330 metres of elegant ridge rising straight out of the Segre reservoir, protected entirely by pitons, rock threads and the gear you place. No bolts anywhere. An alpine day, ninety minutes from Barcelona.
Book NowA slender rock tower rises out of the Sant Llorenç de Montgai reservoir like the wall of a castle, and an elegant ridge runs all the way up it. Local climbers describe the Coma de Gelis as having sabor alpí — an alpine flavour — and they're right: it feels like a mountain route transplanted into the Noguera.
It's 330 metres of climbing at grade V, opened in September 1960 by Cortés, Farré and Mallol of the Centre Excursionista de Lleida, and it has stayed almost exactly as they left it. The tower itself, at 424 metres, is a genuinely famous silhouette in Catalunya — it appeared on the poster for the referendum of 1 October 2017.
This is what makes the Coma de Gelis special and what makes it serious. There are no expansion bolts and no glue-ins anywhere: protection is old pitons, threads around rock bridges, and slings around the juniper trees growing out of the ridge — plus whatever you place yourself. Guidebooks are blunt about it: straightforward for people used to adventure terrain, and not for beginners. With a guide leading and protecting every pitch, it becomes a route you can enjoy rather than one you have to be ready for.
From the parking beside the bridge, a path skirts the reservoir to a gap between two large blocks. The whole ridge is in view from the car, with the flag on the summit visible against the sky.
The steepest start of the day: vertical off the ground, protected by a rock thread and an old piton within the first few metres, then easing right until the angle drops and you're walking.
Opens with what many parties find the trickiest move of the route at around IV+, then settles into pure ridge climbing.
Universally described as the finest and most airy part of the ridge. Easy moves in a genuinely exposed position, with the reservoir below and the great walls of the Formiguera, the Cilindre and the Paret de l'Ós opposite.
The crest continues, with the option of skirting a step at grade III on the left rather than taking the edge direct. Sparse protection — threads, junipers, and placed gear.
The most demanding of the day. It starts with a slightly loose chimney and a V move in the first five metres, then relents to a fine juniper and the summit.
An isolated watchtower of a summit with views over the Montroig and the whole complex of walls and ridges below it. Down by a single rappel of around 25 metres.
The reservoir below you is a birdwatching reserve, and directly across the water is the Roca dels Bous — a Neanderthal site being excavated and open to visitors through Espai Orígens. It's a strange and lovely thing to climb a ridge that people have been looking up at for fifty thousand years.
Climbers comfortable seconding V who want the feel of an alpine ridge without going to the mountains. The moves are not hard — most pitches are straightforward — but the exposure is constant and the protection is old-fashioned. You do not need trad experience to come with us, since your guide places everything, but you should be steady on your feet and comfortable with sustained air beneath you.
This ridge sits inside a bird protection area and climbing is closed for part of every year. Published sources disagree on the exact window, so we confirm the current dates with the authorities before offering any date, usually between February 1st and May 31st — and we will never run it during a closure. If your preferred date falls inside the restricted period we'll tell you straight away and suggest an alternative.
Pick your date below. Dates shown already account for the seasonal closure.
The seasonal closure, what "no bolts" means for you, and the practicalities of a classic ridge.
If you'd like a longer ridge in the same region with a little more protection, the Cresta del Serrat del Poll is eight pitches above the Segre. For granite and the same unbolted character, try the Aresta GER near Poblet.
