Rock Climbing Mallorca: El Fumat (Formentor)
Tl:Dr: Mostly hard climbing (including a few multi pitches) on a monumental wall towering over the ocean gained by a 30 minutes hiking approach. Almost no sun and slippery even after a few days of dry weather.
This article is part of a series in which I am reviewing the local climbing spots on Mallorca from my beginner / intermediate climber point of view.
The climbs
The crag is split into two main sectors: On the right there is a steep wall that is topped by a harsh overhang. Here you can find tons of hard (grade 6b to 7c+) climbs. The bolts in this sector are a mixed bag with some looking really bad.
Further to the left there in the sector “Duke” there are routes ranging from 5c up to grade 7b. Most of the routes in this sector have been re-bolted with solid glue ins. The grading in this sector seems a bit off: One of the 5c was more of a 5a/b while the other was pushing 6a(+). This might be due to the wetness of the rock and the slippery lichen which also bumped up the difficulty of the route “Ziritone” (6a+ in the guide book) significantly. A few routes in this sector are supposed to go to the top of the wall however the bolts on the extension pitches looked doggy at best.
The rock is very varied in the whole crag with the almost glass like wall broken up by a few cracks furthest to the left being the most unique.
There is another multi pitch further to the right but I was not able to find it in a cursory search.
Approach
After parking at the Cala Figuera parking more or less half way from Port de Pollenca to the Cap de Formentor walk up the road until you can see the cliff and make your way through the tall grass up to the foot of the wall in 20-30 minutes. There are many “paths” (mostly used by goats though).
Finding a parking spot will be difficult in the tourist season!
The good, the bad and the ugly
The climbing itself is good even though the black lichen in the cracks is terribly slippy. As with many crags the scenery is stunningly beautiful and in the case of El Fumat the giant wall over your head adds to that feeling.
On the negative side the fact that during the tourist season the whole Formentor peninsula (with its one road) is overrun has to be noted. However if you can find a parking spot there will not be many people at the crag.
The area is in the shade the whole day and exposed to wind.
More Information
Route Information on theCrag
Route Information on UKClimbing
The area is also described in RockFax Mallorca