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Escabroni Escapullini a la Miranda de Can Jorba, Montserrat, Spain

Publié le 17 October 2010 | Catalunya Eng, Spain

Discovery of a new climbing area with good exposure for winter climbing. On the south face of Montserrat, between Vinya Nova and Collbato, at Can Jorba and more precisely at the entrance to the Joc de l'Oca canal. The drawback, of course, is the crowds. There are a lot of people and the belay stations are jammed! The route is really accessible, with a beautiful, very aerial final pitch in a steady V+. It overlooks the southern plain of Montserrat, with a magnificent panorama from El Bruc to the sea. Other routes on the same rock include via Sol Solet (V) on the left and via Bego-Miguel-Kush (V) on the right. In short, it's worth coming back for a visit.

Technical summary

Access to the place

Take the A2 from Barcelona towards Leida and exit at Bruc. Go through the residential area and take a track through the forest and olive groves. Reach Can Jorba further west than Vinya Nova, the restaurant indicated on the track. There's an old building with a small parking lot under the trees, almost at the foot of the first cliffs.

Map & topo

Itinerary description

Hiking to the start 10'

From the parking lot, take the little path behind the house, which goes deep into the undergrowth. It climbs and you soon find yourself skirting the foot of the rock faces, even passing under them in places. Keep following the few yellow dots that indicate the way to the start of the Joc de l'Oca. The path then begins to climb up the bed of the Migdia torrent, filled with rocks to be climbed. After a 10-minute walk, you come to a small clearing where the Joc de l'Oca starts, continuing up the torrent. L'agulla de Can Jorba rises just to the left. The route starts a few metres higher up, under the trees. The leftmost start is for Sol Solet, and to the right for Escabroni Escapullini and Bego-Miguel-Kush (first 2 shared nails).

Course

The south-east-facing route, opened in 1989, is 125m long in 4 pitches (45m, 35m, 20m, 25m). The equipment is very good (bolts), but you'll need 12 quickdraws and a few extra lanyards. Maximum free climbing level V+.

L1 (45m, V/IV+)

The first steps under the trees are tricky in V, but once you're cold and past the small tree, it's easier (IV+). We quickly get out into the sun (if there is any!) and find 2 lines of nails from the 3rd point. Normally straight ahead is the B.M.K. and to the right the Escabroni. But on arrival at the first relay it's the same thing, as the 2 meetings are set 3 m apart. Comfortable belay with a landing area.

L2 (35m, IV+)

Go straight ahead and then, in the second part of the pitch, fork diagonally to the right to reach the belay placed in the trees. If you go right (B.M.K), you'll reach the same spot again. No major difficulty here either, with good holds and a crack to help. The belay is just as comfortable.

L3 (20m, V/IV+)

Exit the belay diagonally to the right. Above you can see the huge pyramid-shaped crack that we'll climb via the right-hand ridge in L4. An easy, pleasant traverse leads to an inclined dihedral and the belay just below the right-hand corner of the pyramid (you can skip this belay and do L3 and L4 in one go - 45m).

L4 (25m, V+)

This is the key pitch of the route. A fine, well-supported V+, very aerial and exposed above the overhang of the grande cassure. Climb up to pass on the right flank of the pyramid and then climb diagonally left along the edge to the summit. Gas as we like it and the belay is placed at the very top, almost on the summit of the pyramid which corresponds to the top of the miranda de Can Jorba.

Back

There's the temptation to abseil back down what you've just climbed (1st abseil into the void!), but the other option is to continue the needle via the Aresta Brucs de l'agulla de Can Jorba (100m), which makes the climb longer, but beware: the route is completely unequipped, and even if the level is easy (IV/III), the climbing is very exposed (3 possible points on the first 40 meters).