The 2nd edition of our Jordan book was published in July 2008. Info on a number of new climbs and treks was received just after the publisher's deadline, plus we added more on our spring 2008 & 9 visits, and some GPS points. We include some here, and in the following pages, working through Jordan, from north to south (trekking info is minimal, due to space limitations). Any info received in the future that is relevant to this book will be posted on these 'Jordan-update' pages for the benefit of our readers.

PELLA AREA
A new trek we did in 2012:
Pella to Sharhabil Bin Hassneh Eco-park
The route progresses N, against the lay of the land, along ridges and plateaus bisected by steep sided valleys draining into the sub-sea level Jordan Rift Valley. The rock in the valleys is conglomerate whilst that on the tops is usually limestone. Consequently, in spring, most of the way is carpeted in a rich variety of flowers. We also saw numerous cranes riding the thermals to gain height on their migration north, as well as buzzards, and hawks. The scenery is ever-changing, with good views across to Palestine and the valleys and hills around Mt Tabor on a clear day.
Grade Moderate trek, 11.5km from Pella Hot Springs. Add another couple of km if walking from Pella Rest House, more from Pella Countryside Hotel, probably better to take a taxi. Fairly adventurous, take care with route finding, always looking ahead for the next objective.
Full details in Al Ayoun pdf with other new walks and climbs in the beautiful Al Ayoun area in the hills to the east, see Al Ayoun update.

CLIMBING, North Jordan - SAQEB AREA
Saqeb Cliff: Shivering Crack (guidebook page 305) is Grade 5. Apolgies for the ommission. Dec 09, damaged bolts reported at Sami's Cliff.

CAVING
Zubia Cave - Prof Stephan Kempe, a member of a survey of Zubia Cave (also known as Al Daher) in Dec 2006, has asked us to point out that “The problem with giving locations of caves (none are known in Jordan of the extent of Al Daher by the way) is rather grave since people are digging everywhere and destroying very valuable scientific resources. The same is happening in Al-Daher, flowstone is being removed by professionals and there is no way to stop them. Please put a note in your website as to the absolute need for conservative visitation only; may I also recommend that anybody who is defacing this or other caves in Jordan, damaging their interior or even stealing objects, should be reported to the authorities.”
For a full professional report and topo of Zubia (El Daher) Cave, see Journal of Cave & Karst Studies, Dec 06, v.68, no. 3, p.107-114.
More Caving News (Nov 09).
Carlos Abellanosa emailed with some comments about caves in North Jordan:
Zubia Cave (route 145, Jordan guide), the situation is alarming: much dirtier, much more graffiti, much more damage. The road surroundings where people take a picnic is a rubbish carpet, maybe because it was Eid and people was having picnics almost every day. There is no trash container and there are painted arrows so people can find the cave easily. In the cave, people burn plastic bottles held by a stick, so the air inside is poisonous; in a cave with one single entry there is no air draught, so everything stays for long time at the ceiling and who's at the top? The bats. 5 years ago in speleo meetings we were discussing the harmful use of carbide in massive cave visits, because the new LED technology offers a clean solution. We have returned with students of King’s Academy for a clean-up project, for a full report see article. We removed 71 kilos of waste and in the future more cleanness programmes will be developed.
The Lava Tube (route 149), my wife and I were there last weekend and have decided to do a good topo; its not huge, but there is enough to enjoy. This cave is what we call in Spanish speleo slang, a 'drain': all surface rain-water goes to this point, which means you can be blocked in a fatal outcome by a flashflood; the worst is that there are two siphons or U-bends, so it can be dangerous and people should be advised not to enter when clouds look threatening.
Dec 09. We went to the lava tube cave and we confirmed a possible circuit between the ground floor and upper floor, so there are two holes to reach the upper floor. We mapped from the second squeeze til the end and we tried “to open” the way, but we estimated more than 6m trench to dig in conditions that is necessary to remove the helmet… but we will not conclude the cave as impenetrable or with impossible progress, because at the end it’s a hard work but its possible to open a sediment trench.

Photos:
top, Wadi Taibah, bottom, Wadi abu Salih.

The following pages have more info on other developments in Jordan since March 2008:
Ayoun treks & climbs
Walks in El Aluk Hills
Dead Sea Hills: RSCN Dead Sea Canyons, a new climb in Karak area, GPS points, Wadi Assal, Wadi Numeira, Wadi Jamal-Khanzira, Wadi Jahal and Wadi Feid.
Climbs in the Petra area
Treks in the new Jebel Mas’uda Reserve
Wadi Rum and the Aqaba Mountains: A new climb near Wadi Rum & Wadi Rum GPS points plus explorations near Aqaba

IMPORTANT: Canyoning & Climbing safety

NB, the mobile phone number for the Countryside Hotel, Pella, run by Deeb Hussein, is incorrect in the guidebook. The correct contact info is: Pella Countryside Hotel
http://www.pellacountrysidehotel.com
Email: dheebjawahreh575@hotmail.com
mobile 079 876 9034.