Tannourine El Tahta

__THE OLIVE GROVE AND THE CASCADE__ Grades start from easy grade 4 routes to challenging 8a+ and from short single pitch to double or triple pitches marathon routes. Therefore, this area with its 48 routes, have turned to the most frequented zone within the hub which is Tannourine el tahta. Olive grove and Cascade classics that we recommend are: Aywa (6a+ or 6b+ when you climb the whole 3 pitches route), Beiroet (5c+ 1st pitch and 7a+ two pitches in 1), 10452 (7c+) and Almaza (6c+). __CHAMMIS OR SUNNY SIDE WALL__ Upon reaching Tannourine el tahta crag, the first wall you will see is the sunny side wall which the locals call “el chammis” in reference to the sun hitting the wall during the day. This wall holds 3 major sectors which are from left to right: Gold fish, Gerges Massoud and St.Jacobs. They bask in the sun most of the day and offer classical Tannourine climbs of dif-ferent grades. The gold fish has steep and bouldery climbing switching to slabs and vertical rock the further you get towards Gerges Massoud sector before turning back to steep climbing on tufas in the St.Jacobs. Classical 5 stars routes in this sector are abundant, but if we had to name two favorite routes from each sector it would be: Something’s fishy (6c+) and Samke Harra (8a+) in the Gold fish sector, most men are wicked (7c) and enjoy thyself (7b+) in the Gerges Massoud sector, Jacobs ladder (8a) and Shaytan (8c) in the St.Jacobs sector. __THE OLIVE GROVE__ is the most famous and family friendly sector of Tannourine el tah-ta. Within a 3 minutes’ walk from the parking next to the hotel, it is one of the most frequented rock climbing sectors in Lebanon. Routes from 4b to 8a+ are distributed within this sector. _CLIMBING_ Slab, vertical and overhanging brown and grey rock. Crimps, pockets and pinches. _GEAR_ 70 meters rope, 15 quickdraws and some long quickdraws to reduce rope drag in the hard routes. _CONDITIONS_ Crag in the sun, with shade before 9 am and after 3h30 pm. __CASCADE__ The sector gets its name from the cascade flowing down from the mountain above the cliff of Tannourine el Tahta. Local stories say that the late Gerges Massoud used to solo climb these rocks to reach his quail trap ledges high in the cliff. In some parts rock is polished so beware not to slip. _CLIMBING_ Slab, vertical and overhanging brown and grey rock. Crimps, pockets. _GEAR_ 70 meters rope, 15 quickdraws and some long quickdraws to reduce rope drag in the hard routes. _CONDITIONS_ Crag in the shade, with humid conditions sometimes __THE GOLD FISH__ is a steep sector that resembles to a fish mouth with its dome formation. It has steep, bouldery hard routes varied from tufas and pinches to steep _CLIMBING_ Overhanging, steep, orange and grey bullet-proof rock. bouldery and crimpy. _GEAR_ 70 meters rope, 15 quickdraws and some long quickdraws to reduce rope drag in the hard routes. _CONDITIONS_ Sunny sector, but when the cool conditions are here it becomes one of the most pleasant crags to climb in Tannourine. crimpy sections. __GERGES MASSOUD__ named after the local hero who used to scale the rocks barefoot ropeless in search for quails. It is one of the major sectors of Tannou-rine el tahta as it has a wide array of vertical and slightly overhanging routes that offer classic routes of all grades. The sector overlooks the Massoud old house which is 500 years old and is con-sidered the oldest still inhabited house of Lebanon. _CLIMBING_ Vertical and slab climbing. _GEAR_ 70 meters rope, 15 quickdraws and some long quickdraws to reduce rope drag in the hard routes. _CONDITIONS_ Sunny sector, during summer it goes in the shade at 4pm. but when the cool conditions are here it becomes one of the most pleasant crags to climb in Tannourine. __SAINT JACOB__ named after the hermitage built in the huge overhang. This steep sector is the hardest sector in Tannourine and Lebanon with the easiest route being at 7c+ and the hardest established at 8c (Shaytan, 1st route of this grade in Lebanon). Many projects are found there and could be graded harder than 8c. _CLIMBING_ Three-dimensional tufa climbing on steep and overhanging rock. _GEAR_ 70 meters rope, 15 quickdraws and some long quickdraws to reduce rope drag in the hard routes. _CONDITIONS_ Sunny sector, protected from the rain, but tufas will seep water when it rains for many days in a row. __MULTIPITCHES IN MASSOUD__ _MASSOUD_ Gerges Massoud multipitch (MP) is the first MP bolted in Tannourine el Tahta bolted in 2013. starts from the 6a+ route in the sector and continues to the top of the cliff to enjoy a great view of both: the town and the shawarma caves. the way down from the route is by 3 abseils. _CEDARS DRINK FROM TANNOURINE_ Cedars MP is fun but technical multipitch that is similar to its neighbouring Gerges Massoud MP, given that they finish on the same last pitch. When you reach the anchor of pitch two, keep on climbing using the last few bolts of the second gerges massoud pitch to reach its anchor before continuing on pitch 3. the way down from the route is by 3 abseils. Note: for this MP, the last abseil before reaching the ground, should be done on the anchor of the first pitch of cedars. _NOTHING IN EXCESS_ Nothing in excess MP is Tannourine and Lebanon’s hardest multipitch to date. A route for the brave and strong, with excellent views at the top. Abseil on the route itself.