An Ascent of Sabbah's Route on Jebel Khazali in the Wadi Rum

Introduction

Jebel Khazali (1,420 meters)
Sabbah's Route (Grade III, Class 5.3)
Wadi Rum, Jordan

After seeing Jek's SummitPost page on the Wadi Rum, I knew that I had to see the Wadi Rum for myself.

In March 2012 that opportunity presented itself. I traveled to Jordan for 2 weeks for a caving conference, and spent 4 days hiking, scrambling and climbing in the Wadi Rum area.

Despite major shoulder injuries that ended my rock-climbing career many years ago, I hired the guides Atieeq and Sulieman from Wadi Rum Mountain Guides for the trip.

What I got was more than what I bargained for, more than just scrambling. Atieeq took me up Sabbah's Route on Jebel Khazali.

PHOTO BELOW: My Bedouin rock-climbing guide Atieeq

Geology

Please see my SummitPost page The Geology of Wadi Rum for details on the interesting geology this region.

Jebel Khazali is a massive, isolated block that rises to an altitude of 1,420 meters.

The top of the Khazali plateau is a confused jumble of domes, deep slot canyons and gravel beds. Traveling anywhere on top still requires route-finding and scrambling.

The Route

PHOTO BELOW: Satellite map of Jebel Khazali, showing ascent and rappel routes

PHOTO BELOW: The lower half of Sabbah's Route	PHOTO: The upper half of Sabbah's Route (Rappel route marked)

The Lower Climb

The lower section of Sabbah's Route climbs broken ground over purple Um Sahn sandstone on the east face of Jebel Khazali. The climbing is mostly an easy scramble, with multiple short sections up to 5.3 in difficulty.

PHOTO BELOW: The start of Sabbah's Route (large toe on the right), showing the typical class 3 scrambling terrain	PHOTO BELOW: Atieeq scrambling

PHOTO BELOW: Atieeq Hero Shot	PHOTO: Sierra ledge Rat on a ridge on Sabbah's Route

PHOTO BELOW: My guide Atieeq	PHOTO: Transition from Um Sahn sandstone to Rum sandstone

The Upper Climb

The upper section of Sabbah's Route climbs slabs and domes over white Rum sandstone on the east face of Jebel Khazali. The climbing is mostly an easy scramble, with multiple short sections up to 5.3 in difficulty.

PHOTO BELOW: The first hard pitch on Rum sandstone	PHOTO BELOW: Coiling the rope

PHOTO BELOW: The summit plateau	PHOTO BELOW: The summit plateau

PHOTO BELOW: The maze of domes on the summit plateau	PHOTO BELOW: The maze of domes on the summit plateau

PHOTO BELOW: Traversing a dome	PHOTO BELOW: The last hard pitch

The Summit

The summit was covered with a thin layer of purple, lavender and tan shale. The purple shale contained marine fossils.

PHOTO BELOW: Atieeq stepping onto the summit shale	PHOTO BELOW: Purple shale on the summit

PHOTO BELOW: Sierra ledge Rat on the summit shale	PHOTO BELOW: Summit Fossils (No, not me)

PHOTO BELOW: Atieeq on the Summit	PHOTO BELOW: Sierra Ledge Rat on the Summit

The Descent

We down-climbed the route "Purple Haze" on the east face of Jebel Khazali. This route was more difficult than Sabbah's Route, and so the down-climbing was quite a bit more sustained.

We rappelled a total of 5 times, the last 3 rappels in series into a large talus-filled gully.

PHOTO BELOW: Atieeq starting the descent	PHOTO BELOW: Atieeq on the descent

PHOTO BELOW: Rappel #1	PHOTO BELOW: Rappel #2

PHOTO BELOW: What a view!	PHOTO BELOW: Resting in the shade and surveying the next bit of down-climbing

PHOTO BELOW: The Last Rappel	PHOTO BELOW: The Final Gully

Epilogue

After my trip to Wadi Rum, I went caving in northeastern Jordan, along the border with Syria and Iraq.

We had armed protection when venturing in the border areas. Jordan itself is extremely safe for tourists, and such precautions are not necessary unless you were within a kilometer or two of Syria or Iraq.

PHOTO BELOW: Caving in Jordan	PHOTO BELOW: Hyena Kills

Moral of the Story

Old climbers can still get out there, and rock-climbing is still in my blood!

Images

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