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Crumbling Cliffs Climbers call this crumbly surface choss. Climbing in a chossy environment makes you extra cautious. T e next handhold you grab could easily break away, leaving you wildly grasping for another. T e climbing team found out just how sharp


and chossy rocks can be. We free-climbed oſt en, which means we used ropes to anchor ourselves to the cliff face for safety. Being roped to the cliff gives you freedom and security to try more diffi cult climbs. About halfway up one challenging climb,


we accidentally pulled off a loose rock. T is is something climbers try very hard not to do. T e rock fell, its sharp edges cutting the rope in half. It’s defi nitely not something that happens every day! Luckily, our climbing friends were close enough to throw us a new rope. Otherwise, we would have been stranded until someone could reach us. We replaced our damaged rope with the new one and carefully felt our way through the rest of the climb. Feeling is key to climbing. Rock usually


has holds—you just have to fi nd them. Your fi ngertips search for bumps, cracks, and creases in the rock. Your feet follow, testing a knob of rock to see if it will hold your weight. Even with ropes, it’s still you holding onto the rock face.


Roofs Over the Ocean T e peninsula’s overhangs, carved over time by ocean water dissolving the limestone, excited us. T ese “roofs over the ocean” challenge climbers in ways vertical surfaces do not— climbing upside down! Especially strong climbers seem to defy gravity as they strain to fi nd hand holds on the lumpy surface and hook their heels on tiny footholds. In Oman, deep-water soloing is a rare


option. T at’s where you solo climb, or climb without ropes, over deep water. Finding a route that gets you on top of a rock roof can take several tries because you’re blindly groping for a handhold. If you get stuck you can push off the cliff , fall into the water, and start again.


22 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER While I’m passionate about climbing, I also


want to tell the story of our climb visually. I have to plan my shots to capture the climbers and the environment. When photographing, I’m carrying an extra fi ve kilograms or more on top of my usual gear. It can be tough to climb with the extra weight of the camera gear, but that is a big part of my job. On this trip, I carried a camera, two lenses, and a few extra batteries. T e best shots of climbers are usually from


above. I don’t want to stare at their feet—nice shoes, but not a good photo. I usually climb up fi rst and fi nd a good place where I can see the climbers. T en I hope I get the shot.


A rock ledge high above the ocean gives Alex Honnold and Hazel Findlay a chance to organize their gear and coil their ropes for the last descent of the day.


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