Introduction

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) .  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.

---

Last update : 03-09-2008 00:50

Average user rating

   (0 vote)