I can't help too much since my experience is pretty limited, but since I assume not that many people from SP have been there outside military, I'll share what I know.

Does anyone have any beta on the Arabian Peninsula (i.e. hikes or climbs)?

UAE is pretty flat (at least the parts I've seen), but Oman does have good mountains. Jebel Akhdar might be the best area, but you have to stay away from any communication towers on the lower summits.

Anyway, when I was in UAE in 1997, you had to get a special visa and had to be sponsored by a hotel to get it (and hotels aren't cheap). Since you will be living there, maybe you will have more freedom. Unfortunately, I don't have any updated info.

You can or could also head over to Yeman which has some nice mountains, but I haven't been there at all (check Lonely Planet) and I have no idea what the current travel situation is.

For the rest of the Arabian peninsula it seems that the countries are either pretty flat (Qatar or Bahrain) or you aren't allowed to climb anything (Saudi Arabia).

Anyway one positive is that Gulf Air (UAE seems to be their major hub) is a gateway to places like East Africa and Asia (i.e. Nepal). At least when I've flown with them, I've had good services and their prices were quite reasonable.

I hope at least some of the info was useful.

Yes, Scott, thank you for your input. I'll be sure and post info and pictures as I get the chance to explore.
Cheers;
Pete

LOL!, so, come to iran. many mountains near

I suggest you take up skiing

ppergande,

Once you have found some good outdoor recreational opportunities- Perhaps you can use the staircase at the new burj dubai skycraper as a means of effective alpine training?

When completed, this will be the tallest skyscraper in the world (and by considerable margins I hear....)!!





I love the indoor ski-resort in the desert! Don't they have a man-made island resort too?

rickford wrote:ppergande,
I love the indoor ski-resort in the desert! Don't they have a man-made island resort too?

Yeah they have a couple palm trees and and are working on a man made island that looks like the world from what I hear...You can see the palms on google earth, and the start of the world, but the satellite image is a bit dated, Ive heard the globe is further along than the google earth picture shows.

Thanks guys;
I’m sure that I well check out the ski area once, but somehow I don’t think it will quench my appetite for skiing. The Burj Dubai is very impressive. With it’s antenna it well be 818m (2684ft). That’s 162 stories. A great work out idea for sure.

I've been to the Emirates several times and always try to scratch my climbing itch while I'm there. The coastal plain along the gulf is very flat and (topographically) boring, but there's some interesting terrain in the mountains to the west and north. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Try Jabal Hafit, just south of Al Ain. It's not much of a mounaineering objective since there's a paved road to the top, but it's a fine viewpoint with some interesting wind-carved rock formations.

I once hiked across the mountains from Khor Fakkan to Masafi. Interesting routefinding and some class 3 scrambling. It's very easy to get lost out there since it's very fractal terrain and there's no vegetation for scale reference. You can't tell whether you're looking at a small ridge close by or a big ridge far away. It all looks the same. Pay attention.

The far northwest, up the Musandam peninsula, contains some good-sized mountains up to about 7000 ft. It's part of Oman but the exact location of the border seems vague. Try driving north from Diba to Rawdah; that'll take you through some amazing steep-walled canyons that had me wishing for my climbing gear. The road continues north from there, climbing high in the mountains, until some military folks will no doubt turn you around.

Finding good maps is a challenge. Aviation charts and google earth are your friends.

Hiking and climbing, or for that matter any physical activity outside of a mall, is considered to be very weird by everyone over there, locals and expats alike. That's both good and bad, in that any place off the beaten track you'll have to yourself, but it also means that what you're doing will be viewed as vaguely suspicious.

It's not really "climbing", but be sure to check out the desert to the south. Down past the Liwa oases the gravel plain turns to a sea of sand dunes. I've always wanted to hike off from the road and camp out down there.

You can PM me for more info. Be sure to report back what you find; I'll probably be there in Dec/Jan and looking for someplace new to explore. Maybe we can meet up to bag some peaks...

Thanks for the awesome info MShetter.
We should definitely meet up in Dec/Jan. I’ll be psyched have someone with some experience in that area to explore with. Hopefully by that time I will have been around a bit myself. Keep in touch and remind me of your travel plans a little closer to December.
Cheers;
Pete

While you're at it, see if you can find out what the highest point in the Emirates is. Many sources claim it's Jebel Hafeet (1240m / 4068 ft) but that's lower than some of the mountains to the north. Several (seemingly more authoritative) sources say it's Jebel Yibir (1527m / 5010 ft). However, there are higher peaks farther north - Jebel Harim (2087m / 6847 ft) is the highest point on the Musandam peninsula but it's probably in Oman. There's another peak about 500 ft lower and a few miles to the west that by my reading of the maps probably lies across the border in the UAE and thus gets my vote for the highest point in the country. It all depends on exactly where the border is, though.

To us peakbaggers who can spend an evening around the campfire debating minutia about peak lists, it seems strange that something as significant as the highest point in a nation could be left so ambiguous.

Does anybody else out there have some more authoritative information on the subject?

The Hawasina Range in northern Oman is fantastic! No tourist routes and, as far as I know, only 1:100000 topo maps exist, but e.g. Goggle Earth has brilliant resolution there. Don't miss Jebel Ries and Qafas, but you'll find incredible mountains everywhere!

MShetter wrote:While you're at it, see if you can find out what the highest point in the Emirates is. Many sources claim it's Jebel Hafeet (1240m / 4068 ft) but that's lower than some of the mountains to the north. Several (seemingly more authoritative) sources say it's Jebel Yibir (1527m / 5010 ft). However, there are higher peaks farther north - Jebel Harim (2087m / 6847 ft) is the highest point on the Musandam peninsula but it's probably in Oman. There's another peak about 500 ft lower and a few miles to the west that by my reading of the maps probably lies across the border in the UAE and thus gets my vote for the highest point in the country. It all depends on exactly where the border is, though.

To us peakbaggers who can spend an evening around the campfire debating minutia about peak lists, it seems strange that something as significant as the highest point in a nation could be left so ambiguous.

Does anybody else out there have some more authoritative information on the subject?

My vote goes to Jabal Yibir. As far as I see in my research the tallest point in UAE is Jabal Yibir (1527m / 5010ft).
The Musandam peninsula is considered part of Oman.
I was surprised to find that the highest point in Oman and the whole of eastern Arabia is Jabel Shams around 9,800ft. Sources differ as to the exact height of the summit of Jabal Shams, with figures ranging between 2,980m and 3,075m.
I guess I’ll have to check it out for myself.
Here is an artical about a couple of Aussies that just put up some new routes in this area of Oman(http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews.lasso?l=2&keyid=36019). Looks pretty sweet.