Aspirant Bedouin guides
Rum aficianado, Gilles Rappeneau recommends Talal Awad. "I did several Bedouin routes with him. He has a very good knowledge of these routes. He is a good and safe solo climber, but he has still to learn how to protect a "normal tourist". I teach him a little bit each time we go together. For the time being, he is a good guide for climbers". Meanwhile, Rum’s youngest ‘aspirant guide’, Mohammad Hammad (a brilliant climber, son of Hammad Hamdan and grandson of Sheikh Hamdan, two of the most illustrious of Rum’s climbing pioneers) visited France (summer 2005) on his own initiative, climbing in Chamonix and elsewhere with French guides. (Also see Rescue and Rum Guides below.)
For some photos of Rum Bedouin Guides (or some of them!) and a List of Rum Guides with both personal contact details and contact info for the Wadi Rum Guides' Office, click on Rum Guides.

2001. On a sad note, eminent Tribal elder Sheikh Atieeq who was the first supporter of our climbing explorations in Rum, died March 200l. See: sheikhatieq.html

2002. Together with Talal Awad, Gilles Rappeneau discovered 'The Missing Link' which climbers have searched for since 1984 - the Bedouin way across The Great Siq on Jebel Rum. Later, in October 2002, Talal, Wilf Colonna, Patrick Gabarrou and friends made the first non-Bedouin South - North Traverse of Jebel Rum using this link as the key. In spring 2002, Precht and Brochmeyer did a monster three day traverse of the south end of Jebel um Ishrin, from Draif al Muragh to Kharazeh, almost always on Extreme rock - a powerful effort!
There is also a Jordan Times report on 'Two champion climbers and their team on a two week climbing trip in Wadi Rum' click Jordan Times

2003 Environmental The RSCN Zoning plans were finalised and should not affect the climbing and trekking community too seriously. See Rum Zoning 2003. The RSCN leaflet on Safety & Environmental Awareness for Climbers & Trekkers in the Rum Protected Area is also now written. Copies available at the new Visitor Centre. See RSCN leaflet.

2003 Gilles Rappeneau and local Bedouin, Talal Awad, have explored around thirty traditional Bedouin hunting routes in Rum (grades from Fr3 to 5) though the summit of Jebel um Ishrin remains elusive. A couple of Bedouin hunters reputedly reached the top early in the last century and at least two locals claim to know the way, though no one has yet discovered it. Gilles has produced a small topo booklet to these superb adventure climbs - one copy is in the Rum Rest House and others are available from Talal.
Controversially, four bolt protected sport climbs (grades 5 to 6a) were added on Jebel M’Zaygeh in Wadi um Ishrin. Bolted routes are banned in the Rum Protected Area (National Park). In defence, the first ascentionists say the ‘glue-bolts’ are not visible, having no shiny hangers, and the routes are excellent and a good introduction to Rum rock – though after the safety of the bolts, anyone moving on from there to the traditional routes of Rum is likely to find a cool head at least as much of a requirement as technical ability. It is to be hoped that bolts do not spread insidiously onto traditional lines. Writing in the New Routes Book in 2004, Andrew Walker says “save those scary, unprotected but beautiful lines for climbers with the ability to ‘run it out’ and create bold, committing routes in the future”. Talking of good style, numerous routes were added in good style in 2003, with grades up to Fr7a. In Nov 03 (a busy month) Philip Brass and A. Busatta also re-equipped the belays on the now classic Star of Abu Judaidah EDinf 6a in Barrah Canyon and replaced the abseil pegs of Jebel Maghrar’s Desert Rats , TD 6b, with bolts as they were falling out.

2004 The Khamsin (fifty day wind) blew much of Easter 2004, bringing the worst sandstorm in living memory just as we were emerging from Rakabat Canyon into Wadi Rum. Big ‘clouds’ of Dolomitic thunderstorm proportions devoured Jebel um Ishrin and the air filled with sand as the valley and Jebel Rum disappeared. Navigating to the village with zero vis and faces scoured by stinging sand particles was a minor epic. Next morning as the dust settled we walked over to the Rest House to hear other tales of survival, one team having just topped out on Pillar of Wisdom when the storm hit, concealing everything except the summits of Rum and Um Ishrin. They didn’t make it back until the morning!
Other local news is that the Visitor Centre at the entrance to the valley was finished in July 04. Visitors are now charged an admission fee of 2JD to the Rum Protected Area. The Rest House and Campsite remain and it should still be possible to hire vehicles and local guides from the Rum Village.

The new Wadi Rum Visitor centre Sept 04. This has now opened and visitors to Rum now have to pay 2JD (£2) entrance fee when they arrive at the new Visitor Centre at the valley entrance. From there, a vehicle has to be hired to reach Rum. All Bedouin guides including those from Rum now have to pick up tourists at the Centre. In Rum itself, visitor camping is still allowed at the Rest House. Guides and vehicles can still be arranged in the village (though maybe not officially). No doubt it will all sort itself out in due course. At the moment the subject of areas of limited or restricted access or of designated bivouac areas, has not been resurrected – any efforts to do so could severely impinge on climbing and trekking in the area. See 'Safety & Environmental Awareness for Climbers & Trekkers in the new edition of our Rum Guide.

