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Climbing banned at Oliana in Spain

Climbing has been prohibited at one the foremost crags in the world, Oliana in Spain. A protection zone of 36 hectares in order to preserve the pre-historic rock art in the area where the Contrafort del Rumbau is located

Planetmountain

December 2025

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The impressive Contrafort de Rumbau at Oliana in Spain

Pete O'Donovan

One of the most important high-end crags in the world, Oliana in Spain, has been closed to climbing as of yesterday by the government of Catalonia which passed a decree banning climbing, camping and lighting fires in the area in order to preserve the pre-historic rock art in the area. The news was broken earlier today by Patxi Usobiaga, former Lead World Champion and Oliana local, who shared the information on this social media handle.

The crag forms part of the Roc del Rumbau rock art site, part of the greater Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998. As per the new decree, a protection zone of 36 hectares has been instituted which includes the archaeological site and its surrounding landscape, with the aim "of preserving its visual, environmental, and cultural integrity."

The decree was published on December 18 2025 and, under Catalan and Spanish administrative law, regulations of this type enter into force the day after their publication in the official gazette, meaning that the ban entered force on the 19th.

The ban to this awesomely steep cliff comes as a devastating blow. First developed by local Catalan climbers in 2004, it was the arrival of American Chris Sharma a few years later that really got the ball rolling. Some of the most important chapters in modern sport climbing have been written on these walls, with cutting edge climbs and performances shaping the history of this sport. Milestones include Chris Sharma's 9b Fight or Flight (2011), the first ascent of La Dura Dura (the world's second 9b+, freed by Adam Ondra in 2013 and repeated shortly afterwards by Sharma), and the first female 8c onsights, at the hands of Janja Garnbret who waltzed up Fish Eye and American Hustle in 2021. And then there are countless 9a, 9a+ and 9b repeats, as well as boundary pushing onsights by many of the world's best, that are simply too many to mention.

Appeals are possibile, with the deadline established at 1 month for reconsideration, and 2 months for administrative litigation, but these do not suspend the application of the ban.

For more information about the ban check out Usobiaga's website pucseries.com