Geological Background

The Hajaar Mountains are located along the eastern coast of the Arabian peninsula, predominantly in Oman. The Hajaar is the largest range on the peninsula and boasts the area's tallest mountains. The range was created by tectonic activity in the mid Cretaceous period. A subduction in the ocean floor of the Indian ocean caused the Arabian plate to slide underneath of the Eurasian plate. The result was that a massive amount of oceanic crust and part of the earth's mantle became caked on top of the eastern portion of the Arabian plate. This helps explain why sea shells can be found on top of the tallest peaks around here, most of the range is made of ocean floor!

The main rock type found in oceanic crust Is called ophyolyte which is also the primary rock type found in the Hajaar mountains. The Hajaar has the largest amount of ophyolyte found above sea level anywhere on earth!

After this subduction occurred worldwide ocean levels dropped, exposing the young Hajaar. Along with tons of ophyolyte the range consisted of many soft ocean sediments. Over time water erosion began to form the many peaks and canyons of the Hajaar. While this erosion was occurring, carbonates were also being uplifted due do the widening of the Red Sea. The carbonate rich Arabian plate uplifted through the ophyolyte exposing the Musandam peninsula where I am living. While the majority of the Hajaar is composed of ophyolyte, the Musandam contains very little and is mostly comprised of carbonates.

About 20,000 years ago there were actually glaciers in this region, chiseling away at these carbonates. This carved out deep canyons in some areas and exposed the most solid sheets of rock. It is in these areas that we find the best walls for rock climbing. The rock is smooth, solid, and beautifully featured.

At this point in history, world ocean levels were 120 meters lower than current. This was due to the massive amounts of water stored in glaciers. Once the global temperature rose, the glaciers melted bringing the seas up to the levels of today. Over the course of a few more thousand years the Hajaar experienced some more water erosion as the Arabian peninsula developed its hot arid climate of today.

It now rains an average of 7 days annually here in the Hajaar, so the erosion process has slowed down greatly. However when it does rain the water makes up for the lost time by moving house sized boulders. It is an ever changing environment and the carving of wadis is far from over.
It is thanks to all of this that we now have a beautiful place to climb and explore. May the forces of tectonics and erosion continue to create world class climbing for many generations to come!

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

Omani Culture

So as you may have imagined, it has been a bit of a culture shock to live in the middle east for me. While Dubai feels very much like a big city in America, what with Dunkin Donuts and KFC everywhere, our local town of Dibba is quite a different story.

The average local here makes their living by fishing every day. The fishermen team up early in the day to begin the search for fish. Look outs will climb up on the mountain to where they can spot the schools of fish in the water then call down to the other men. Once the schools are located the fishermen align their net filled boats on the water with their trucks on the beach. The trucks that they use are old toyotas which are basically a pickup truck version of an old land cruiser. They have balloon tires and can maneuver anywhere on the beach easily. Once the boats and trucks are lined up they anchor the boat and attach a net line to the truck. By watching the fish and pulling the nets in with the trucks the men are able to bring in hundreds of fish. The fish market opens up at 4 o'clock every day where the fishermen can make their profit.

The fish market is located in the local harbor called Al Meena. This is a popular hangout for locals and there is a small grocery store there. There is also a small Indian style hole in the wall restaurant which is very popular among locals and our staff. They make egg rolls, falafel rolls, and chicken chilli rolls all on an Indian style flatbread called pratta. The rolls are amazing and only cost the equivalent on 75 cents USD. We end up eating there a lot on our days off. Best fast food I've ever had!

The harbor is also the launch point for larger fishing boats called dhows. The locals have traditionally used these double decked boats to fish but they have become popular cruize ships among tourists. A local diving outfitter called Sheesa Beach, also located in Al Meena, has 7 of these dhows which we use with our clients.

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

The local dress for men is a long robe called a Kandora. Kandoras can be a variety of different colors and have many different patterns. There are tailors all over the place who will make a fitted Kandora out of the fabric of your choice for very cheap. About 7 dollars US. The local dress also consists of Guttra which is worn on the head. This is basically a large checkered bandanna which is tied a certain way. The correct way to tie a guttra varies from village to village. The women wear long dresses which cover their whole body. Some women chose to show their face only but generally the women wear masks or veils over their face when they are in public. The traditional belief is that a woman's husband should be the only man to see her uncovered. Virtually all locals wear sandals year round, I don't believe I have seen anyone wear shoes.

