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.