Words By: Toby Foord-Kelcey
John Gregory is the original pioneer of rock climbing in the UAE and long overdue for some attention in this magazine. More than half the routes in the current UAE climbing guidebook are his work. He is also an inspiration for all of us who are reluctant to acknowledge age as an issue in outdoor sports.
How old is John? When I asked, he referred me to a quote from the legendary American mountaineer Fred Beckey, who has been climbing continuously since the 1940s: “I tell the chicks I am a slightly haggard 39 and leave it at that”. It is probably not giving too much away to note that John actually clocks a major round number this year(which you can guess from his answers below). When I bothered John for this interview, he was much more interested in discussing future projects on the RAK cliffs and in the big caves of Oman, than in reminiscing what had been, there isno sign of him slowing down!
When and where did you start climbing?
I started climbing around 1961 in Derbyshire on the local gritstone crags and then moved onto the limestone crags. From there, it was the usual progression for that time to move onto the bigger crags in Wales, Lake District,Scotland and then to the Alps.
What specifically got you into climbing, was it a school or club thing or did you just start doing it because the cliffs were right there?
I was living in Sheffield when I started climbing, so a great place to be located. Ican’t remember exactly what got me into climbing but from recollection, I think it was an article in the paper or a magazine I read at school and when I got home for the summer holidays, I was really keen to find someone to take me out. In the end, it was the friend of a friend who took me out onto Gardom’s Edge. I was immediately hooked and began reading all the books I could about climbing and mountaineering, even though I was only able to go in the holidays. Once school was out of the way and I was earning some money, all the spare cash went on ropes etc. I dragged-in a few friends and none of us had much of an idea but we survived and progressed from there.
In 1968 you made the first ascent of The Fortress in Patagonia as part of a British expedition. How did that come about? Had many British climbers been to Patagonia at that time or were you pioneering?
Not many other British climbers had been to the Paine area before, apart from the Towers of Paine expedition. There had been some Italian parties as well. Basically, it was just a group of friends from the Sheffield area who got together. There was a lot of typing of letters asking companies for food, equipment etc. and it took quite a long time to organize. I think I had about six months off work in total. We only paid in 10 pounds each and the rest came through the Mount Everest Foundation funding and a free passage out to South America. We had some sponsorship from the Sheffield Telegraph who made quite a bit of money selling photos to other papers, which they passed onto us. We lost most of our equipment as a lot was left on the mountain due to continuous bad weather.
Did you consider any big expeditions after that or did work take over your life?
After the Fortress, the only other expedition was to the Karakoram to try the Ogre. We were unsuccessful due to some bad weather, problems with porters and probably a lack of previous Himalayan experience. A good trip though, and we went out and back overland in a three-ton ex-army Bedford.
What brought you to the UAE originally?
The company I worked for in the UK opened a factory in Ras Al Khaimah and asked me if I was interested in working in the UAE. In 1981, I accepted the job for two years but just stayed on for a couple more and that sort of just rolled over until here we are today.
What was the road from Dubai to RAK like in those days?
The road from Dubai to RAK was a dual carriageway, but no road markings and no lights. Despite that it was still an easy drive as there were no speedbumps, no traffic lights and not so much traffic. It was possible to get to Dubai Airport in around one hour.
Was it as easy to travel as it is now? Could you get to places like Khasab, Muscat, beyond Muscat easily? I guess the borders were easier but the roads worse?
Travelling around the UAE in the eighties never seemed to be a problem.Obviously there are a lot of new roads but there was a lot less traffic. The road to Khasab was gravel all the way from the border, but reasonably well graded. Wadi Bih was rough from start to finish and very slow going. It was only when they started to put down the asphalt to the border that we began the development work. There were no border controls at either end during the eighties. Oman was less developed and a lot more gravel but we didn’t really start going down there until the nineties, apart from work trips to Muscat.
You did your first new routes near RAK in the mid-80s then stopped for a while. I remember you saying that you were put off by the appearance of the rock initially, and were busy with your young family. Was there a specific “aha”moment when you decided the climbing was actually worthwhile?
The first climbs were in 1984 with an American guy called Jan Smith who was working in Ras Al Khaimah. He had some equipment, including friends, which I had never had before. We climbed on Sentinel and also Aini Wall, some of the rock was okay but generally quite loose, not just individual pieces but fair sized, semi-detached pieces. Certainly, the first impression was not great and there was no incentive to go out again. When the kids were a bit older,we used to take them out during their holidays and do a bit of bouldering.In 1995, I set up a rope for them on Roadside [in Wadi Qada’a] and afterwards thought that if the rock was given a good clean, there was potential for some decent routes.So Dee and I then started to clean and climb, clean and climb from crag to crag until most of the areas, especially Wadi Bih, were well developed. The cleaning and climbing continues until today.
