Anyone who has climbed at Sella cannot fail to have noticed the dramatic jagged ridge which lies between Sella and Finestrat, and all but the most obsessed cragrat will have thought about attempting it. Edwards says that it takes 30 to 40 hours to traverse the entire ridge, much of which is VS in standard. However the first section gives 7 or 8 hours of walking and scrambling with nothing harder than about V Diff. Nevertheless, it is a serious mountaineering expedition requiring technical climbing and abseiling skills and confidence on exposed ground.

The views in all directions are spectacular, and dominated by the Puig Campana. You may see lizards and even snakes. Although the altitude is not great (less than 700m), the scrambling is enjoyable and the situations dramatic.

You should take a 50m rope for abseils and some tat to back up the abseil points. A few slings, nuts etc will help to protect the most difficult section. Take plenty of water.

Look out for loose rock, and in the event of a storm get off as soon as you can – it attracts lightning strikes!

The relevant map is Sheet 847 II (58-65) of the Mapa Topografico Nacional de España 1:25000, but this isn’t much help as it lacks sufficient detail of the ridge and shows only the larger tracks down in the valley.

The Route

Park somewhere along the road between Finestrat and Sella, where the end of the ridge appears as an impossibly steep and high spire. Both angle and altitude are deceptive, and by following goat tracks through the bushes you will soon come out onto a reasonably angled ridge which gives straightforward scrambling to the summit, although it steepens towards the top.

From the summit you get the first view of the ridge proper. The first section is the hardest and you will probably want to do this in a couple of pitches, since the drops on both sides are dramatic.

After this section, the ridge becomes more straightforward up to the summit of the next peak, distinguished by a small ruined lookout which apparently dates from the time of the Moorish invasions of Spain. Beyond this is the first abseil bolt, which can be backed up with a sling. A 25m abseil reaches to just above the easy ground so some down-climbing is necessary.

More scrambling takes you over several pinnacles to another short abseil and more pinnacles. Eventually these end above a steep wall with another bolt an backup for an abseil, which brings you to a broad col.

While you are up on the ridge it is a good idea to study the lie of the land below to help you find your way back to the car.

The summit ahead is actually a false summit, and although it is worth a visit you will need to return to the col to descend right of the summit and onto the sharp ridge below which leads to a small col. According to Edwards there is a peg here for another 20m abseil to the lower ledges – we couldn’t find the peg but found natural anchors to leave some tat. Walk down the ledges to another steep wall above a col which can be downclimbed (Diff).

From here you can continue the next section, but this will take 6 or 7 hours and is about VS in standard. Otherwise follow the ledges to the hillside below. From here, make your way down to the roads and tracks which will take you back through the terraced fields to your car.

Howard Jones