Overview
Torozo seen across Puerto del Pico |
Torozo is the westernmost summit of the
Macizo Oriental, the eastern part of
Sierra de Gredos. It towers above
Puerto del Pico, the road pass, which separates it from
Macizo Central. Like all of
Sierra de Gredos it is made up from beautiful granite, which makes it one of the main climbing attractions in the range. There are three summits, positioned in a triangle, the highest of which is
Torozo North. The other two are
Torozo South (also called
El Torozo or
Espolon de la Hora), and
La Albujea (also
La Pared de Alberjal), the south-west summit. The summits are connected by ridges with
La Albujea separated by a saddle.
Again, like most of the summits on the
Sierra de Gredos main ridge,
El Torozo’s aspect is utterly different when viewed from the north or the south. While to the north, it sends out a steep slope, to the south massive walls of up to 400m height drop almost vertically into Valle de las Cinco Villas (valley of the five villages:
Mombeltran,
Santa Cruz del Valle,
San Esteban,
Villarejo and
Cuevas del Valle). Both sides are popular, the northern one among hikers who reach
Torozo Nord by a circular route, the southern one among climbers who can choose among the roughly 80 routes of up to 250m and difficulty up to 7c+. The granite is very compact and short access from
Puerto del Pico adds to the popularity of the mountain in both respects. Also, many of the easier climbing routes can be seen as practice routes, ensuring that
Torozo, together with the towers of
Los Galayos is among the best known climbing locations of the Iberian Peninsula.
La Albujea, the south-western summit, is much more compact than its higher brethren. At its base, up to about half its height, it is nearly devoid of features like ledges or fissures. Therefore much of its climbing is friction based. The
Torozo summits on the other hand offer a lot of chimneys, dihedrals and ledges, which facilitate climbing but impede orientation. Also, depending on usage and wear, they can be covered in dirt.
Although they form one massif,
La Albujea,
El Torozo and
Torozo North are clearly separated by two big gullies, which lead to the south-west and south respectively and which offer access to the climbing routes. The first one divides
La Albujea from
Torozo North while the second separates
Torozo North from
El Torozo. On
La Albujea the routes range from V+ to 7a+/7b, with the majority at 6b/6c. There is bolted protection which, however is scarce and old. On
El Torozo the itineraries range between V and 7a+, with the fissure and dihedral routes between V+ and 6b. Protection is even more scarce but there are plentiful options to place your own equipment.
Torozo North offers routes between V and 6c, with very little fixed protection.
Also, a herd of male
Gredos Ibexes has chosen Torozo’s summit slopes as a home, offering great opportunities to the nature oriented photographer. The ibex (Capra pyrenaica victoriae) is protected all over Spain and the males won’t be bothered by human visitors. During kidding season, female ibexes are more nervous but they are still curious enough to check you out if you don’t perform any quick movements
Historical significance of Puerto del Pico
The Roman Road at Puerto del Pico
As mentioned above, the
Torozo Massif towers above
Purto del Pico. The pass has been an important trade route between the two
Castillas (today
Castile and León and
Extramadura). Even in the time of
Celts and
Vettones (a pre-Roman people living in the area) it was known and used. During the time of the Roman conquest of the Iberian peninsula a road was built, the remains of which can be seen near the pass even today. After having undergone conservation, the Roman Road is in excellent shape between
Cuevas del Valle in the south and
Puerto del Pico up north.
While the original road was built for strategic reasons, to facilitate the conquest of the peninsula, later it became a trade route and was used for transhumance between the north and the meadows of
Extramadura and
Andalucia in the south. In consequence a vast network of paths and roads was established, offering easy access to the south while diminishing the confusion of large flocks mingling with each other. Even today – while transhumance appears a thing of the past – large flocks of livestock can sometimes be observed near
Puerto del Pico.
