Routes in Barrah

Partially bolted. Opposite "Merlins Wand", 3rd canyon south of Abu Iglakhat. Named after a cat who is buried by the route. Article first ascent. Video. Topo.

Article.

7a+ oblig, mainly bolted. East face of Barrah massif, canyon Rad al Beidah. Czech article first ascent. AAC article. Czech article Emontana.

Fully bolted single pitch. (Sport 1&2 same Anchor) Cat Canyon (29.567250, 35.490739).

Fully bolted single pitch. (Sport 1&2 same Anchor) Cat Canyon (29.567250, 35.490739).

These twin sport climbs are short, but pack in many fantastic moves on unique and esthetic columns of bullet hard black sandstone. They share in many things including style, difficulty, and a two bolt anchor.

Found on the southern wall of Abu Iglakhat (due west of the popular routes) roughly halfway into the slot canyon.

Undercling start drives you into the crux moves that don’t ease up until the third bolt. Then slap your way up blind holds on each side of the column. Most will be amazing jugs, but there are some sandy slopers!

Very similar to its twin. Just harder and a little sandier. A big gaston unlocks the crux at the first bolt. The second bolt can be very difficult to clip when on sighting. Avoid a ground fall by preclipping it.

Very easy trad intro in Rum with comfortable places to build stations. Hard to protect 3rd pitch leads to nice 4th pitch crack.

On Jebel Abu Judaidah. Mentioned in this AAC article.

On Abu Judaidah’s North Gendarme. Mentioned in this AAC article.

Singlepitch.

Fun sport climb on beautiful black and brown stone. Found in an unnamed canyon just east of the Star and north of Les Rumours. Start under a sheet of blank black rock near some boulders forming a small cave.

Although cruxy at 7a it’s quite sustained with many 6b moves. With enough rope and extension, the whole route can be climbed as one awesome pitch.

P1 7a, 30m, 13 bolts Crux at the second bolt is punchy leading to a few big moves and a great rest at the horizontal break. Then follow awesome black plates to a sandy section and a pocketed sloper red point crux just before the two bolt belay out right.

P2 6c, 30m, 12 bolts More of the same climbing leads through easier terrain that can be more hollow/dirty at times. Not as good as the first but still worth completing! Two bolt belay at a nice ledge.

estimated two 30m rappels, one 60m rappel, or scramble off (not recommended)

Mainly bolted, 45m to 55m pitch lengths. AAC article with topo. UKC artice with topo.

1. easy approach pitch

2. corner, anchor is in the cave

3. out of the cave, corner, anchor on the left

4. back to the corner, anchor on the big ledge

5. not sure how this should go, there are slings on the left and on the right, I started right, straight up, and then was going to the left. When you reach a big ledge, you can walk to the right and make an anchor there. There should be a sling in place. I would rate this pitch PG-13

6. see the next pitch,

7. easier terrain but do not underestimate, follow the right corner, there are few awkward moves in upper part, so it's better to belay. We left few slings at the end. You can untie here and go to the top.

Descent: rappel down the route.. or maybe you can rappel down through the Yalla Shabab, but it's not obvious where is the last anchor.

1. from sling at the end of the P7 full rappel, walk few meters to the end of P5

2. from the end of P5 straight down to the ledge

Rappel 3-5: Rappel the P4-P2. We also rappelled the last easy pitch.

Superb! Very famous route inspired by american crack climbs (Indian Creek or Red Rocks). However it is also possible to face climb and stem using the patina. Large cams desirable (#4 and 5#) to protect one or two locations. North facing but did get the sun around midday in summer. Descent: Repel via route.

Right of "Merlins Wand". Descent is by rappelling with double ropes. AAC article with topo.

Unknown 5b trad single pitch with a fixed anchor. The corner 50m to the right of "Merlins Wand".

Unknown trad single pitch with a fixed anchor. In the semi circle cut out on the right hand side when traveling south from "Merlins Wand". Opposite all the scree.

Difficult and long abseil!

