Jebel Kawr from Nadan

A very enjoyable but demanding hike to the summit of Jebel Kawr. Started at 3.30 pm in the afternoon (24/03/22) with bivvy gear and 5 litres of water. Stopped for coffee, bread and honey with kind local farmers. Reached the plateau at 7.30 pm (4 hours). Tricky to find the exact route through the cliffs and wadis because of interference with gps watch (few wrong turns). This section is challenging and requires scrambling. 1 point is very exposed. Last hour I needed my head torch.

There is a flat spot near the top of the wadi where you can bivvy. Left bivvy gear here and half lt water.

Set off for the summit at 6.45 am the next day and reached the summit at 11.30 am (4hrs 45 mins). Returned to pick up bivvy gear at 3.45 pm (4hrs 15 mins). Descent from bivvy spot to farm outside of Nadan village arriving at 6.15 pm (2 hrs 15 mins). Total walking time with breaks 15 hrs 30 mins.

Maybe because of the time I started and attempting this venture late in the season, I found that 5 lt was not enough water and I was struggling. Any less and I would have been in danger. I recommend pre-dawn start from Nadan in February. This should help with water. Also, I should have broke camp at 5:00 am on day 2.

I'm fit and run a marathon around 3 hours 45 mins, yet I found this difficult going. Once I got to the foot of the mountain, the family of farmers was very kind and offered me water and I drank 3 lts to hydrate. They also gave me coffee, honey, bread and dates, but I was too dehydrated to eat much.

There is no water source on Jebel Kawr, so you have to take your own. I'd recommend 6 lt for 2 days.

Only party on the mountain.

Thanks to McKellen, Barlow and Woodall for invaluable gps data