Climbing Routes
Torozo south face, where all climbing routes run
As you can see from the tables below, there are a lot of climbing routes on the south pointing faces of
Torozo. The routes have been compiled using the Desnivel publication (#1. under "Maps & Books") Here is a short summary:
- Average route length: 200mm
- Maximum route length: 380 m
- Number of Routes: approx. 80
- Routes up to V: 15
- Routes between V+ and 6c+: 70
- Routes above 7: 15
- Best time: Spring and autumn
El Torozo Routes
The routes onto the Torozo north and south summits are classical short granite routes in an alpine environment. They make use of dihedrals and fissures. There are five different sectors as listed below
Sector 1
Nº | Name | Height | Difficulty | First Ascent |
1 | Cada vez que ladras cobras | 200 meters | L1:V/6a, L2:V, L3:V, L4:V, L5:6a, L6:V, L7:6a, L8:IV+, L. | |
2 | Espolón oeste | 200 meters | L1:V+/6a, L2:IV, L3:V, L4:V, L5:IV, L6:6a, L7:6a+ | |
3 | Pan con membrillo | 200 meters | L1:V, L2:IV+, L3:V, L4:V, L5:V, L6:V, L7:6aL8:IV+ | June 1980 by Anastasio Viejo and Jose Manuel Vilches |
4 | Fisura sinuosa | 200 meters | L1:IV+, L2:IV, L3:V, L4:IV, L5:IV, L6:IV+ | |
5 | Vía del friend nº1 | 200 meters | L1:IV+, L2:V, L3:IV, L4:V, L5:V, L6:V, L7:IV, L8:IV, L9 | March 1982 by Tino Nuñez, Guiñales and Goli Serrano. |
Sector 2
Nº | Name | Height | Difficulty | First Ascent |
1 | Teorema discontínuo | 150 meters | L1:6a+, resto máx. V+/6a | |
2 | Mono de birra | 150 meters | L1:6a+, L2:6a, L3:6a, L4:6b | |
3 | Cara niña | 150 meters | L1:V-, L2:V+, L3:V, L4:6a+, L5:IV+, L6:IV | 04-09-1982 by Jose Luis Arias and Rafael Hidalgo |
4 | Doble cara mortal | 150 meters | L1:V+/A0, L2:V/A0, L3:6a/A0, L4:6a/A0, L5:IV+, L6:IV+, L | 20-03-1983 by Jose Luis Arias, Rafael Hidalgo and Rafael Valero |
5 | Cara cartón | 150 meters | L1:6b/A0, L2:V+, L3:6a, L4:IV, L5:IV | 29-01-1983 by Jose Luis Arias and Francisco Burdalo |
6 | Muñecas de porcelana | 150 meters | L1:A1/6a, L2:6a, L3:IV+, L4:V 7 | |
7 | Variante por la cara | 80 meters | IV+, IV+, V, IV | Spring 1983 by Jose Luis Arias and Rafael Hidalgo |
8 | Variante monchoman | 150 meters | L1:V, L2:V | |
Sector 3
Nº | Name | Height | Difficulty | First Ascent |
1 | Pan con membrillo | 200 meters | | |
2 | Fisura sinuosa | 200 meters | | |
3 | Campomanes/Martín | 200 meters | L1:IV, L2:IV+, L3:IV, L4:III, L5:V+, L6:6a, L7:IV, L8:IV | |
4 | Un viaje desconocido | 200 meters | L1:IV+, L2:V, L3:V, L4:III, L5:V+, L6:IV, L7:IV | April 1986 by Gabriel Martín, Jaime Garrigós, Angeles, Juan José Fernández and Belén Molina. |
5 | Vía del friend | 200 meters | L1:6b/A0, L2:V+, L3:6a, L4:IV, L5:IV | 29-01-1983 by Jose Luis Arias and Francisco Burdalo |
6 | Guirles/Campos | 200 meters | L1:IV, L2:IV, L3:V, L4:V, L5:6b, L6:6b, L7:IV. | Summer 1977 by Daniel Guirles and Luis Campos |
7 | Babino pan y vino | 150 meters | L1:V+, L2:V, L3:6a+, L4:6a+, L5:6a, L6:V+ | |
8 | Variante de salida | 150 meters | 6b | |
9 | Gran diedro | 200 meters | L1:IV, L2:IV, L3:V, L4:V, L5:V+, L6:IV. | 1972 by Emilio García Viel and Eduardo Sánchez |
Sector 4
Nº | Name | Height | Difficulty | First Ascent |
1 | Arroz pegao | 250 meters | L1: 6b+, L2:IV, L3:6a, L4:A0/7a, L5:A2/V+ | |
2 | Vía de los amigos | 250 meters | L1:IV+, L2:IV+/V, L3:V, L4:V+, L5:V+, L6:V, L7:A2/V+ | Spring 1982 by Angel Luis Muñoz and Manolo Cardero |
3 | Tangerine dreams | 250 meters | L1:IV, L2:V, L3:A0/6c, L4:V, L5:6a+, L6:6a, L7:V, L8:A0/ | 29-05-1983 by Manolo Cardero and José Puch.
