under the wall: do not park close to it.
Sun and weather
Conditions
South-west facing; the foot of the neighbouring route gets the sun around midday in March. When the dam is releasing water the foot of the wall is soaked by spray and can be unreachable from below. Xin Xan stays dry when its neighbour García-Gutiérrez is seeping.
Usual season · Mar to May, Oct to Nov
JFMAMJJASOND
Sun on the wall · SW-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
- January: not yet worked out
- February: not yet worked out
- March (usual season): not yet worked out
- April (usual season): not yet worked out
- May (usual season): not yet worked out
- June: not yet worked out
- July: not yet worked out
- August: not yet worked out
- September: not yet worked out
- October (usual season): not yet worked out
- November (usual season): not yet worked out
- December: not yet worked out
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 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 12 | 9 |
| Mean daily low °C | −1 | −1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 3 | −0 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 7 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 752 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
17 quickdraws on the French camptocamp page (12 on the Spanish one; the longest pitch has 17 bolts). 2×60 m ropes if you plan to abseil; a 2023 party climbed on a single rope and walked off. Head torch and, some suggest, gloves for the tunnel.
Checklist
- Quickdraws
- 17
- Rope
- 2×60 m
- Helmet
- One each
- Abseil device and prusik
- The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
- Maillons or spare karabiners
- To leave behind if you retreat
- Cord
- Mentioned for 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 Xin Xan.
Worth knowing
Tips
- A party taking a beginner allowed about 30 minutes per pitch.
- If you are parked in the village, walking back along the main road from the end of the dam avoids the staircase.
- Boney M continues from the ledge above for a longer day.
Open questions
Where sources disagree
- Pitch grades: camptocamp's table gives 5a, 5b, 5a, 4c, 5c (used here); reports from 2024 to 2026 give 5b for the first four pitches. Eskalatzen (2011) gives 4b for pitch 4.
- Pitch lengths: camptocamp 40, 35, 50, 35, 40 m (200 m); Eskalatzen 40, 35, 45, 25, 45 m (190 m).
- Bolt counts: camptocamp 15, 10, 17, 5, 11; Eskalatzen (2011) 15, 10, 16, 5, 11. Both predate or ignore the removed hangers.
- Quickdraws: 17 (French page) against 12 (Spanish page).
Provenance
Sources
- Camptocamp – Paret d'Escales: Xin XanUsed for: pitch table, bolt counts, approach, descent, gear, history, removed hangers
- Camptocamp – trip reports 2013–2026 (outings 1646712, 1537260, 1698593, 1904936, 437753)Used for: missing hangers, last-pitch rock, abseil rings, road return, timing
- Eskalatzen – Sopeira, Xin XanUsed for: independent pitch lengths, bolt counts and descriptions, dam approach
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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.