The day after we went kayaking we still couldn't run any programs, so we decided to drive to Ras al Khaimah (a nearby Emirate and city, RAK for short) to go climbing. We have this great book called UAE Rock Climbing which is a guide to tons and tons of climbing areas in the UAE. Its pretty pricey (around $45 US) because it was produced locally but definitely worth the money. The rock was slab- very crimpy and sharp. (crimp = tiny hand hold) The rock was very brittle and we kept pulling off chunks as we climbed. Needless to say the belayers wore helmets. We were hesitant to lead climb due to all the loose rock so we scrambled to the top via a goat path and set up top ropes. The various routes ranged in difficulty from 5.7 to 5.9

Devan brought his fancy camera and took some fantastic photos. All of these were taken with his camera.
I had a cool cultural moment while I was climbing that really contrasted a specific climb I was on in the states. Several years ago, I headed to Richmond, Virginia with my friend Alex to learn to lead climb. Across the river from downtown there are the remnants of the old bridge, including the bridge supports, made from massive stone blocks. Someone figured out they were fun to climb and bolted them. While I was climbing on lead for the first time, a gospel convention across the water began. We spend several hours climbing to gospel blasted across the river.
While I was climbing in RAK, the call to prayer began and echoed through the valley. It lasted my entire climb up the wall and didn't stop until I was safely on the ground. Here, the call to prayer is quite beautiful as most of the men who do it are quite talented singers. We often stop to listen and comment on what we think of the singer. At the tiny mosque down the street we've become accustomed to the several different voices we hear and recognize our favorites.


Devan hanging out observing

Devan climbing

Jesi and her amazing fro

The rock is sharp! Jesi ripped her new pants. :(

Will is a badass and makes awesome faces when he climbs-

Micah-

Mike at the top of the arete-


*a note about updates- the internet cafe here is extremely slow, and has recently been really bogged down by people downloading various things. It has been nearly impossible for me to upload photos in a reasonable amount of time. Now, I spend the majority of an hour uploading 13 photos which leaves no time for posting them on blogspot. We have been a few fun places since this trip and I'll be updating with all that fun stuff as soon as I can. *

Today we went sport climbing. We were supposed to go on this epic trek to this remote village way up in the Musandam but the sea was too rough. We would have taken a speed boat to a cove then hiked to the village.
The clouds have been building over several days. The skies get darker and denser each day. This morning, Mike remarked that it looked like Mordor over the mountain. Now, it is even darker and angrier looking. The forecast calls for thunderstorms and torrential rain on Tuesday. The wadis will probably flood.
Today, we headed to Wadi Hilti (15 min from our house) to go climbing. We parked the Tahoes on high ground in case it started raining. Flash floods here are epic. We might get stranded for a while but at least we wouldn't drown and the Tahoes would survive. It didn't rain, and hopefully won't until Tuesday.

Those of you who know a little about climbing will notice that most of the photos are of us are on top rope. Leading frequently on these couple of routes isn't a great idea. The bolts are really old and weird. Usually one person leads up the really easy side and then sets up the top rope at the anchors at the top and everyone top ropes. This is really necessary on these bolts. We hope that before too long we'll be able to re-bolt it in order for more people to lead. The problem with top roping allows the climber to rely some on the rope, the rope takes a little bit of his or her weight away as the slack is taken in and the rope becomes taught. It also allows the climber to take a full complete rest during the climb with the support of the rope, something you can't do on lead. When you lead climb, there is no aid at all from the rope, it only provides protection to keep you from dying if you fall.
Me sitting on a boulder watching-

Jesi climbing-

me climbing the hard stuff. didn't make it to the top, maybe next time...