Rock climbing is a sport that attracts thousands from all around the world, but to count rock climbing as one discrete sport would be a mistake. Rock climbing has many different ‘games’ within the sport. There are the Big Wall types that throw themselves onto walls kilometres high for weeks on end. Then there are the types that spend months trying to link a couple moves to climb a boulder only a few meters high. The game I am about to introduce to you is one of adventure.

When you were younger you would be forgiven if you believed that the ‘golden’ pioneering age of rock climbing was dead. Infact the world of climbing was just opening up, today you can climb unexplored rock faces to your little hearts content, but you must be prepared for the odd adventure to come your way and ‘bite you on the ass’ when you least expect it

The glow of the rising sun had silhouetted our objective the massive granite domes in front of us, and the darkness of night was beginning to leave. We were half up the scree slope when we had stopped to catch our breath. We were not alone from around the boulders came the grunts and snores of a troop of sleeping black baboons. We hurried up out of their way and came to the foot of the domes of Kassala. The domes are on the Sudanese and Eritrean border; we were told that you must not descend the Eritrean side, as the slope is full of land mines. We started the climb and already the heat of the day was causing a good sweat to collect around the rim of our climbing helmets. The first couple of hundred meters went without mishap and soon the marauding troop of baboons below us were more like a bustling collection of ants.

I was fighting my way up a section of the crack and then began to pull my self onto the ledge. To my surprise I was met by a pair of angry vultures they spread their wings and advanced with beaks and talons reaching out for me. I slid back down the rock and we had to start the long abseil back to the floor.

That night I was ‘talking with one of the local tribesmen about the baboons and vultures. He pulled his sword off his back and offered it to me. The next day we went back to the domes of Kassala with the addition of a 4’ long sword to the normal climbing equipment.

The whole game of adventure rock climbing is to treat the climbing as the cherry on top of the cake; the real enjoyment should be in allowing your self to become immersed within the culture you are in and being outside of what you are used to. For example:

• You are venturing to a climbing area that instead of being written about in guide books has been recommended to you from the ramblings of a blind man.
• Instead of driving to your local climbing area you are tying your bags onto camels or donkeys.
• When you arrive there you discover instead of being populated by other climbers the area is populated by opium lords and guards tending to their poppy fields.
• Then when you start the climb instead of being described within a guidebook you are left to your own, climbing rock that has not been touched by any other person before you.
• When you finish the climb and come back down for lunch do not be surprised if you are then invited by the local opium lord to take part in the closest thing to a brewery tour a small opium plantation can have.

This may sound a little far fetched, but believe me when I say that it did happen, also believe me when I tell you that such a bizarre adventure is easy to come across, you just have to want it.