Jabal Bil Ays and Jabal ar Rahrah

Jabal Bil Ays 1911 m/ 6269′ and Jabal ar Rahrah 1540 m/ 5052′
International– Asia
Archival Series (statistics approximate): Date climbed 4/2/2014
Total Time: 6 hours
Distance: 15 km/ 9 miles
Elevation Gain: 800 m/ 2600′
Crux: Class 1
Trailhead: Jebel Jais Highway, no services in 2014

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Of all of my crazy peakbagging schemes, bagging the UAE highpoint is a contender for the craziest. On my way to Tanzania to climb Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro, I had a scheduled overnight layover in Dubai. As a way to promote tourism in the United Arab Emirates, you could schedule an extra 24 hours into your layover for a very small fee, giving me about 36 hours to climb Jabal Bil Ays 1911 meters/ 6269′ on the border of the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the Hajar Mountains on the Musandam Peninsula. I landed in the evening of April 1st, and after renting a small sedan, drove out of Dubai to the neighboring town of Ajman along the Persian Gulf. Although a busy coastal town, it was far from the glitz and glamour of the resorts in Dubai allowing me to find a cheap room with free parking. I checked into my hotel, got some dates and snacks at a local market and headed to bed.

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I woke up before dawn in part from a combination of nerves, jetlag and a hope to beat the heat of the day and headed northeast on an open desert highway. I had rented a GPS with the car, but partway into my drive it crashed and started leading down rough dirt roads into the mountains, the paths lined with small homes and stray livestock. Pulling over, I was able to course correct by dropping a pin on the highway leading up towards the summit of Jabal Bil Ays. Back on track, I found my way to the highway, freshly paved and winding up a steep and impressive canyon.

The well paved road aggressively switchbacked before abruptly dead ending at roughly 1300 meters where it was barricaded and switched to dirt. I parked my car on the shoulder of the pristine but completely empty highway and started up the dirt path and continuation of the road. The legality of my route was quite vague- there were a handful of trip reports online on bagging the peak this way, but I passed plenty of colorful signs in Arabic that could have been said anything from construction zone warnings to “No trespassing- punishable by death.” With that thought in the back of my head, I left the road and scrambled up the rock directly upslope toward the summit of Jabal ah Rahrah. There were a number of fossils imbedded in the rocks, and I took a short break at the summit, barely able to see the Persian Gulf through the thick haze, and certainly not to Iran across the water.

I dropped to the east and back to the road, passing a few small encampments from the construction workers, a number of goats roaming freely, and a shepherd tending them who gave a friendly wave. As I traveled higher on the road I passed south of an elaborate home, rumored to be one of the Sheik’s summer homes as a means to somewhat escape the oppressive heat below. I had assumed at the time that was the reason for the highway being built. But in reality the road would ultimately many years later lead to “Jais,” essentially a small adventure amusement park and the home of the longest zipline in the world, a via ferrata and alpine sled. Somewhat ironically, the improvement of the road and presence of the new amusement park has led to increased security around the Sheikh’s home and people are now blocked by guards from accessing the highpoint (although brave peakbaggers have still found ways). But in April 2014, the home seemed vacant with no guards in sight, and I walked past and continued up the dirt road, the southern cliffs of the summit now in view.

I left the road and headed cross country to the Western summit of Jabal Bil Ays, the official high point of the UAE. The eastern summit is slightly higher but entirely within Oman, so I unceremoniously crossed the border, passing a benchmark at the saddle between the two peaks and up to the higher eastern summit. Despite the haze, the views were quite impressive, the range dropping nearly 2000 meters to the vast desert expanse below. With no one in sight, I took a long break at the summit, spending some time on a small rock bench (I can’t recall if that was on the eastern or western summit).

To the east stood Jebel al Harim, the highest mountain in the Musandam Mountains at 2087 meters. Furthermore, it had over 1500 meters of prominence, making it an Asia Ultra Prominence summit. I had little information on the peak aside from the fact that there was some sort of installation at the summit, unclear if it was military or general infrastructure. I debated hiking over to check it out, possibly asking permission to summit if someone was around. I could see a car driving up the road to the summit, but it looked as if it passed through a gate with armed guards (a trip report from 2016 describes some peakbaggers being briefly detained by the Oman military). Furthermore, I didn’t think I would have enough water to drop over 1,000′ down to the saddle below, climb the higher summit and return, the temperatures now easily in the 80s with no shade.

So rather than push my luck, I started back down the road, this time passing a few construction workers and a few more shepards that seemed to pay me little mind. I made it back to my car without incident and headed down the road, pulling over to watch a feral camel before continuing back to my hotel in Ajman.

The next day I woke up early again to catch my flight out of Dubai to Tanzania, for successful ascents of Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.