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Climbing Near

Al Ula

Al Ula is surrounded by sandstone formations, but unfortunately many of them are too soft for climbing. Perhaps, with glue in bolts, some of those can be developed further in the future. For now, though, the best climbing in Al Ula is about an hour and a half away. There's a beautiful formation of granite surrounding a drainage basin that the Saudi Climbing Federation started to develop recently. The fact that the area is a drainage basin means the rock is in really good condition. The downside is that, after it rains, the area will be almost completely inaccessible until all of the water dries out. Despite that, the area is beautiful and there are endless possibilities for both trad and sport climbing.

West Crag

The goal of our trip was to develop some easy sports routes in the hopes of adding to the local tourism.

 

We started in the North East facing wall. There are three routes there now. Two bolted sports route, and a top rope route off the same anchor. The top rope (we didn't bolt it because we ran out of time) is around 5b and about 12 meters. The route next to it is around 5c and the same height. The furthest route to the right is a 3/+ and about 10 meters. The routes are short, easy and closely bolted. No more than 10 quickdraws are necessary, though you could get away with fewer if you skip some of the lower bolts and don't use them at the anchors. Climbers should be very cautious of loose rock on the two routes on the left. The rock right below the anchor is loose and flaky, and should be climbed carefully.

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The other spot we started to develop was a route on the South East Facing wall. That route is not yet completed. The anchors are in place and there are bolts in the upper half. Unfortunately we ran out of time before we were able to complete it. It's about 5a and around 25-30 meters.

East Crag

The East Crag is trad only and hasn't been explored very much yet, but there seems to be quite a few good lines for trad. So far only one of those lines has been climbed by Miguel and Majed. Miguel aptly named it "No Shame" and put it around 5b. It should be climbed in two pitches and a single rack should be enough. The first pitch is very short and has good protection. The second pitch is more of scramble to the top. There are no bolted belay or rappel points, so you have to walk off the top. I'll add other lines as they're discovered and climbed.

Climbing area near Al Ula
Map of the Al Ula climbing area
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South East Facing Wall on the West Crag
The North Facing East Crag
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