The religion here plays a huge role in the culture. All of society is based around Islam and there are mosques everywhere. Muslims must pray at least 5 times each day but there is a call to prayer at the mosques every hour throughout the day. Call to prayer starts at 5:30 each morning. There is literally a mosque right next door to our house, so I picked up on this very quickly. On Friday everything shuts down and everyone goes to mosque together. This is essentially their version of Sunday for Christians. Prayer areas are designated everywhere you go including the large malls of Dubai, usually with lines on the floor to show the direction of Mecca. It is interesting to see Muslims face west to pray as they would always face east in the states.

The fishing culture here has been around for thousands of years. Many villages are still in use today but there are just as many old abandoned villages. You can still see the foundations of all the old houses and the smoke stains on the rocks where they built ovens out of small caves. Many petroglyphs can be found in these ruins depicting people and animals as well as trees and village maps. Bowls have been carved out of flat boulders for crushing grain and pieces of painted pottery can be found throughout. It is very cool to experience the ancient history of this culture so first hand. Honestly at times I feel like Indiana Jones. Some villages date back 8000 years to the stone age and the oldest petroglyphs that we are aware of are around 4000 years old. Can't quite get this feeling from the history channel.

Well that's all I have for now, more posts to come soon!

This Week - Camels, Dunes, and More

Greetings all! Another week has passed and we continue to be very busy with trips!

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!

First Weeks in Oman

Hello everyone! It has been an eventful couple of weeks in Oman and we have been very busy with clients. I will start from the top and describe what living in the middle east has been like for me so far!

Dibba is a small fishing town on the east coast of the Arabian peninsula. It is technically part of Oman but we are constantly crossing the border into the UAE to go to the grocery store, get cash out, meet clients, etc. The region of Oman where we are located is called the Musandam and it is completely detached from mainland Oman to the south. Dibba is conveniently located right in between the mountains of the Hajar range and the gulf of Oman. It is an ideal location for an adventure outfitter!

As part of our opperation we have a number of buildings in the area and a camp for large groups. Our house is bright yellow and is two blocks from the beach. There is also a small mountain and a date plantation right across the street. Ours is one of the two guide houses, each of which are quite large and just steps from the shore. There is also an adventure center located between the two guide houses. This is a traditional style Arabian house which can be rented out by clients and acts as the base camp for all of our private client trips. All of the houses have a surrounding wall in the traditional style of the area. This makes for great useable outdoor space and provides privacy. The last house of ours is our boss Paul's, which is beach front. This acts as the guide hangout as Paul lives in Dubai most of the time. This is where we can access the Internet, watch tv, or play pool. Our camp is located within the date plantation and is where we host large school groups. The date palms provide pleasant shade and attract many exotic birds like parakeets. The camp has tents with bunk beds for up to 100 people, an outdoor kitchen where meals are catered, and two majulaces which are basically living room tents with cushions on the floor. All of this makes for a great client experience!

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

My first day here I became oriented with the area. We started by crossing the border to go to the local grocery store called Lulu. This is basically the middle eastern version of Walmart and you can buy anything from produce to flat screen tv's. After purchasing some food for meals we returned to the house to stock the fridge. We then wasted no time and went climbing in the nearby canyon. We stuck to bouldering for the day but I was blown away by the plethora of huge limestone walls. I felt like a kid in a candy store. There is more untouched rock here than I have ever seen! The boulder field where we climbed had many great problems, but I could not wait to rope up and climb some walls. More to come on that note...

Canyons here, and all drainages for that matter, are called wadis. From now on when I refer to a wadi, I am talking about a canyon of some sort. There is a huge wadi just a few miles from our house and this is where we guide all of our climbing trips. We also lead many treks and mountain biking trips from this wadi. There is a road that goes all the way through and leads to the northern reaches of the Musandam. The road is actually a dry river bed as it hardly ever rains here. Flash floods are extremely destructive and the wadi is not where you want to be when it rains here. The narrow sections of the wadi host the best rock quality for climbing and are just wide enough for one car to fit through. It is an amazing experience to drive through what would be a very narrow section of mountain river. There is a dam just above our town which protects from flooding when the wadi flashes up. The dam becomes a main attraction for locals during rain storms to wach the water come in. Flash floods have been known to move house sized boulders.

