Hot Rock: Climbing in Egypt

Feb - Mar 08

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Entering Egypt from Sudan, we’ll stop for a cold beer, the first in a while (Sudan is a dry country). We’ll head to Aswan, where we’ll find impressive ruins such as the Philai temple and Abu Simbal. There is also the potential for some fun on the giant boulders by the banks of the Nile where, years ago prior to the dam being built, rapids of the Nile flowed.

From here we journey on to Luxor, the ancient Middle Kingdom capital. We can drive this section, but much a much more pleasurable experience is to board an ancient felucca and sail down the Nile for four days watching the bank drift slowly by.

Luxor boasts many of the ancient temples and burial sites of Egypt. From the Valley of the Kings with Tutankhamen’s tomb to the Ramasesium, Karnak temple and the Collosi of Memnon. We will explore surrounding cliffs and a few days can merrily be spent wandering around fantasising about being Indiana Jones (or Lara Croft, whichever tickles your fancy). Exploration by donkey can be highly recommended to save tired feet and laugh at the sight of your friends falling off aforementioned beasts of burden.

Heading north from Luxor, we can again choose our transport. We can drive in BiRT or take the local train that weaves along the irrigated banks of the Nile, as we make our way to Cairo.

Cairo itself? Some love it, others hate it. It's a huge heaving hectic city where nothing works and the noise of car horns necessitates ear plugs, or surgery upon leaving. But there is plenty to see and do, be it visiting the citadel, the ancient Arabic quarter or the many bazaars and roadside cafes. A visit to the Cairo museum is a must, to marvel at the jumble of ancient Egyptian art and Tutankhamen’s solid gold funeral mask. You could also spend your time living it up at the Cairo Hilton, sipping a gin and tonic on the terrace above the Nile or indulging in the buffet breakfast that would beat even Pete's Eats (well, it's a close call).

After a couple of days in the city we will take the truck out to the Pyramids at Giza, one of the true wonders of the world. As you wander past the Sphinx and gaze in awe at these colossal monuments, time stands still and, as a climber the one over-riding thought in your head will be, can I climb them? The answer is no, in theory, as the many signs boldly say. In reality many people do sneak up and it's about a V.diff (5.4) set of mantles and high steps that lead to aview that's hard to beat.

Out at the pyramids it's possible to take horse or camel rides, and to ride these trusty beasts for three hours through the desert to explore the even more ancient stepped pyramids at Saqara. Another worthwhile excursion from Cairo is the short train ride to Alexandria on the Mediterranean. This old colonial town has wonderful architecture, and being at the end of the Nile, marks the end of our source to mouth journey following the longest river in the world.

From Cairo we will drive to Dahab, on the Red Sea coast of the Sinai peninsula. Dahab is one of the best places in the world to kick back and relax, dive and explore the stunning Sinai mountains.

Egyptians describe Sinai as

“Sinai: land of discovery. The route to the Promised Land, where Isis sought Osiris and the Pharaohs found gold. Where Moses witnessed the burning bush and Bedouins camped by Crusader forts. A meeting point for three great religions, at the crossroads of Africa and Asia. After 80,000 years at the heart of history, experience the continuing contrasts. Sinai: where rock meets coral reef and the desert stops at the sea. Where the grandeur of granite meets the golden beaches of the "Red Sea Riviera".Tropical Fish and rare birds, spectacular sunsets and clear starry nights."

In Dahab time passes like in no other place in the World, weeks seem like days and all too soon it's time to leave before your arms rust up and brain turns to jelly. For those not feeling lazy, Dahab has lots of things to do, with some of the best scuba diving and snorkelling anywhere, it's a cheap place to get your PADI certificate. There's jet skiing, wind surfing, water-skiing and quad bike chaos out in the desert. It's a good place to chat to other travellers before we continue into the interior of the Sinai as Moses and the Israelites did (although I think they had more important things to do than find good rock climbing). Before we head into the interior of the mountainous Sinai peninsula, we will spend a day or so on the bolted routes at Wadi Gnai, just outside of Dahab.

Sinai has not seen the development of the other major Middle Eastern climbing venue, Wadi Rum, but it has at least as much rock. Sinai does have a long history of climbing; as far back as 1937 a party including the famous Italian climber Comici climbed Jebel Ghara (1,900m) and many of the faces in the area. Tony Howard, the guru of Middle Eastern adventure, has also climbed throughout the region. More recent development by Israeli and French climbers has started to touch on the vast potential that this place has to offer.

Catherine Destivelle climbed around St Katherine's monastery at Mt. Sinai, the fabled mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments. There are a number of bolted sports climbs in the area, and in contrast, vast unclimbed faces to be attempted with a sense of adventure and a full rack. We will base ourselves near the monastery for a while to attempt such routes as 'Billy the Kid' or 'Joshua three.'

Sinai gallery

Aswan gallery

St Katherine's Gallery

The potential for trekking and exploration in the area is also huge; the highest mountain in Egypt, Mt St Catherine, is a long day’s walk. One option is to go on a fantastic 4-5 day camel trip southwards through the desert all the way to Sharm El Sheikh. Camping out in the desert at night with our local guides and trusty ‘ships of the desert’ we will explore the multitude of rock walls and canyons for new routes and repeat the routes put up by previous Hot Rock camel explorations.

Below is an extract from the diary of one of the people on the camel trip:

“We had trekked in from Jebel Musa (St Katherine's monastery) for the last five days, climbing whenever the rock showed its ‘face’. My camel and I had reached an all-new high in our relationship; his biting has been replaced by drooling on me. He seemed happy with this crazy Englishman on his back and did 80% of what he was told to do.
We had stopped for the night as it was almost dark, the shadows gathering in around us. In a narrow canyon, the only sky that remained visible was a central strip above our heads. The moon was 'taking off' using this strip of sky as its 'runway' and its light illuminated the great walls on either side of us. We went to sleep with great anticipation for what the next day would bring.

The sun burst through the mesh of my tent and washed over my face. I crawled from the tent to the fire where my morning hit of caffeine was being brewed to obscene strengths and the bread was baking within the fire’s embers. The sounds of morning prayers were echoing eerily around the canyon walls.

The breakfast of fresh fruit and bread had been washed down with the coffee and all was packed for an assault on the wall just 100m from the sandy hollow where we had slept. I had spied a crack that appeared continuous for about 100m. It didn't look too bad, so I roped in a couple of willing friends and began thrutching my way up what was rapidly becoming a flared protectionless grimace.

I eventually completed the first pitch, at around E3 5c. My two, now less cooperative, friends had joined me on the belay. I began the second pitch, which was impeccable climbing involving high quality face and crack climbing. It finished at the end of the line at an astonishing finger crack, giving the new route 'Camel Song' (E4 5c, 6a), so named due to the gurgling coming from the sex crazed camels’ throats below.

The others had abseiled off and I was left at the top, alone, looking out on a view that until that moment no one had ever looked on before, at the top of a climb that no-one had ever climbed.

I left my Camelot 4 in place and abseiled off to join other climbing teams who had been just as successful. We left a few days later atop our camels and searched for new 'pastures' rocky and dry to carry on the epic adventure.'
We may also explore other climbing areas in the Sinai such as the Painted Canyon and Blue Desert, before heading across the Red Sea to Jordan, from where our trip heads up through the Middle East. We will travel the length of Jordan and Syria, and into Turkey and eventually to Istanbul, gateway to the East.

Hot Rock: Climbing in Egypt