UKC

Adventurous rock climbing and mountaineering in Ethiopia. Sun, dust, rock, wildlife and cries of Farenji!

"The views out of the truck morphed from a bustling city full of people stocking up on supplies ready for an Easter Sunday feast, to countryside views of rolling hills, valleys and jagged mountains and escarpments. The shops turned to green pastures and forests, which in turn changed to dustier, dry and rocky ploughed fields. Wherever in the country we were, and however quiet the roads, the locals were consistent in their approach to crossing roads. They would wait until the car was just meters way, and then dart out in front of us, and if they did not, their livestock would!"


Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6712

In reply to UKC Articles:

Really fascinating to read this, I hope one day to travel to Ethiopia to climb and trek with my son (we adopted from Ethiopia 2 years ago). He's still only small though (nearly 3), so hoping he gets the outdoor bug and I stay healthy enough for an Ethiopian adventure to be a possibility a dozen years from now.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Nice one Mandy! Pretty sure that’s me in the first photo though - just about to go caving in the crack!

In reply to UKC Articles:

Nice write up Mandy!

In reply to ebdon:

Ps cant believe the video didn't make the Oscars!

In reply to UKC Articles:

Funny how people get all jumped up about climbing in Israel yet:

"Ethiopian authorities continue to severely restrict freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Thirty journalists and opposition members have been convicted under the country’s vague Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, and security forces responded to protests by Muslim communities with excessive force and arbitrary detentions. The Ethiopian government continues to forcibly resettle hundreds of thousands of rural villagers, including indigenous peoples, as part of its “villagization” program, relocating them through violence and intimidation, and often without essential services."

http://www.hrw.org/africa/ethiopia

In reply to Morgan Woods:
Having spent considerable time in Ethiopia whilst adopting our son it was certainly clear that it has its problems, but to be honest they appeared less severe than many other developing world countries I have visited. If you search hard enough I'm sure it is possible to find pretty damning sounding statements about regimes in many countries. Although I heard of some discontent and corruption I was struck that this was at least partially balanced by education programs and a desire to reform and integrate with the world beyond the African continent, they possess a growing export economy and having a stable political climate is key to expanding this.
There are many countries on the African continent with more oppressive regimes and less stability, I would endorse Ethiopia as a cultural and climbing destination and feel that more contact with Western tourists (and the financial benefit they bring) will largely be a positive thing for the Ethiopian people. I would not feel comfortable making the same statement about Israel (although that is such a complex situation and the rights and wrongs of visiting are hard to unravel - I would not hastily condemn someone who chose to do so).

In reply to The Ivanator:

I wouldn't disagree with you....and my post wasn't a dig at the rather good article.