In reply to Chris Craggs:
Out of interest, this is what I submitted.
Trad Climbing in the UAE / Oman border region
Since the mid 1970’s over 50 separate cliffs and more than 600 routes have been climbed and documented in the Western Hajar and the Ru’us Al Jibal mountains which lie along the UAE / Oman border. The rock is limestone, and is generally very rough due to lack of water weathering. The rock is rarely as loose as it looks, but the routes encourage a bold approach, ranging from short single pitches, to serious mountaineering routes of over 500 metres. There is something for everyone. Routes range from Moderate to E5. The longer mountaineering routes are graded up to UIAA ED VI+. Most are accessible in less than 2 hours from Dubai, along fast modern highways and good tracks. In the north of the region, Wadi Bih, Wadi Qada’a, Wadi Louab have the greatest concentration of good climbing. Wadi Ghalilah and Wadi Khab a’Shamis are less popular but have great potential. Other good climbing can be found in the south near to Hatta, near to the twin oases cities of Al Ain / Buraimi that straddle the border – though cross border access is becoming more problematical. Wonderwall in particular is a fine venue with 3-4 pitch slab routes.
In Oman itself there are even greater mountaineering possibilities in the Musandam Peninsula to the north, and in the Al Hamra towers area of central Oman, with major routes on Jebel Misht and Jebel Kawr.
A comprehensive and up to date guide (UAE – A Climbers Guide) is available in the UK on CD Rom in .pdf format from Alan Stark – alstark@blueyonder.co.uk, and in the UAE from Pete Aldwinckle pete@globalclimbing.com
Recently there has been a significant development of sport climbing in the region – details on the blog -
http://uaeclimbing.blogspot.com/