Jordan – Jabal Umm ad Dami

Jabal Umm ad Dami (6,083ft)

Eric and Matthew Gilbertson

March 28, 2018

I had just finished climbing the highest mountain in Egypt, Gebel Katherina, and flew into Amman on March 27. Matthew had flown in from California a few hours earlier, and used the extra time to pick up a rental car and pick up food at a nearby grocery store.

By 7pm we were loaded up in the rental car headed south. Jabal Umm ad Dami, the highest mountain in Jordan, is located near the southern border with Saudi Arabia, near the village of

Wadi Rum. I’m not certain if a guide is required by law, but it works out to be cheaper to hire a guide who can provide transportation to the trailhead than renting a 4WD jeep in Amman. The trailhead is a long drive across the desert south of the Wadi Rum village, with deep sand and no official roads.

After about 4 hours of driving we reached the entrance to the Wadi Rum protected area, and turned around to look for a close campsite in the desert. We found a good site out of sight of any lights or civilization, and pitched a tent next to the car.

In the morning we made the short drive back to the entrance station, and pulled around a herd of camels to park. We paid the 5JD entrance fee, then drove into Wadi Rum village to meet our guide, Radi. I’d coordinated Radi from wadirumrocks.com, and he had the cheapest guide fee I could find.

We pulled into Radi’s back yard, and he gave us tea as he coordinated another group heading back from the desert into town. Eventually we loaded up into the back of his truck, stopped to top off gas, and headed into the desert.

The ride didn’t last too long though. After about 15 minutes Radi slowed to a stop, then made a U-turn and sped back to Wadi Rum village. Matthew and I were confused – was there some issue with the other group returning? Or was there some urgent mechanical issue with the truck?

Radi pulled into his back yard, ran inside, and came back with a pack of cigarettes in hand. This was the critical item he had realized was missing on our drive out.

Now fully equipped for the hike, we drove back out into the desert. We sped across the sand, surrounded by towering sandstone cliffs on our right and left, and greeted by caravans of camels bringing people back into Wadi Rum village. At one point Radi slowed down to descend a steep sandy slope, and I was a bit concerned the truck was going to flip over.

We made it down safely, and then continued, following rough tracks in front of us. Eventually, after a final climb that took Radi three tries, we made it to the base of Jabal Umm ad Dami.

There were two other trucks parked at the base, and a group of ten hikers who had just started up. Radi yelled up to the group, and it turned out the guide was his cousin. Radi told us he would wait at the base, and we should go join up with that group.

We quickly scrambled up some rocks and caught up. The group was a hiking club from Spain spending a week in Jordan. We scrambled up the sandstone, then hiked some switchbacks, reaching the top after around an hour.

The summit was surrounded by cliffs on three sides, but the trail found an easy way up. To the south we could see into Saudi Arabia in the distance, with a dirt round winding up to a radio tower on a distant peak. Another group from Hong Kong were also on the summit, and we exchanged favors taking pictures of each other.

After a half hour we descended back down the mountain and met Radi back at the truck. He gave us some tea and cookies, and a truck full of Saudi Arabians drove up and took a break with us.

We soon loaded back up in the truck and rode back towards Wadi Rum. It was still pretty early in the day, though, and Radi convinced us to spend the night in a camp his family runs in the desert. This would allow us to do a bit more hiking with the remaining daylight.

We started by scrambling up a peak just behind camp. The sandstone reminded me of the cliffs outside my hometown in Berea, Kentucky. The rock is really grippy, with features sticking out that make it easy and fun to climb. We next descended back to camp, hiked across the desert, and scrambled about 1000ft up another prominent peak.

We traversed both directions along the ridgecrest, hitting several other minor summits, and hung out on top until sunset. In the waning light we descended back to camp and had a good dinner of pita bread, hummus, and chicken.

The next morning, after a minor delay, we rode back to Wadi Rum in a rare rainstorm, then headed drove north to visit Petra and the Dead Sea.

 

Video tour of the summit, with timelapse sunset video:

Eric jumping the gap on one of the side summits:

Swimming in the Dead Sea afterwards:

More pictures from the trip: