Crooked in the Front – Singing and Climbing Through Oman

 

In January I invited Arnaud Petit and Alex Ruscior to come visit me in Oman with the main objective to establish some new routes, big and small. We each met separately on the Petzl Roctrip in 2014 and caught up in Ceuse last summer where we solidified plans for something, anything in the future. Voulez vous grimper en Oman, mes amis?

 

 
Read on…
 

Our first stop was Umq Bir, the magnificent ancient settlement I have knick named The Valley of Giants. On my previous missions in Umq Bir the huge walls on the south side called out to me. Climb me, climb me! Striking pillars of red and yellow stone reach right to the rim of the Selma Plateau, a good 500m above the canyon floor and from the camp you cannot move around without staring up at them in awe. The rock had other ideas, unfortunately. In fact, we found only loose and dangerous potential and so after a great deal of deliberating and even more walking along the base of the wall in attempt to lift our spirits, we decided to accept our consolation prize – perfect new routes on the world class boulders below. I concede, it is more of a prize than a consolation.

 

Setback? This was not a word in our team’s vocabulary for the entire trip. In our few days spent in the valley we sampled the boulders I had developed with Philippe last year and then equipped and climbed four brilliant new routes from 7b+ to 8a+ on a single massive freestanding boulder. Also, for me, I was eager to return to a project I had equipped on my previous trip. It sits on the very same boulder as the other routes. A very hard and condition dependent sequence for 5m guards delicate and fingery climbing on the striking and sharp arete of the block.  I surprised myself by climbing up to the last move of the crux a handful of times, yet the last desperate move from one tiny crimp to another thwarted me each and every time. So close! I am reassured with my climbing progression over the past year and now also wiping my hands on my shorts as I type, eager to return to what could be the hardest route on the Arabian peninsula!

 

Tired, dirty and with sore muscles’ we made the sensible choice to drive directly to a potential new climbing venue, Wadi Bani Khalid. Arnaud and Alex had each seen it before, but I had avoided it due to the extreme touristy nature of the place. Duh! Walking past the perfect blue thermal freshwater pools, we rounded the corner and stood aghast at the 30m tall 40º overhang in front of us. “9a there, 8c+ there”, we pointed and exclaimed to each other. A futuristic wall, but just the first, because as we continued an even taller wall appeared and we got busy with the drills. In two days, we equipped three routes which will surely become classic lines at Oman’s newest crag of legend.

 

Then we rested. But just for one day because I had organised a community gathering at our most popular crag, Hadash. It was super motivating to share our routes with visitors and local climbers alike. There were visiting Czechs, French, Romanian, Oman-based expats, Omanis, UAE nationals and expats, all sharing beta and laughing the day away.

On the first day of the New Year I climbed a new route up at Hadash, which I’ve named ‘Bubble Boy’ because almost all of my first ascents in Oman go un-repeated, making me feel like I live in a bubble. Am I actually progressing in my climbing? Are my routes really as difficult as I have proposed? With no one to regularly share my routes, I often ask myself these questions. Now, it is no secret that Arnaud is a climbing legend and Alex is no slouch so, with this in mind, I also had the intention to get the guys to try all of my established ‘hard’ climbs in Oman. Who am I kidding. With this opportunity, they had no choice! Testament to Arnaud’s skill, in three days at Hadash he dispatched three of my old 8b’s, an 8a onsight and a number of 7s. Alex even nailed his first 8a ever! What an honour to share part of my story with the guys and to have them rave about the quality of our small community’s climbing. For me it was an opportunity to share my climbing and also to revisit old memories and relish in the changes to my climbing and my approach to climbing over the years. Gah, I feel old just writing this, yet with age comes wisdom and I felt it this trip.

 

A climbing trip in Oman would not be complete without a visit to the tallest continuous rock face in Arabia and one of the world’s tallest limestone big walls – Jebel Misht c.1,000m. With great recommendation for the route Shukran (6b max, 950m), perfect information from the original climbing party and wonderful support and company in local route developer Larry Michienzi and Kelly, his wife, we made a perfect barbeque and even slept a little before our alpine 3:00am wake up.

 

After a little confusion over the start of the route, we began climbing a full hour after reaching the base of the wall and, by now, in direct sun. “Perhaps we just explore 4 or 5 pitches to know the route and then come back tomorrow,” Arnaud suggested. Not to be. Our team of three is ballistic. Not to be deterred. Within an hour we had already climbed 3 pitches and we were well on our way to climb the full mountain before dark, singing and laughing the whole way, even through the gruelling 1,200m walking descent where, at the base, Larry and Kelly had prepared a superb campfire for our return. Thanks guys!

 

We made a perfect team. Our combination of organisation, focus and joking and singing allowed us to flow seamlessly from adventure to adventure. Arnaud and Alex have gone home, yet we are already talking about what’s next. Of course, Ondra, Jiri, Filip and David are still around and we’ve been in Wadi Bani Khalid again last week…3 additional world class climbs!

 

Thank you to Traks Pro, Petzl and Explore Climbing for supporting this trip.

 

I hope you enjoy the two short film episodes as much as we had fun!