Once we had done the Hammad’s Route on Jebel Rum we were running out of days. We decided we wanted to see the Barrah Canyon. According to the guidebook there were supposed to be superb routes of around 100m to 250m and the area was supposed to be a must on anyone’s agenda in Wadi Rum.
Barrah Canyon: Merlin’s Wand (6a+, 150m) – October 20th, 2012
We arrived in the canyon some hours before noon. We had plenty of daylight left so we decided to climb “the route” in the area first. The Merlin’s Wand is also known as the Super Crack of Rum.
The guidebook says the climbing is magic, sustained and superb. I would agree on the “sustained” and the “superb” but I think “magic” is a bit of an overstatement. Magic is a nice word for the Hammad’s route, for example, but in my opinion a short sport route with good pro and ending in the middle of the wall can’t be magic. There are many more magic routes in Verdon, for example.
If not counting the magic issue I really think the Barrah Canyon is highly recommended for anyone visiting Wadi Rum. We had bad luck with the weather so we couldn’t explore the canyon in depth which was a shame. The next day we were thinking about doing the Ocean Slabs or the Hunter’s Slabs. Combined with the Abu Iglakhat Canyon adventure one of those two probably would have been magic. Maybe next time!
