Wadi Sulam, First Routes

Jordan
Author: Marcello Sanguineti. Climb Year: 2018. Publication Year: 2019.

 

IN APRIL, a group of 13 climbers led by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) engaged in an exploratory expedition, organized by the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), to explore the Wadi Sulam region and establish new rock climbs and canyoneering routes. Wadi Sulam is a wild labyrinth of sandstone canyons about 100km north of well-known Wadi Rum. The wadis of Sulam are situated at about 1,000m above sea level, and the area is reminiscent of a miniature Wadi Rum, with smaller canyons and rock walls up to 200m in height. [Editor’s note: wadi means “canyon” in Arabic.]

With our guides Ahmad Banihani and Abdulah Al Saheb, we travelled by bus to the village of Showbak, the last inhabited settlement on the road into Wadi Sulam. The next morning we drove to the Showbak plateau in jeeps and established a base camp, then split into teams to explore for rock climbs and canyon routes.

We opened several multi-pitch routes within 20 minutes to an hour of camp, some traditionally protected and some with protection bolts where natural gear was not available. As requested by the JTB, these climbs have bolted belay anchors, and we also equipped one crag with bolted single-pitch climbs at the request of the JTB.

Notable multi-pitch climbs include Il The nel Deserto (200m, 6 pitches, 6b+) on Khanzerya Tower, Via dello Scorpione (100m, 6a) in Black Canyon, and Via Zizzagando (120m, 4 pitches, 6b) on Torre Belluno. Generally, the multi-pitch climbs require a full rack of cams and two ropes to rappel. One day we received an hour of intense rain and hail that flooded the wadis of Sulam, trapping some members of our team against the walls of tight canyons and partially destroying our base camp. [Click here to download descriptions of the routes.]

– Marcelo Sanguineti, CAAI (Italian Academic Alpine Club)



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