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Click on photo for more pics of climbing Wadi Rum! Photo by John Goodman

In 1952 the first tourists arrived from England and met Sheik Hamden. Since then Hamden’s family has been helping visitors travel into the desert by organizing everything from hiking day trips to camel caravans. Nevertheless, what his family is really known for is climbing. Hamden’s son, Hammed, and grandson, Mohammed, have both made a name for themselves as skilled mountain climbers. Hamden and Hammad both climbed as hunters and were known to free climb big walls in search of elusive leopards and mountain goats with only a rifle strapped to their back. The areas most popular route, a multi-pitch (5?) 5.8/9, leading to the summit of the Jebel Rum was established when Hammad pursued an Ibex up the face, which he claims to have later carried over his shoulder as he descended the peak. These days his son, Mohammed, takes advantage of modern equipment to help him scale these routes and other new, more daring routes.

It was only in 1984 when explorers began to assess the areas’ climbing potential. Climbing pioneers like England’s Tony Howard have helped the area gain recognition by working with locals to help map more than three hundred routes, a number constantly on the rise. With the help of Tony, several climbers have traveled to England to receive training and climbing certifications. Attayak Aouda was one of them, and is regarded by many to be one of the best climbers in Wadi Rum, and perhaps in the Middle East. Spending most of his time moving up and over the desert landscape, Attayak can often be found staying in one of his family’s tents in the deep desert. Attayak’s father, following local customs, has three wives, and this gives Attayak plenty of sibling support to aid him in his climbs.

One of Attayak’s brothers, Omar, is a regular climbing partner, and at seventeen years old his already has chalked up plenty of face time, making him a prime source for route beta. Omar was one of the first people I met in the village, and he quickly proved his worth in the desert.

When I arrived in the village I drove past the handful of cinderblock homes and booth-like shops that comprised most of the village in about thirty seconds, which was fine by me because I wanted to head straight to the first clean line I could see. As luck and bad off-road driving would have it, the moment my tires got off the road I was immediately and hopelessly stuck in the sand. Before I got out of my car a swarm of eager children appeared to push my car out of the sand. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit as I watched five year olds pushing and digging to free me, no doubt imitating other rescue attempts they must have often seen growing up.

"Offering up everything from sick bouldering to crazy endurance aid climbs Wadi Rum sucked me in..."

After a few futile minutes a thin teenager entered the scene, shaking his head and letting me know that I wasn’t doing any good and that I was going to need a truck to pull my car out. Frustrated I glared up at the bright afternoon sun that was sinking fast, and then at the red rock that loomed beckoningly around me. Noticing my dramatics the kid introduced himself as Omar and said that his brother had a jeep and he could borrow it to pull me out. Omar must have noticed that I was still not happy with the situation, and with the instincts and hospitality of a true Bedouin then said, "But if I borrow the jeep let’s go into the desert first." Life was good again. So, I grabbed my climbing shoes and headed off to learn what Wadi Rum’s mixture of tradition and adventure had to offer me.

Wadi Rum has a climbing ethic of its own, which was adapted as the number of hardcore climbers visiting the area slowly grew, and as international climbers introduced new ideas into the local mountain culture. In the past the Bedouins were known to chip holds directly into the rock, but as climbing has turned from a thing of practicality into a sport, this has stopped. It is now all about keeping the rock as natural as possible. This means minimal fixed placements, and when placements are essential it is taken seriously. If you try to show up with a drill, you may get more than dirty looks. Instead try using a please and some glue, but even then you may be still asked to bust out your nuts and cams. Even with the push for clean climbing, there are still some bolted sport routes in the more popular areas. (Given the numbers of actual climbers coming to Wadi Rum, the word popular is used as a relative term.)

To keep the area’s aura of adventure intact and to coordinate between the local climbers and visitors, Attayak got some of his friends to set up a Wadi Rum climbing website (www.bedouinroads.com) to help get the word out. Considering Wadi Rum’s remoteness, this is one of the most direct ways for outsiders to keep current on the happenings in the area.

Offering up everything from sick bouldering to crazy endurance aid climbs Wadi Rum sucked me in, and from there you can guess how my story has gone. Since my first trip to Wadi Rum I have gone back a number of times to continue exploring and learning about the people who call Wadi Rum their home. With seemingly endless possibilities for future adventurers to trail blaze their own vertical paths, Wadi Rum remains a climbing oasis in the Middle East. Sheltered from most of the ugliness of conflict plaguing Jordan’s neighbors to the east and west, the friendly Bedouin climbers of Wadi Rum are looking forward to a future of blue skies set against soaring red cliffs.

— By John Goodman / BauBau