|
4 | Siniestro total | 250 meters | L1:IV+, L2:6b, L3:6a, L4:6c, L5:6b, L6:IV+, L7:6b, L8:6ª | 30-01-1983 by Enrique Alvarez, Carlos Arroyo and Jose Luis Arias. |
5 | La turururu | 250 meters | L1:V, L2:7a | |
6 | Rivera de curtidores | 250 meters | L1:6a, L2:A2+/6a | |
7 | Vía del cala | 250 meters | L1:A0/7a, L2:6a, L3:6c+/7a, L4:6c+, L5:6c, L6:6ª | June 1993 by Gabriél Martín, cristobal Real, Juanjo Fernández and Belén Molina. |
Sector 5
Nº | Name | Height | Difficulty | First Ascent |
1 | Vía del cala | 250 meters | | |
2 | Moby Dick | 250 meters | L1:6b+, L2:V, L3:6c+/A0, L4:A0/6c+, L5:V, L6:6a+. | 01-11-1981 by Juan Aznar and Daniel Arroyo. |
3 | La Lumi | 250 meters | L1:6b+, L2:V, L3:6b, L4:6a, L5:6b/A0, L6:A0/6a+, L7:V | January 1984 by Jose M. Vilches, Rubén Prendes, Octavio A. Viejo, Juan Muñoz and Jose M. Adrados. |
4 | Juanito el 15 | 250 meters | L1:V+, L2:6b, L3:6a, L4:6a, L5:6b+, L6:A0/7a, L7:6a+ | |
5 | Luisa la Garrona | 250 meters | L1:6a+, L2:6b, L3:V+, L4:6a+, L5:6a | |
6 | Drácula | 250 meters | L1:6a+, L2:6b, L3:A0/7a, L4:6c+, L5:V+, L6:V+, L7:V+ | |
7 | Galayos | 250 meters | L1:IV+, L2:IV, L3:III, L4:V, L5:V+, L6:V+, L7:V | Spring 1979 by Estanislao Zamora and José Ramón Pérez
|
La Albujea Climbing Routes
La Albujea, also called
La pared de Alberjal, is the south-western of the three summits of
Torozo. It is connected by short ridges to the other two summits. In its form it resembles
La Pedriza, Europe's largest granite formation 42 km north-west of
Madrid. The
La Albujea routes are shorter and less frequented, mainly due to the antiquity of the bolts used for protection here. There are two climbing sectors on the tower.
Sector 1
Nº | Name | Height | Difficulty | First Ascent |
1 | Garrapate free | 150 meters | L1:V+, L2:V, L3:III | |
2 | Vía Solé | 150 meters | L1:V, L2:V+, L3:IV, L4:IV | |
3 | La verde | 150 meters | L1:V+, L2:V, L3:V, L4:IV | |
4 | Carmes | 150 meters | L1:6a,+, L2:V, L3:IV, L4:III | |
5 | Maneras de vivir | 150 meters | L1:6a+, L2:6a, L3:V+, L4:III+ | |
6 | Variante de entrada directa | 150 meters | L1:6a+, L2:6a, L3:V+, L4:III+ | |
7 | La cicatriz | 150 meters | 6b | |
8 | Ovaladas blancas | 150 meters | L1:A2/6b, L2:6a+, L3:6b, L4:III | |
9 | Wanchos | 150 meters | L1:6a+, L2:A1/V, L3:V+ | |
10 | La danza del silencio | 120 meters | L1:6a, L2:6a+, L3:A0/6b, L4:V | 10-11-1991 by Mariano Rituerto and Angel Lozano |
11 | Tostadez mental | 87 meters | L1:6c, L2:V+, L3:IV, L4:6b, L5:V | September 1993 by Rafael Fanegas and Eladio Vicente |
12 | Vía del pelos | 40 meters | 6b | |
13 | Juegos peligrosos | 150 meters | L1:6c+, L2:6a, L3:IV, L4:6b, L5:6b | September 1993 by Rafael Fanegas and Eladio Vicente.
