Trip Report: Sultanate of Oman
Posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008
I’ve always been curious to know if new bouldering areas could be found by using Google Earth alone, and as it turns out, the answer is… sometimes.
I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Sultanate of Oman in search of some of the largest free-standing boulders I’ve ever seen.
My research on Google Earth showed that there were some real monsters there, up to 300 feet across. Most of the boulders appeared to be concentrated in an area of the country near the Selma Plateau, a massive limestone uplift located about 120 miles south-east of the capital city Muscat. I knew that where there are boulders of that size, there would surely be a selection of smaller boulders that would be perfect for climbing. With the help of Cloudveil and Momentum Video Magazine, I bought my ticket and got ready to do the age-old task of putting my money where my mouth was.
The first job was just getting all my stuff over there. I couldn’t afford to pay extra luggage, so I had to figure out a way to get all three of my crash pads, a full camera kit with tripod, camping gear and clothing to Oman without breaking any of the airline’s rules. I had to remove the foam from all the pads, and I couldn’t take the thick foam for my larger pad, instead opting to buy new foam when I arrived.
The flights to Oman were uneventful. I opted to take a day in London between flights to see the town, drink beer and see a play in the theatre district.
On arriving in Oman, my first job was to get my Jeep and try to find some foam, which took about two hours at the local market. I cut the foam down to size and stuffed my large pad. From here, I was free to explore the countryside with my print-outs from Google Earth. … I think I’ll let the video tell the rest of the story… Enjoy!
Chuck Fryberger is a Cloudveil ambassador from Colorado.
That didn’t take long. Interesting concept Chuck, I hadn’t thought this sort of thing was possible but that is why I sit in a cubicle all day I guess. Any plans to do this sort of thing in the future? Do you think you can use google earth to find some boulders in Wisconsin??
Amazing !! Good job man
Chuck – will you be sharing your boulder finds with the climbing community out here? How about posting some notes or topos over at omanclimbing.com
Anyone who has enjoyed the pictures and video of climbing in Oman might like to check out the omanclimbing.com website. There is an active local climbing scene and topos for all the main sport crags can be downloaded there. Too bad all the local climbers missed Chuck on his trip. We might have been able to provide some local knowledge; for example, the place he calls Wadi Nakhl is actually called Kubrah Canyon and has been a climbing site since the late 80s.
Sorry, some of the pictures on this link http://www.momentumvm.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=43 do show Kubrah Canyon, but the video seems to show a different wadi.
I am disappointed Chuck still hasn’t taken the time to document any of these bouldering claims. The article implies this region is some obscure never-before-visited Bongo-Bongoland … Actually there’s a large and growing multi-national climbing community out here (UAE and Oman), several active boulderers and increasing numbers of overseas climbing visitors. Don’t complain or expect to be taken seriously if your problems get claimed by others in due course.
In response to the above,
I did document my boulderin with video.
The video does not imply that I single-handedly established rock climbing in Oman. It merely documents my first ascents there. I am familiar with the long history of climbing there and think it’s a wonderful place. I’m not really concerned if my problems get re-found or re-named… they just boulder problems for god sakes. I applied for a username and password for the local climbing forum but was not granted one. Hopefully this helps set the record straight.