The best Duverney/Monnet climb in the Wadi Rum Massif. All Pitches are sustained but on an excellent dark rock with fine finger crack climbing following a very pure line. Protection and belays are good. One angle peg is needed for the 6c move in the second pitch. The belays are bolted. It is possible to abseil down the route.

A wonderful line! Maybe the only overhang single pitch sport climb in Rum. Bouldery start leads to tufa style.

Huge pocketed wall on the right side of the south-west facing side of South Barrah Canyon. To the left of the wall is a huge diedre with the route R218A “Schoarf Unterwegs”, on the very left side of the wall is a bolt with a sling, 2m above the terrace, belonging to R218B “Hala Hala”

“Dance on Slings” takes the start of “Hala Hala”, but then heads to the center of the wall climbing this up to the big break 80m above, following the good dark rock and avoiding the fragile yellow one.

Exposed and steep wall-climbing on generally good rock with the occasional fragile yellow parts. Belays and abseil point are in place and bomb-proof. For protection only slings and one friend necessary.

P1: 25m, 6c or 6a A0. Two friends 3 in horizontal crack below roof. 3 slings in place.

P2: 15 m, 6a+. 4 slings in place (plus one friend 2½ possible).

P3: 25 m, 6a. 5 slings in place (plus 4 additional slings possible).

Topo.

if you start the climb by climbing over the boulder then its 7a+ Klemen Becan

Unclimbed (AFAIK) unconfirmed grade potentially 8c, set by Klemen Becan

Sport start to the trad route on right

the clip to the anchor is not an easy clip at all.

An underrated gem, a must do mountain traverse full of character and diverse terrain. The best 5- in rum packaged into an achievable 1 day objective full of big mountain adventure.

Time: Going easy, 5 hours to the summit, 1.5 hours descent, 1.5 hour walk back to the cove. Shade all day can be done in summer.

The TH guide book 1 paragraph description and dotted line topo is remarkably useful. The climb starts at the cove on the west side of north barrah. Take the gully which goes up to the left with some squeeze sections to the hanging valley. Stay on the left of the hanging valley and go almost all the way to the end. Take the ramp back up the left side to reach a water worn groove with a jammed toaster sized block.

1. f4 Scramble over the jammed block passing some obvious cracks on the right.

2. f5- Take the slab back up right pull over the fun overhang (golden wonder crisps?) to a bolted station.

3. f4 easy slab on to the exposed dome to another bolted station.

4. f3 easy traverse back into the big gully.

5. f5- (eyeball from the left the big chimney, the groove and the thin cracks.) climb straight up the crack, to the left of the pedestal, brittle rock.

6. f5- climb up right on top of the pedestal, traverse right to the chimney. Super cool easier than it looks with good protection (f4-) to a single bolt above a large hollow flake. (Potentially dangerous)

Descent Follow the skinny siq, through the white powder sands and arching walls to a number of entertaining technical squeeze sections (f4). After these it opens up into a plateau. The TH guide book mentions 2 abseils however we didn't find these (assume these are in the main siq). From the plateau leaving the main siq and trending to the left we followed cairns and scrambled down the rest of the way to sands on the east side.

A diagonal corner crack. Protection not very forthcoming or useful, soft rock on the left side. No fixed stations. 60m double ropes useful.

Approach

On the west face of Jebel Annafishiyyah, 100m south of the luxury camp, or 100m north of the inscriptions, the climb starts from behind a generator/mechanics where the red wall meets the white wall.

Time

Guide book states 1.5 hours, it took me 5 to reach the top. Descent 1-2 hours.

1. f4 Swing out right on to the face to gain the terrace.

2. f5 Swing out right from the main corner, awkward and bold crux if you can't get the gear in due to your hands being in the way. Slightly harder than the guidebook grade of -5. Back up the main corner, poor options for belay.

3. f4 Diagonal face climbing with nice exposure.

4. f4 Face / corner climbing over 50m

5. f3 Face climbing over 50m

6. f2 short pitch to reach the end.

Descent

?? Not obvious.