|
14 | Muertos agradecidos | 160 meters | L1:6a, L2:6b, L3:V, L4:6a+, L5:IV+, L6:6b, L7:V | 17-06-1984 by Juan Carlos Guichot and Jose A. Fernández |
15 | Serpiente blanca | 150 meters | L1:IV. L2:A0/6c, L3:IV+, L4:V, L5:6a, L6:A2/6a, L7:V | 23-05-1982 by Javier Pulido, Julio Menéndez andJuan Carlos Guichot |
16 | Paranoia contínua | 150 meters | L1:7a, L2:7a, L3:6b, L4:IV, L5:6c+/A2, L6:6ª | |
17 | Te apellidas fiambre | 150 meters | L1:7a+, L2:6a+, L3:V, L4:A0/6c, L5:IV+ | |
18 | Aturdido y confuso | 130 meters | L1:6b+, L2:6a, L3:IV+, L4:IV+, L5:IV+ | 20-03-1983 by Carlos Arroyo and Enrique Álvarez |
19 | Ferrería de Arenas o más vale maña que fuerza | 120 meters | L1:6c, L2:IV+/V | 25-10-1981 by Mariano Rituerto, Vicente Hernández, Angel Rituerto, Ricardo P. Gómez, Jesús García and Jose Manuel Navarro. |
20 | Capitán viajes | 130 meters | L1:6b, L2:V, L3:V+, L4:A0/IV+. | Spring 1992 by Jose A. Fernández
|
21 | Guadarrama | 130 meters | L1:IV, L2:IV+, L3:V, L4:IV+, L5:A1/V | Summer 1980 by Javier Valentín and Isaías |
22 | Pasto de cabras | 130 meters | L1:III, L2:III+, L3:IV, L4:IV, L5:IV, L6:IV | |
23 | El muro de Meli | 130 meters | L1:III, L2:III+, L3:II, L4:IV+, L5:V+/A1, L6:6c/A0, L7:6 | |
Sector 2
Nº | Name | Height | Difficulty | First Ascent |
1 | Bordillo | 100 meters | 6c | |
2 | Bordillo | 100 meters | 7a | |
3 | Bordillo | 100 meters | 6a+ | |
4 | Destrepe filón | 110 meters | II | |
5 | La mama escaladora | 105 meters | V- | |
6 | La pañoleta, el bordón, y el cuatrobollos | 110 meters | IV+ | |
7 | Desconocida | 110 meters | V | |
8 | Garrapata free | 120 meters | V+ | |
9 | Isa | 125 meters | III | 14-11-1976 by Alejandro Muñoz and Angel Rituerto |
10 | Solo integral Josechu | 120 meters | 6a | |
11 | Sole | 100 meters | 6b | 30-06-1990 by Mariano Rituerto and Gregorio Lozano
|
12 | La verde | 130 meters | V+ | 22-11-1981 by Mariano Rituerto, Angel Rituerto and Jesús García |
13 | Aspitos | 70 meters | 6a | |
14 | Carmes | 140 meters | 6a+ | 13-05-1984 by Mariano Rituerto, Fernando Pinar and Luis Fernando Cajal. |
15 | Lagarto pinto | 70 meters | 6b+ | |
16 | Maneras de vivir | 140 meters | 6a+ | 23-05-1982 by “La vasca de la prosperidad”
|
Getting There
Torozo and Macizo Oriental
Torozo is very popular among hikers and climbers because it can very easily reached from the road pass
Puerto del Pico (see History section above). From Madrid it can be reached by two routes, north and south.
Northern Access
- Take motorway A-6 north to Villacastin
- Switch to motorway A-51 to its end at Ávila
- Take N-110 for a few 100 metres until N-502 turns off left to Puerto del Pico
Southern Access
- From Madrid, take motorway A-5 until you reach Talavera de la Reina
- East of the town switch to N-502, which takes you north to Puerto del Pico
Red Tape
Gredos Ibex resting on the Torozo north summit
Torozo belongs to the small section of the
Macizo Oriental, which belongs to
Parque Regional de la Sierra de Gredos. Wild camping is not allowed in this area but there is a campground close by and two (shepherds) huts offer shelter in case of adverse weather.
Flora and Fauna are protected and special mention has to be made of the
Gredos Ibexes (Capra pyrenaica victoriae), which graze in large flocks on and around the mountain. They were at the brink of extinction but their popupaltion rebounded after the first natural preserve was created near
Laguna Grande in 1905. Today there are roughly 10000 specimen around, who all seem to know that they are protected and can't be bothered to take notice of any humans around.
Weather Conditions
La Albujea and El Torozo
Since there is a huge elevation gain of up to 1000m between the north and the south of the
Sierra de Gredos Main Ridge, weather conditions on both sides are very different. In addition to the temperature differences created by this elevation difference, the mountains themselves serve as a barrier for the dry northern winds as well as the typical humid south-western winds. Therefore the north is far colder and dryer than the south. The following widgets give you the weather for the closest villages on both sides of the barrier.
Accommodation
In
Sierra de Gredos you have all options for accommodation, from the
Parador de Gredos, a hotel near
Navarredonda de Gredos to private apartments, campgrounds and even shelters (shepherds huts). A Google search will give you a good number of options.
