Through the slabs of the Serra de Cuber

A climbing in two halves (and a tricky descent)

As is becoming a bit of a 2020 tradition we parked up our van in one of our favorite spots in the Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca in nice autumnal weather and with plans for climbing and cycling in our heads. The main goal of that trip was to climb a slabby direct line from the Cuber lake up to the 200 meter higher ridge of the Serra de Cuber.

We had looked at it on previous trips and the lower half looked like a big, steep-ish slab with some steps in it. On the upper part the steepness seemed to ease off and gave way for more broken up ground. Again this climb would not offer any bolts or other protection than what we would build ourselves.

To take a closer look and make sure that getting down would not be a huge pain I went on a scouting mission the afternoon of our arrival and found a scrambly diagonal way to get off the ridge and back to the lake. As wayfinding was a bit of an issue I also propped up a few stones so that we would not get lost the next day.

After the lakeside stroll that barely counts for an approach we took a sharp right turn at the midpoint of the Serra and scrambled up the first meters until we found a good place to transition into climbing mode. The first about 35 meter pitch let up the slab with III+ grade (UIAA) climbing and reasonable possibility for protection. I found a perfect rock tunnel to place a sling through and decided that would be our first stance. Brigitte is not super keen on friction climbing with small handholds but joined me at this stance some time later.

Pitch 2 was a bit more slab and then a 3 meter steep step with a big tree on top of it - that would be my target. Everything until the step was maybe grade III- with the step itself needing a bit of harder pulling (IV-). Again Brigitte followed without major issues. The next pitch turned out to be the last of real climbing and I made it a bit longer (45 meters / III-) so that it reached the lower angled upper part of the climb.

After taking a short break at that third stance we changed into short roping mode and continued up towards the ridge. Most of this upper part is easy scrambling but we did pitch out two short steeper sections.

From the top you get a perfect view of the whole central Tramuntana with the lakes and the highest peaks in the range as well as many other possible ridges and climbs to tackle. The perfect place for a break and a few Empanadas we had brought up. The descent turned out to be a bit tricky and time consuming but we made it down without getting lost - Also thanks to my stony landmarks.

As a final word I can only say: After a few of these kinds of excursions I can confidently say: We make a good team.

Adventurers: Brigitte and Bengt

Note: I did not find any description of this climb online and all the grades are my rough estimations. Please also note that a permit is necessary for climbing in the Tramuntana - You can find information on that topic here.