TIPS AND ADVICE

 …Climate, objective dangers, medicine chest, evacuation, hygiene and comfort…

 
Photo C. PREIS

CLIMBING PERIODS

From October to April or mid May. Summer is out, because of the heat.  Seasons are much the same as in Europe.

October is the finest month of autumn. It's still warm at the beginning of the month… From November onwards, the days are drawing in. At the beginning of December it is pitch dark at 5.30pm. 

Innumerable climbers are caught out by the night in the autumn. There's no need to panic! Make yourself a comfortable bivouac around a campfire and everything will be fine in the morning. Remember to get up early next time….

December, January and February, it can be really cold. Bivouacs then are less attractive…. But it's fine for climbing. In the sun, it's still warm, in the shade you can freeze! And if there's any wind, bring along a polar jacket, a wind cheater and a woolly hat!

In March be ready for high winds. Although in the last few years, the weather, like everywhere else, is completely unpredictable. April is the lovely spring period, everything is beautiful. If there has been enough rain, the desert is in flower and the rock pools full of water.  Mid-May, it's starting to get hot. Look out for the shady corners… Half a day in the shade maximum.  Not many climbs are facing the North. A lot of them are E. or W... For the winter, there are quite a number facing S./S.W. 

It's quite easy to find a rock face in the shade in the morning (facing W.) and a nice "short climb" facing E. for the afternoon. Like that you don't see the sun at all!

OBJECTIVE DANGERS

There is little or no danger from rock falls. Climbers above you or … perhaps an ibex wandering on the ledges are the only possible causes of flying stones!…

DANGER : rain!

Rare and short-lived, these rainstorms can nevertheless be violent and cause considerable damage…. What happens ?

Look at all these canyons ("siqs"), these chimneys, these notches. They are natural run-offs for water collecting in the innumerable depressions up there.  To begin with, nothing happens and you watch the falling rain with astonishment. Then you begin to hear heavy rumblings, roars even, echoing in the depths of the mountain. The eruption approaches….

All of a sudden the water gushes down, sweeping with it sand and stones, spouting in every crack – this is the overflow from all the hollows up the top.

Waterfalls and torrents come with an unbelievable strength from which you must absolutely take cover. It's not difficult. Patience being the mother of all virtues, take shelter somewhere a good way away from any waterway and …. wait until it's over.

We had just been sealing a few points in "Cat-fish Corner". The ropes we had fixed were still in place, and we were sliding down on the rappels to collect the bags

But it was a magnificent spectacle! And when the deluge started to slow a bit, getting down to cruising speed, Alain Prince belted out some wonderful opera arias, which rang out like an terrifying ode to the beginning of the end of the world as we saw it… Grandiose!

 Ah yes, I nearly forgot! Be careful after any rain – the sandstone is like a sponge and breaks even more easily than usual. You have been warned.

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Other possible dangers might be mentioned. Scorpions in the holes, for instance. Or snakes…. Don't panic, this happens even more often in France in our own Préalpes. (but see the story "The sign of the scorpion" by Claude Gardien in "Climbers, stories and commentaries").

In 1998 from one of our bivouacs with horses and riders we witnessed a worrying earthquake, 6.2 on the Richter scale!  Another grandiose sight, where we saw the few unstable blocks of stone crashing down into the deeps, to explode on the earth into simple dust, covering all the valley like a thick aerosol mist.

 

Bernard and I noticed after this that almost all of the towers and rock faces had escaped with no damage – this sandstone is certainly elastic, and God must have installed his own anti-seismic precautions.

 

After an earthquake come the aftershocks.

 

"Oh they come a long time later!" Bernard affirmed. Reassured by this statement from a professional geographer and scientific researcher we started on the climb of "The Incredible Possiblity" on Nassranyia North. A hard climb, daring, long and pretty well committing…

 

A few hours later, I was struggling with a first twisting crux. I was trying to place an extra protection to an old knotted string jammed in by Precht, Guffer and Haupolter  when they made the first ascent. They know their way around jammed knots….

 

Just at that moment I felt something odd. A sort of waver of the world around me…. Good heavens, an aftershock!

 

"Bernard, everything's swaying!"

 

"No, no, it's nothing. You're tired, it's hard going, that's all! Nothing to worry about". And this was all he had to say…

 

In fact, yes it was one of those cursed aftershocks (level 5 on this occasion…)

 

Those were the circumstances, not at all reassuring, in which I started on the hand crack, overhanging and disgustingly sandy, graded 7a – which Precht called "superb!" in his topo….

MEDICINE CHEST

It is of course essential to have a small medical kit in your bag.  Most small hurts are burns. Just rub your knee a bit hard against the rock and there you are – a burn!

BIAFINE (ointment) is perfect and is good for sunburn as well.

TULLE GRAS  for open burns.

Desert medical treatment - YOGURT!

So you forgot your high protection sun cream and here you are pretty well burned….

 

Listen to me, and I'm not joking : Get hold of some yoghurt (in Jordan like its neighbouring countries you can find it everywhere – it's used as a sauce for a lot of dishes).