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

My second day here I got up early at 7am. I decided to get some exercise and trek to the top of the mountain across the street. I should mention that the mountains are called jebels here. The tallest mountain around is called jebel quiwi and it is a very popular summit trip among clients. At any rate, I made it to the summit of our small front yard jebel in about 45 minutes. Litterally at the summit I got to see my first scorpion. It was clearish yellow and about 3 inches long. I discovered it under the rock I picked up to put on the summit pile. The top has great views of the sea to the east and the mountains to the west. Not a bad way to start the second day. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and preparing bikes for the school group arriving the next day.
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From Oman Adventure Season 2012

Tuesday was my first day of work and we welcomed a school group of 65 students. This was an international school from Dubai and the children were 11 to 13. The students were from many countries all over the world including New Zealand, South Africa, Iran, Syria, Germany, Canada, the UK, and Oman just to name a few. We took the kids sea kayaking, rock climbing, trekking, and mountain biking over the course of 3 days. When they left on the last day the staff stored all of the group gear and went climbing in the wadi. This was my first time climbing with a rope on personal time and it was awesome! We sampled some of the steep limestone routes that have been established in narrows of the wadi. We climbed three routes before dark. Two 5.9's and one 5.11all very good quality, steep and juggy.

The next day I guided a smaller group of college students from Abu Dhabi. We went on a trek through a canyon called Wadi Warayah. This is an amazing place which has some of the only constant running water in the region. The trek begins in a gravely section of canyon with steep walls and then narrows out at the first pool of water. At this point the wadi turns into a slot canyon a you have to wade through certain sections.
It is an extremely beautiful hike which is hard to put into words. It reminded me of pictures I have seen of the slot canyons in Zion and Moab. We wandered through the maze of twists and turns to find waterfalls and deep pools with tall and solid canyon walls. We breaked for lunch at the turn around point where there is a swimming hole and a jump rock. The hike out was smooth and everyone had a great time. This wadi is known for its large viper population, but we did not see any that day. It is a bit cold for them this time of year. Wadi Warayah is also one of the most recent places where an Arabian leopard has been spotted (no pun intended). They are nearly extinct and there is a motion sensor camera high up in the wadi for them. Truly a majestic place, I can't wait to go back.

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

In the past week I ran a shuttle to the top of our wadi for a downhill mountain biking trip and then stopped by the Six Senses resort in Zighy Bay to drop off a vehicle with some fellow staff. We have recently taken over their life department and now run all of their adventure programs. One of the coolest offerings is night kayaking because of the bioluminescent plankton. They glow bright green at night and are a sight to see in our clear bottom kayaks. Anyways, I dropped one of our Tahoes off there and got a ride bag to Dibba. We have 2 Chevy Tahoes, one Silverado, a 15 passenger van, and a Hummer h2. We have access to the vehicles on our days off and they are great for playing in the Wadis. There are no paved roads and some are 4x4 only. 4wd is a must to get our clients around.

I guess I forgot to mention that there are goats absolutely everywhere here. You even see them up in the Acacia trees eating the leaves. While they sometimes eat natural foods like this, they more commonly eat shoes, aluminum foil, plastic cups, and anything else for that matter. They are all owned and return home at the end of the day. They are often in the roadways but it's a big deal if you hit one and you will most likely have to pay for it if you do. They are also excellent climbers and you will find them in unexpected places while rock climbing at times.

I went on a hike along the coast the other day and ended up hiking all the way to Zighy Bay from Dibba. The coast line is very rocky for the most part and has great deep water soloing in places. There are also thousands of crabs which live on the wet rocks. I have dubbed these areas crabitats. Between the steep rocky sections are secluded bays with sandy white beaches. Great kayaking destinations and snorkeling spots. Just as I came over a ridge to one of the bays I saw two sting rays flying side by side through the coral from high up on the cliff. They soon dissapeared into the deeper water. I will never forget that.

Made it over the last ridge and through a village ruin into Zighy Bay in just under 4 hours. There are village ruins here that date back 8000 years to the stone age. The fishing tribes of that time made homes out of pure rock and their foundations still stand today. The one near Zighy is one of the older ones. When I arrived to the resort I was delighted to hear that they needed one of the vehicles back in Dibba and I had gotten there just in time to deliver it. I'll save the 4 hour trek back for another day.

We have had another international school for the last three days and they have left as of this afternoon. They were ages 12 to 14 and were also from all over the world. We have the next couple of days off and we may go into Dubai to experience some artificial winter at Ski Dubai. I'll let you know what happens.

All for now...

Touched Down in the Middle East!

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

I finally made it! The week long journey is complete and I have now traveled from Breckenridge, CO to the Arabian Peninsula!

I have just gained Internet access so I have not been able to update in the last few days. Let me fill you in on all the action.

The twelve hour flight went smoothly. Emerates Air is a very luxurious airline and although I was in economy class the services were outstanding. Each seat was equipped with its own media center and a selection of hundreds of movies, tv shows, and games. You can even access the internet, email, and international news. I slept a little bit but spent most of the flight watching movies. I think I watched 5. The food was very good as well and they brought us either a snack or a meal every 2 hours. When we landed I saw the worlds tallest building and largest airliner simultaneously. The A380 is currently only operated by Emerates Air and is a full double decked airplane, incredible piece of engineering..

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

Got in to Dubai airport at 8:30 am local time where I was greeted by Mike Camp, the sales manager for Absolute Adenture. Mike is an American from Boston who graduated from the outdoor rec. program at Central Wyoming College. Two other guides were to arrive later in the day so we went back to Mikes flat where we ironically watched skiing videos from the record winter last year in BC and Wyoming. It made me nostalgic for Colorado for sure.

We went to lunch by the beach in Dubai where I saw more expensive cars than ever before in my life. I even saw the brand new Lamborghini Aventador driving down the road. Dubai felt like a little piece of America and there were many westerners throughout the city. I saw the indoor ski resort from the outside but have not been in there yet.

Once the two other guides arrived we hopped in the car and made the 90 minute drive to Dibba where we are to live and work for the next 3 months. We arrived at night and could not get a sense for the the scenery until the next day.

Upon waking up the next morning I was blown away by the epic view of the sea and mountains from our house. This is truly an amazing place!

More to come...

Road to Dubai - Days 2/3: Here We Go

Alright! Made it back to DC in one piece on Wednesday with only one hour delay from the Denver snow storm! Phew...

I got to spend some quality time yesterday with Mom and Dad and one Shannon Borowy. Spent the day relaxing and preparing. For those of you whom I did not get to see, I will be in touch and will see you when I return. I will miss you all very much!!

Caught the Vamoose bus to NY last night and arrived at Penn station about 10pm. I had forgotten how crazy New York City is and how the cabbies drive even crazier! Getting around the city is an adventure in its self.

I spent the night in the upper east side with a good friend Kayleigh Herrick-Reynolds. Thank you so much for the couch to rest on, anything is 100 times better than trying to sleep in an airport. Especially when staying with an old friend.

For those of you who do not know and may be curious, I am flying from JFK airport. This is because Emerates Air only flies to Dubai from select cities in the US. Washington DC is not one of them.

Caught a cab to the airport at about 7 this morning. Although their driving can be described as organized chaos at best, both drivers I have had were very nice people. The first was a man from Ghana who had actually been to Dubai. He assured me that I will love it! The other was a Polish man by the name of Lucasz. Also a very kind and friendly person.

I am sitting at the gate now waiting to board the plane. I am struggling to contain my excitement. It all seems so real now that I am here!

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

The Road to Dubai - Day 1: Delays in Denver

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

Well I woke up at 6:54 this morning to discover a fresh half inch of snow on the Denver streets. As it continued to snow heavily I instantly grabbed my bags and rushed out the door to catch the 7:00 bus. I knew the busses would be running slow and I didn't want to take any chances missing my flight. As we made our way slowly up Downing Street we witnessed a car smashing into the back of an SUV just to the left of the bus. This event was not so encouraging for the travel contitions.

Although the busses were slow I have made it to the airport with plenty of time and the flight has only been delayed a half hour. We shall see how the rest of the day goes but with any luck I will be home in DC tonight to spend some precious time with loved ones before the 12 hour flight to Dubai.