The Madness
Each day we went climbing. A few days were spent at the big cliff near town (Jebel Rum), but most days were far out in the desert – the real reason to visit Wadi Rum. One day, we went to a classic climb called Desert Rats in the Shade, which is located about 24km south of Wadi Rum village. From the end of the 4WD track, we hiked about 45 minutes up to the route and did some very fine climbing (including a new two-pitch route).
Climbing on oversized volumes and dual-tex holds seem to be all the rage this year. Being 5'2" with a close to negative ape index never was an advantage for me on comp style climbs. But come on...who isn't up for a challenge?
At a first glance the Haywire has everything you need from a shoe and it lives up to the exceptions massively. The one piece molded sole is super flexible in the midsole meaning that you get amazing precision, help build mid-foot strength and you can sizes it down to get a perfect fit.
Khaled was a climber and hence, knows where the remote climbs are located. On the 25th, we drove to within three kilometers of the Saudi Arabian border to do a climb called The Haj (5.9, 600 feet). Once Khaled drove away (promising to return at 4pm), we were enveloped in the vastness of the desert. We were far enough from camp that if Khaled didn’t return, it would be a challenge to make it back alive. This setting was why we came to Jordan.
Our engineers have devised a way to make sticky climbing-grade rubber flow into the molds. This will be the first ever climbing shoe to utilize this technology for the entire toe box. Using this method has many benefits for climbing....