2005 Numerous new climbs added throughout te area, grades up to 6c. Precht and Brochmeyer were amongst the regulars, adding Jebel Rum's South Wall of the West Pillar -7 pitches with a 6b crux and, together with Oswald Ölz, the West Pillar itself -9 pitches, 6a max, "superb". The trio went on to climb Gourmet right of the West Pillar, 5 max "perfect rock, a real pleasure" descending by four 50m abs on good gear. Andy Walker climbed Songline, "four exciting pitches" 6c, 6a, 5c, 5c/6a up a "perfect Barrah-style straight crack on the S Face of Jebel um M’goor. Good nut pro throughout", and aspirant Guides Omar Auda and Mohamed Hammad made their first new route, Welcome to the Gazelles in Barrah Canyon, with 2 pitches of 5+ which clients seem to enjoy. See CLIMBER August 2005 for Ed Douglas' article on Rum.
Later in the year, the rock Mecca of Jebel Rum’s East Dome East Face had yet another top quality climb added, this time by T Sobotka, O Benes and M Rosecku. Named Rock Empire it is bolt protected and grade 7 & 8 for most its 15 pitches, which were climbed over four days. Their verdict “A great sport climb on perfect rock – carry ten quick draws, some slings and 2x60m ropes also some Friends for the final pitches of Raid Mit the Camel”.

2006
On N. Nassrani SE Face, Sandy Silence, by M Dorfleitner and F Freider added 9 pitches on one of Rum’s most impressive walls on the 3rd Jan 2006 by a “Long and ‘spacey’ bolted route on good rock - more demanding than ‘Guerre Sainte” which is to the left”. (Muezzin is to the right.) All that’s needed are 13 quick draws, slings, 2x60m ropes “and a good head”! It’s a shame therefore that an unnecessary bolt-protected line has been added between and close to Perverse Frog and The Beauty (both 1985 trad routes by Wilf Colonna and Alan Baker). The climb, Priez pour Nous (Pray for Us – were they expecting condemnation?) is 6 pitches mostly 6b, 6c, with a 7b crux; 25 bolts were placed, and shiny ones at that – even visible glinting in the sun from the Rest House, over a kilometre away. It maybe an enjoyable climb but in our opinion and, I suspect, Wilfried Colonna’s having spoken to him, the use of bolts here is unsightly and undoubtedly detracts from the ambience of the nearby traditional classics. The cliffs of Rum were developed as an adventure playground with few signs of man – let’s keep it that way.

2007
John and Anne Arran did some excellent repeats and first ascents. Info on their website at The Freeclimber.com

Rescue and Rum Guides Visitors to Wadi Rum are advised to have a travel insurance that includes $10,000 for helicopter rescue. This also applies if they are climbing with Bedouin guides as the guides have no professional insurance, none being available at present. However, as the local Bedouin guides have been involved in all the rescues in Rum to date, they have formed the Wadi Rum Volunteer Rescue Society. They are looking for voluntary contributions to costs of rescues they are involved in so they can purchase much-needed essential rescue equipment. Wilf Colonna, a French guide who spends much of the year in Rum says "Please, advise people about this. The Wadi Rum boys are very efficient. Anybody who has been rescued by the guides' Rescue Volunteer Service or who wishes to assist the rescue team financially, should make a donation via Sabbah Eid al Zalabieh who is responsible for the Rum Rescue Fund".
On the positive side, the Guides have identified accident 'hot spots' and popular routes and are negotiating for approval and assistance from ASEZA (the Aqaba based Rum Authority) to carry out training of aspirants on these climbs before issuing them a guiding permit, to be recognized by ASEZA. The Guides are also hoping for assistance from the French with a technical guiding course, to be supported by their Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Finally visitors to Rum are advised to leave notification of their intended treks and climbs at the Tourist Police Office in the Rum Rest House (not at the new Visitor Centre as originally proposed). This is a sensible precaution in an area where the mountains are unusually complex.
The 4th edition of our guidebook to Treks and Climbs in Wadi Rum was published by Cicerone Presss in 2007. No new climbs, but new introductory info on access etc. Our 2nd edition Jordan guide (2008) also includes some climbs in Rum. See publications

New route info will be found in the New Routes book at the Rest House.

For more info on Rum, see Wadi Rum
For Wadi Rum Photos. See Rum photos
For info on Jordan, see Jordan and Ruth's Jordan
For photos of Jordan see: Jordan Gallery

For more info on Wadi Rum, Bedouin and Bedouin climbs, new climbs, guiding, access and general info, see:
http://www.rumguides.com and atieq_aouda@yahoo.com
http://bedouinroads.com and bedouinroads@yahoo.com
http://www.wadirumadventures.com and info_wadirum@yahoo.com
http://wadiram.userhome.ch/
http://www.desertguides.com
http://www.jordanjubilee.com
http://www.wadirum.net
http://www.acacialand.com/