• Head to the actual summit, from there go north east down a gentle slope on the east face.
• Awkward down climb to a terrace.
• Head right 50m past big blocks. Then down to the next terrace.
• Head left 50m to some biggish blocks. Abseil from here 50m to the main couloir.
• Then easy walk south out of the couloir.

There is some unusual detritus on the top which suggests there might be an easier way up and down.

More of a scramble than a climb. A gentle morning out. Situated on the west face. Looks like it has not been climbed all that much so there is brittle rock all over. The guide book gives this route a grade f5 however it didn't seem like that, so we might have been off route.

Gear: Hardly any as there is either no point placing anything or you can't. A hand full of mid sized cams. Slings useful. Final abseil is about 60m.

Time: 4 hours up and down taking it very easy.

• Pitch 1 f4: The climb starts to the left of all the vertical cracks which lead to the mushroom overhang. There is a less than vertical gully. Climb this, unprotectable (or pointless to protect) for about 50m till you reach a short 2m face. Belay from above the face.
• Pitch 2 to summit, f3: Heading practically straight up the ramps. There is no massive need to do any pitched climbing if you don't want to as you can walk around any problems, but if you enjoy building anchors you can.

Descent.

Walk back down keeping a little bit to left of the route as it's less steep. 20 meters of so before the first belay head right and into the next big gully. The guide book mentions a hidden abseil. We didn't see any evidence, but set up an abseil on a big thread and went down the face, to the floor (approx 60m).

South west face

Start in the same spot as Hanging Gardens of Zagorchev, about 100 feet down and left of "Runner Up". Climb up and left to gain the left-hand of two nice looking varnished corners. Stem up this corner to easier ground and an anchor (27m). Photo.

To the left of the sport routes is a huge, right-facing corner that forms the left margin of the face (Runner Up). Down and left about 100 feet from this huge corner are two, short, nice looking varnished corners. This route climbs the right-hand corner. Climb the right corner, which has a prominent wide crack on the right side. This corner had partially been climbed previously by local Bedouin guide Omar, who lowered off a cam because there was no anchor. The FRA party continued to the top of the corner and installed an anchor. Rappel with one rope from a fixed anchor (drilled baby angle and thread).

Follows a big corner on the left, bolted stations but trad on the route, consistent climbing with a couple of fun crux problems on pitch 3. Possible to walk off and descend along the ridgeline at climbers right (45 mins) but not worth it and a bit hairy. Abseil descent recommended, but you will need two ropes or an 80m!

• P1 5a/5b ~30m; climb either the corner or the face, has some hollow sounding flakes. Sustained and tense for a warm up. Bolted belay inside the corner.
• P2 5a ~35/40m; Climb out the corner and head up the face bridging every now and then, reaching a big ledge with a bolt and piton.
• P3 5c+/6a ~35/40m; Starting with a tricky chimney then slab up to the crux. The crux involves a twin cracked chimney above a ledge, which can be reasonably protected (it may have lost some good holds which is why the book grades at 5-). Then ramp up to the final problem a corner hand crack with hollow flakes on the left wall. A big thread at the top.

The name story: When the first recorded ascent by Britich/French climbers in 1987 they found slings in place, that's why they called it Runner-up.

12 quickdraws (5-4 long). Descend: 4 abseils same route.

Pitch 1 (6a+):

- 25m - 10 bolts

Pitch 2 (6b+):

- 25m - 9 bolts - Can be split into 2 pitches (15m 6b 5bolts, 10m 6b+ 4bolts) - A station is placed just before the crux move, 40m from the ground - The pitch is consistent in difficulty with a crazy fun, well-protected crux move

Pitch 3 (6a):

- 25m - 9 bolts Amazing pitch, with an aerie feel, with some spaced bolting due to rock quality

Pitch 4 (5c+):

- 25 meters - 9 bolts - A slap cruise to the top

PS:

This route doesn't reach the peak (As we didn't want to get cross runner up the trad route), but if you take 4 cams with you you can traverse 5 meters left from the top station and lead the last 15 meters to the top of Runner up.