You put up several hundred routes inside Wadi Bih that became inaccessible to most people because of the new border rules. How did you feel about that?
Yes, a pity about all the routes that are presently out of reach in Wadi Bih as there are over ten well developed crags with some excellent lines and a number of long multi-pitch routes. A lot of the fun was in developing the climbs and the satisfaction of doing a lot of the exploration work. You never know how events will turn out and hopefully the border will be opened again. The routes will always be there for climbers in the future.
Are there any first ascents here that you feel particularly proud of? Either because they were big leads at the time, or the quality was so exceptional,or some other factor?
There are no climbs that really stand out apart from perhaps, the longer routes, which were very satisfying as there was a certain commitment and a lot of satisfaction from a long day out in the mountains. Also, there was the satisfaction on many routes of choosing a particular line that looked vaguely possible and then, only after a good clean, turned out to be climbable and well worth the effort.Starlight Express on Celestial Wall in Wadi Bih would be a good example. If it was possible to take photos down the length of some routes before cleaning, and again afterwards, they would not be recognizable in some places.
There are routes that I always enjoy climbing but I seem to get the pleasure out of just climbing and the general feeling of movement on the rock, regardless of the grade. It’s not just about the climbing but the people you are with,the feeling of where you are climbing and having a few drinks at the end of the day.
I used to make a note in guidebooks of routes I had done and with whom, but not for a long time. Even with new routes I don’t write them up for ages and only get round to naming them sometime later. At Transition [John’s latest cliff development in Wadi Shahah] I suppose there are around sixteen routes already climbed, and some more are cleaned but not climbed. So far, I think about two have names! People often ask me the name of a route but I have to check in the guide, although I can remember most of the holds and gear placements.
I sometimes worry that RAK and Fujairah will end up quarrying all of their mountain terrain to feed the cement factories. In your experience here, have you seen any awareness that emerges from the people in charge of these decisions? (i.e. that they need to balance industry against environment)
There are a lot of quarries in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, but none of them so far have encroached into the climbing areas. There is still a lot of mountain for them to go at and some will probably close at some stage when their reserves are exhausted. I have not heard of any discussions between the extractive industry and the environment apart from dust control and general pollution by the local environmental departments. The UAE has not yet reached that stage.
Your climbing has been amazingly accident-free, especially considering the loose rock and the number of hours you must have spent out there. But I think you have had a couple of close calls. Can you describe them? Any lessons learned?
Yes, fortunately no serious accidents, maybe not pushing hard enough. We were brought up at a time when falling off was not such a good idea as there were no harnesses, very limited gear in the way of protection, and belay devices etc. The closest exposure to serious injury was through objective dangers,particularly stone fall. During the course of my first Alpine route, northeast face of the Piz Badile, we were subjected to an enormous amount of stone fall that threatened to wipe us off the face and the cliff was constantly hit by rocks of all size, and the smell of cordite was heavy in the air. During that ascent, we survived an overnight electrical storm high on the face and afterwards, a perilous journey back over a glacier in a white out. You can control the safety margins of the actual climbing part, but against rock fall, avalanches, etc. you are completely at their mercy.No particular close calls in the UAE, apart from the occasional rock and a bad fall onto my back when a piece of gear came out.
Apart from accidents, the other two things that seem to end climbing careers eventually are training type injuries (fingers, shoulders, etc) or loss of motivation. Do you have any tips to offer on keep going as a climber?
As you say, the two main reasons people would stop climbing would be lack of motivation and injury. Well, motivation is never a problem if you have plenty of choice of routes and climbing venues and you are prepared to travel around. It’s a bit limited in the UAE compared to other countries, but you can always use your holidays to discover new areas. For me,being here in the UAE, there are always new routes to be worked on but there are lots of places in other countries that I would still like to visit.
Regarding injuries, you never know what problems you will face in the future.I have a number of friends from the sixties who are still climbing regularly,but others have had to cut back or even stop because of injuries or bad health. I never enjoyed training for climbing and never did very much and don’t do any now. I don’t particularly like climbing walls or bouldering and much prefer to climb routes. You probably get to know your body as you get older and learn what is not good for you and climb accordingly. I wouldn’t like to think of a future without climbing, mountaineering, and ski touring, etc. It gives you a focus in life, along with a balance of other activities.
Published in August 2012