The closest campground is located in the south of
Puerto del Pico, at
Prados Abiertos, complete with apartments and fincas:
www.pradosabiertos.com/
There are two shelters on the slopes of
Torozo. One is placed at approximately 1500 m, on the trail to
Torozo from
Puerto del Pico. The other one is located approximately at 1915 m, above
Fuente de los Cervunales and below
Collado del Risco (1935 m). Both are not too clean but good in bad weather situations. Especially since free camping is not allowed in the
Parque Natural de la Sierra de Gredos.
Maps & Books
Maps
- Sierra de Gredos
Mapa Y Guía Excursionista
Editorial Alpina
1:25000
ISBN: 978-8480903097
- Parque Regional de la Sierra de Gredos
Adrados Ediciones
1 :135000 / 1 :25000
ISBN : 978-8492236367
Books
- La Sierra de Gredos
ISBN: 8487746446
Author: Gabriel Martín
Date: 1994
Editorial: Desnivel
Language: Spanish
- Crónicas de Gredos
ISBN: 490000
Author: Juan Andrés Feliú Suárez
Language: Spanish
- Cuadernos de Montaña
ISBN: 8484600165
Author: Eduardo Martínez de Pisón
Date: 2000
Editorial: Temas de Hoy
Language: Spanish
- Gredos. Guía de excursiones y ascensiones.
ISBN: 8495368110
Author: Carlos Frías
Date: 2001
Editorial: El senderista
Language: Spanish
- Guía de la Sierra de Gredos
ISBN: 100001
Author: M.A. Vidal
Language: Spanish
- Rutas para descubrir la Sierra de Gredos
ISBN: 8481830747
Author: Carlos Manuel Martín Jiménez
Date: 2000
Editorial: Ámbito Viejo
Language: Spanish
- Sierra de Gredos : guía de escalada
ISBN: 978-8498292848
Author: R. Lora
Date: 2013
Editorial: Desnivel
Language: Spanish
- Sierra de Gredos: Circo de Gredos – Valle del Tiétar – Valle del Jerte
ISBN: 978-3-7633-4716-2 (Spanish)
ISBN: 978-3763343812 (German)
Author: B. Plikat
Date: 2011
Editorial: Rother
Appendix: Conversion of Climbing Grades
Australian | UIAA | French | YDS | NCCS | UK.Adj. | UK.Tech. | RSA | Saxon | Czech | Norw. | Swed. | V-grade |
10 | 1 | 1 | 5.2 | | easy | | | I | | | | |
11 | 2 | 2 | 5.3 | m | II | |
12 | 3 | 3 | 5.4 | d | III | |
4 | 4 | 5.5 | vhd | IV | |
13 | E | |
5- | 5.6 | ms | V | |
5 | |
14 | 5 | 5.7 | F7 | 4a | e1 e2 e3 e4 e5 e6 e7 e8 e9 e10 | F1 | VI | 5- | 5- | |
|
15 | 5+ | 5+ | 4b | VIIa | 5 | 5 | |
5.8 | F8 | F2 | |
16 | 6- | 4c | 6 | 5+ | 5+ | V0- |
VIIb |
17 | 5.9 | F9 | 5a | F3 | 7 | V0 |
6 | 6a 6a+ | 6- | 6- |
18 | VIIc |
6+ | 5.10a | F10 | 5b | G1 | 7a |
19 | 6 | 6 |
5.10b | VIIIa | V0+ |
20 | 7- | 5c | G2 | 7b |
6b 6b+ | 5.10c | 6+ | 6+ |
21 | 7 | 5.10d | F11 | VIIIb | V1 |
5.11a | G3 | 7c | 7- |
22 | 7+ | 6c 6c+ | VIIIc |
6a | | 7- | V2 |
23 | 5.11b | H1 |
8- | F13 | IXa | V3 |
24 | 5.11c | 7 |
7a 7a+ | H3 |
25 | 8 | 5.11d | IXb | 7 |
6b | 7+ |
5.12a | V4 |
26 | 8+ | F14 | H3 | IXc | 7+ |
5.12b | 8- |
7b 7b+ | V5 |
9- | 5.12c | F15 | Xa |
27 | 8 | 8- | V6 |
6c |
9 | 7c 7c+ | 5.12d | I1 | Xb |
28 | 8 | V7 |
5.13a | F16 | V8 |
29 | 9+ | I2 | Xc | 8+ |
5.13b | 7a |
30 | 8a 8a+ | V9 |
10- | I3 | 9- | 8- |
31 | 5.13c | V10 |
32 | 10 | 8b 8b+ | 5.13d | J | 9- | V11 |
9 |
33 | 5.14a | |
10+ | 9 |
8c 8c+ | 5.14b | 9+ | V12 |
11- | V13 |
34 | 5.14c | 9+ |
|
35 | 11 | 5.14d | V14 |
9a | |
|