We held a benefit cycling challenge for eleven individuals this week. The group mountain biked a total of 200 killometers over the course of four days in honor of their friend who died in a motorcycle accident. The challenge began in the mountain wadis near Dibba and ended about 40 minutes outside of Dubai. A distance to be proud of by any standard! For this trip I drove a support vehicle with spare bikes, a repair kit, bike pump, and extra water. While driving at 20 km an hour for 8 hours a day is not exactly my idea of a fun time, I was still happy to be a part of the experience. Besides, this allowed me to get away from Dibba and experience a new area, the desert!
 |
| From Oman Adventure Season 2012 |
The second day of the ride took us from the mountains into the sandy desert of the UAE. It wasn't long before camels began to appear everywhere! At one point they became interested in the bikers and started running along side. They then lost interest and decided to cross the road right in front of the truck I was driving. I was reminded of how big these creatures are as they towered over the vehicle. I quickly granted the pack right of way. I can't wait to ride one! As we continued down the road we saw many more camels and the dunes proceeded to have less and less vegetation. We arrived to our camp site just as the sun began to set. The orange and purplish sky against the golden dunes made an unforgettable sight. Forgot my camera for this one though, sorry folks. The camp was set in the shadow of a tall limestone formation called fossil rock, adjacent to the barren dunes. On the final day of the trip we rode past the Dubai camel race track. The track literally parallels the road and we got to ride along side a group of camel trainers breaking young camels, also an interesting sight. The men smiled and waved as they bounced along on their camel humps. The challenge concluded at a resort just outside of Dubai. As we arrived a young boy was in the middle of a falconry demonstration. His control over the bird was very impressive.
We returned to Dibba to prepare for the school group arriving the next day. The group of 14-15 year olds stayed for three days and I instructed climbing for the whole program. We have a great top-rope site for the school groups called jacuzzi. The name is fitting because the ledge on top of the wall has a large bathtub-like hole carved out. The climbs can be set up while standing in the hole for protection. The site has some great slab routes for beginner to intermediate climbers.
On the topic of climbing, I will mention that I did get one day off to work on some first ascents. The route I am working on is not complete yet but I have put up two pitches so far. All ground up, mostly trad but I did place one bolt in a spot with some sketchy rock. It is a beautiful line. Many pictures and more detailed descriptions to come once I get a day off to complete it!
 |
| From Oman Adventure Season 2012 |
Most recently, I led a trek to smugglers bay from our adventure center with two clients. The eight kilometer trek leads to a secluded white beach and back through the mountains. The secluded bay is known as smugglers bay to us giudes. We call it this because it has historically been a popular location for Iranian refugees to be smuggled into Oman. The boats usually drop the refugees in the middle of the night and they must survive in the mountains until they attempt to cross the border into the UAE. One of the first things they do is change their clothes to look Omani. In many locations on the trek there are clothes scattered everywhere. On the return stretch of the trek there is a skeleton of a refugee who did not survive. Seeing a human skeleton really reminds you how harsh this terrain can be, especially without adequate water. Iranians continue to attempt the quest for a new life to this day. Last week one of our groups actually ran into a group of refugees on a trek. As they returned to camp the Omani military was seen rushing into the mountains, clearly they had gotten a tip from a local. Most refugees are put in jail and deported a few weeks later.
 |
| From Oman Adventure Season 2012 |
I bought a skim board and have been running over to the beach to skim every chance I get! There is not much surf here but the skim boarding is good fun. High winds made some large swells the other day and surfing would have been possible. The waves were especially large in smugglers bay where the wind and water is funneled in by the mountains.
The client groups continue to arrive and we are all guiding trips non-stop for the next 12 days. We have a school group staying at the camp right now for four days and I am leading the mountain biking. Hopefully will get some days off to climb and relax soon, but for now it's just non-stop adventure trips!
Hope everyone is having an awesome winter and I will be back with more posts soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment