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Among the many terraced olive groves of northern Lebanon, a younger man with sharp options and a shaved head ties a rope round his hips. Nareg is quiet, anxious, rehearsing in his thoughts the actions his physique is battling underneath the stress.
Some native boys from the largely Maronite Christian city of Tanourin look quietly among the many spring wild flowers and rock formations on the foot of the cliff. Nareg checks the knot of his harness one final time, his girlfriend Tracy secures the opposite finish of the rope, after which begins to climb.
Mountaineering, a sport quickly gaining reputation in Lebanon, has its personal native heritage linked to the cliffs of Tanourin.
Greater than half a century in the past, the town's personal Georges Massoud gripped the sharp slate grey limestone along with his naked palms and naked toes. He freed the rocks simply to the proper of the place Nareg is climbing at the moment, setting quail nets on skinny rocky ledges with out ropes.
Beneath, his stone home nonetheless stands among the many rocks and St. Jakob's Hermitage. Locals say it’s the oldest home in Lebanon, which has in all probability been inhabited for greater than 500 years. His spouse and son each thought he was loopy for crossing the rocks. However at the moment, a climbing route right here bears George's identify, a memorial to the pioneer of a technology of younger Lebanese climbers.
Nareg dances to the highest, seemingly weightless, whereas 30 different climbers – Lebanese and foreigners alike – pair up for his or her respective climbs.
For a gaggle of Lebanese climbers, their causes for climbing are multifaceted. However one factor all of them have in frequent is a loving dedication to this close-knit and various group.