 

With clean hands, spread it carefully in a thick coat on the burned areas. Leave it until the milky part has dried.

Clean the skin gently. The swollen burn has disappeared from the skin, sucked out by the cold – thermal exchange if you like!

 

Treat the surface of the skin with a normal antiseptic.

IMMODIUM for diarrhoea.! This is the traveller's obsession, once he's away from home.

ERCEFURIL (capsules) is always useful as an internal antiseptic.

GINKOR FORT for haemorrhoids. Very painful…

Constipation isn't funny either – so bring along some SENOKOT.

A general antibiotic is also recommended if you are going to be off in the desert for several days, well away from any clinic.

CLAMOXYL 500 (not for those allergic to penicillin).

 A corticoid can always be useful.

A general treatment for all allergies, including those from snake poison or from scorpions, or from bee-stings, and also when you are seriously exhausted SOLUDECADRON.

An ASPIVENIN lets you pump out poison. The less there is in the bloodstream, the better! To stop all the blah blah about its usefulness…. Also all poisons don't spread at the same speed from the bite. So pump!

I always use the famous "Black stone" which you can find in Africa. It works against bites from snakes, scorpions, insects, microbes… and also for all would infections. Using it doesn't mean you don't need a medical antidote.

 

How to use it : cut into the bite with a blade of some kind until some blood flows. As soon as the stone touches the blood it sticks to the cut, and doesn't let go until it has absorbed all the poison. Always disinfect the wound with an antiseptic. Go through the procedure several times if it seems necessary, according to how the victim reacts.

 

The Bedouin of Arabia have heard of this stone (of volcanic origin). Have they used it in the past or more recently?  In any case I have never come across this stone there. Mine comes from the Sahara.

 Aspirin and paracetamol for small hurts and headaches – frequent in this climate…. Locals use them a lot as well.

APARANAX for a good anti-inflammatory in tablet form.

BETADINE as an external antiseptic to complete this first aid kit.

An antihistamine can be useful if you risk being allergic to the dust and blowing sand.

For cuts and scratches : various sized bandages, sticking plaster, stretch bandages. "SECOND SKIN" (for "blisters), STERISTRIP (to close cuts right across), STRAPPAL…. Add a pair of tweezers, a pair of scissors and some cottonwool.

Remember that when you have nothing else the most efficient basic antiseptic is …. woodash!

 

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RESCUE AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE

In fact there isn't any, except what the police and the Army can supply.

If they are alerted by witnesses, they immediately call the local guides who are available. These quickly decide what sort of assistance is needed : men and equipment. They decide if helicopters can approach the scene.  If necessary a medical caravan is formed, with an informal partnership between the soldiers and the local Bedouin.  Helicopters always have on board a doctor and the classic winching material.

Everything would be fine if the line of authority was settled. This isn't always the case. Army and police officers have the tendency to interfere and give arbitrary orders during complicated manoeuvres, which the local Bedouin guides are perfectly capable of managing, through previous experience.

Our company, the "Desert Guides", is working closely with the local guides and the competent authorities to sort this out and provide a more adequate solution to the problem of organised rescue in these complicated mountains.  So you have been warned.  Be as self sufficient as you can.

Always leave somewhere, (with friends, with Wadi Rum Mountain Guides (WRMG), in the Resthouse….) exact information about the route you are considering, where you are intending to climb, its whereabouts in the massif and the time you are expecting to return (day, time, etc…).  It's simple to do, and makes it much easier to look for you if you should need help. 

HYGIENE AND COMFORT IN THE WILDS

Keep clean! It might seem stupid to say that. But it involves your comfort, your hygiene and your…reputation!

Every time you can – certainly before meals – wash your hands (there are plastic jugs available in the houses and in the camps, otherwise just a tiny runnel of water is enough…) Use ordinary soap. Avoid soap in gel, it takes too long to rinse it off.

Every time you go to the toilet – the same thing.  If you use toilet paper, burn it afterwards, or bring it back to put in the rubbish. Wash your behind with water if there is any (there are jugs of water available in the houses or in the camps, otherwise just a tiny runnel of water is enough…);

Wear cotton underclothes. Ladies should have a comfortable bra that supports where it's necessary.

Sandals : flip-flops or thongs for when you are relaxing. Don't keep your shoes on if you are eating a communal meal on the carpet. Put them behind you …. This is basic politeness.  Any unpleasantly smelling walking shoes should be left at a distance….

Showers : listen up:

2 jugs of water (4 liters) are plenty to wash yourself completely, without washing your hair (that's the bit that takes the most water, especially the beautiful tresses of the girls….)

There are plenty of discreet corners in the rocks for people to wash themselves thoroughly. Strip off, your feet in the sand and soap yourself down with a block of real soap. (avoid soap in gel, which takes longer to rinse off). The narrow funnel on these plastic jugs lets you direct the water exactly where you want it and in small quantities.

Cleanliness and nice smells are greatly appreciated.  Don't hesitate, neither the gentlemen nor the ladies, to use toilet water or any perfume that tickles the nostrils enticingly.