Four years ago I arrived in the UAE and, like many globally
travelling rock climbers, wondered about the climbing possibilities here.Initial investigations did not produce
promising results but with a little perseverance a truth slowly revealed
itself; there is a great quantity of climbing in and around the UAE, the
potential for future development is enormous plus there is a vibrant climbing
community.So, jumping forward four
years.
Where is the climbing?
Firstly; where is the climbing?There are four main areas for outdoor rock
climbing that are easily accessible from the UAE population centres and some
very small climbing walls in Dubai.The outdoor climbing are located straddling
the UAE/Oman border region, these areas are:
Wonderwall
near Al Ain; this major crag is actually 40 odd km into Oman having past though the Burami border
crossing but does not involve going through Oman immigration. It offers 100s
of traditional and sports routes up to 120m in length in the easier and
middle grades of difficulty.
Hatta
Crag located, no surprises here, relatively near Hatta.This crag was a traditional climbing
area but has scene major sports routes development in the last couple of
years.This is the most accessible
climbing area to Dubai.
RAK.The majority of the UAE climbing is
located in the vicinity of RAK in the Hajjar Mountains.Access to the most developed area of
Wadi Al Bih is currently difficult due to border access restrictions but
there are significant areas in Wadi Sharma, Qaada and Ghalilih with
further out lying areas.Routes
here are a mix of traditional and sport and reach 500m in length.There is also significant bouldering
with huge potential for further development.
The
Muscandam. The Muscandam peninsular has seen little development due to its
relative inaccessibility.Currently
there is one small sports crag, accessible by boat, a number of
traditional routes and a number of Deep Water Soloing locations.With craggy mountains nearly reaching
2000m in height and 140km of rocky coastline there is huge potential for
future exploration and development.
For further information on these areas and the routes there
is a guide book on CD that is available from Picnico on the Jumeriah Beach Road
and Go Sports in Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battutu Mall.
Dubai’s climbing walls
Dubai
has a small number of artificial climbing walls open to the public.By US, European and SE Asian standards they
leave a lot to be desired in many aspects so be prepared to be disappointed.Many of them do not comply with the
International Standards for climbing wall construction and the standards of
tuition are in some cases bordering on reckless negligence.
Contacting the
climbing community
So, you want to get involved in rock climbing?For the experienced climbers there is a UAE
climbing forum at http://www.uaeclimbing.com/forum/index.php
where you will find the usual find a friend, trip news plus arguments on grades
and bolting.
Novice wanting to
give it a go or just learn safely
For the inexperienced; you do not need to start climbing on
a climbing wall but you do need to learn how to safely use ropes, harnesses
etc.Lots of people will offer you
advice and help but I would recommend that you ensure that they are competent
to teach you.Like every activity and
industry, climbing in Dubai
has attracted its usual quota of chancers that will take your money and lead
you to a world of hurt.If you are
looking for reliable and competent tuition then I would recommend that you
contact Matt or Dave at Al Shaheen Adventure (through
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)
.They are both qualified to UK
national standards as climbing instructors, work as instructors and are active
in the UAE climbing scene.
Look forward to
seeing you on the crags
I wish you good luck and hope the above is of use.I look forward to seeing you out of the
crags.If you are new to the sport,
welcome to a great world of physical and mental challenge that will take you to
places that you have never been before.The buzz of adrenaline from a weekends climbing will last you through
the week and much of the pleasure comes from knowing that it is self induced
and not thrill created by a machine.Be
warned, it is very very addictive and you will meet people with a similar
serious addiction; there is no treatment apart from to climb more and climb
harder.
The accompanying pictures are taken at UAE climbing venues.
The Author
Pete, the author of
this article, is the technical and commercial director of Global Climbing; a
company importing and distributing world class, globally recognised brands of
climbing and industrial rope access equipment, adventure sports apparel, kayaks
and the regional agent for Walltopia Climbing walls.Pete has been climbing for over 30 years on
five continents, run a national level mountain training centre and is a full
member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors. Pete’s weekends are
usually spent developing new routes in the RAK area or exploring the coast by
kayak.
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By: uweqsfyjjvv () on 30-12-2009 20:23