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Between a rock and an art space

Apr 29, 2018 News

Ivan Gromicho, a scientific illustrator at KAUST, explores the landscape of Maysaan, Saudi Arabia, as part of his rock climbing adventures around the Kingdom. Photo by Ivan Gromicho.

​-By David Murphy, KAUST News

During the working week, Ivan Gromicho, a scientific illustrator in the University's Office of Research Publication Services team (RPS) team, works hard to bring the research findings and discoveries of KAUST faculty from fixed numbers and equations into vivid pictorial form for inclusion in scientific journals. Working side-by-side with KAUST faculty members, he produces illustrations for their publications in international scientific journals such as Cell, Nature, Science and ACS.

Gromicho, who joined KAUST in September 2014, is trained to understand complex scientific ideas and turn them into images that are easy to comprehend. As part of the three-person RPS team, Gromicho and his colleagues routinely display the power and beauty of when science and art combine.

The Portuguese native, who was born 50 kilometers north of the capital Lisbon in the Atlantic-facing city of Torres Vedras, credits his current profession and skills with his genetic lineage.

"My mother is a teacher, my father is a sculptor and painter and my grandma was a painter. My uncles are graphic designers and photographers, so it was easy to get infected by the artistic spirit from an early age," he said.

Along with his passion for merging science and art, Gromicho has another passion—rock climbing—which he has been able to nourish during his time in the Kingdom. When he's not in the office, Gromicho can often be found in a remote part of the Kingdom scaling the natural rock formations or indoor rock walls Saudi Arabia has to offer.

KAUST Scientific Illustrator Ivan Gromicho climbs a rock formation in Moon Valley, Saudi Arabia. Photo courtesy of Ivan Gromicho.

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"I love the outdoors and being in nature—climbing puts you in your place and you can't fake it. You might look at a wall and think you can climb it, and then you go and realize you must train more. It humbles you; it makes you feel small and vulnerable, so it teaches you how to deal with adversity. When you finally manage to climb that project you had to train hours and hour—it's an amazing feeling. The infinite variety of movements, sequences and routes is also one thing that fascinates me—you just want more and more," Gromicho enthused.


Reaching the summit

During rock climbing, a climber's strength, endurance, agility, balance and mental ability are tested in unison. Gromicho believes that to climb successfully, you need strength, balance, a focused mind, flexibility, coordination and technique.

"It's a complete sport, and if you learn the basic safety techniques, the risks can be reduced to almost 100 percent. Rock climbing has been gaining popularity over the years, and recently it became an Olympic sport—in Tokyo 2020, we will see rock climbing in the Olympics. There are three disciplines: lead, bouldering and speed. Olympic climbers must be good at those three," he emphasized.

A team of climbers from KAUST and Jeddah trek around a rock formation in Tanomah, Saudi Arabia.Photo courtesy of Ivan Gromicho.

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Gromicho started his own rock climbing journey in 2001, and, like most climbers, he became addicted to the pursuit.

"After school and on the weekends I rapidly became dedicated to indoor training and outdoor climbs. I also freelanced many years doing rope access work: installing outdoor panels, doing maintenance of buildings, stunts for cinema and advertising, rescuing, etc. Then when I went to university, I started to study geology, and I became more focused on sports climbing, such as bouldering and lead," he noted.

Exploring KSA

The beautiful and varied landscape of Saudi Arabia offers an exciting environment for rock climbers to hone their skills. Pictured here is Mastorah, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Ivan Gromicho.

The diverse landscape of Saudi Arabia offers an ideal playground for adventurers and outdoor sports enthusiasts. For those who are willing to test the limits of their minds and bodies, the country holds a wealth of opportunities. When he isn't climbing, Gromicho spends his weekends running in the desert races organized by the Hejaz Ultra running group. The races can vary from 10K runs up to half and full marathons and 50-100K ultra trails. He also enjoys camping in the Saudi wilderness, freediving, Muay Thai, Jiujitsu, cycling and exploring the coast's many coral reefs.

Upon joining KAUST, Gromicho found a group of local enthusiasts who shared a similar love for the outdoors and for exploring the vast expanses of the country.

"I found a group of Saudi climbers on social media and I contacted them and asked if I could join some of their activities. Our group is about 10 climbers from KAUST and 10 from Jeddah. We go out and explore many places, pinpointing areas on Google Maps and constantly searching for new areas," he noted.

Climbers from KAUST and Jeddah stand on a rock formation in Maysaan, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Ivan Gromicho.

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"One and a half years later, we are all really good friends and we have specific places where we go often to climb. Almost every week the Jeddah members come to the KAUST rock climbing wall to train. We train together as often as we can and then go to the desert on the weekends," Gromicho added.

"Nature in Saudi Arabia is beautiful: at the coral reefs, you can swim with whale sharks and dolphins and practice water sports; you can go camping in the desert; or you can visit volcanoes and see wildlife," he said. "We've seen frogs, lizards, snakes, wild monkeys, birds, goats and camels, and we know there are leopards and hyenas in another place we usually go. The locals we meet are always very friendly and curious when they see us climbing. They come and offer food and water and sometimes even try to climb." 

A continued emergence

The landscape of Mastorah, Saudi Arabia, offers many unique rock climbing opportunities. Photo by Ivan Gromicho.

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Although rock climbing in the Kingdom is still in its nascent stage, the public awareness of the activity has increased in part thanks to the efforts of such famous local mountaineering luminaries such as Farouk Saad Hamad Al-Zuman, Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Fahad Al Saud, Raha Moharrak and Yasmin Gahtani.

Al-Zuman became the first Saudi to surmount the 8,848 meters (or 29,029 ft) of Mount Everest in 2008; Four years later, Al Saud became only the second Saudi to scale Mt. Everest and the first Saudi to climb the world's "Seven Summits"—the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. In 2013, Moharrak became the first Saudi female and youngest Arab to reach the summit of Everest. Gahtani, the first Saudi rock climbing instructor, recently joined the Saudi Climbing Federation and the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee as a board member, and is responsible for multiple projects to expand climbing in the Kingdom.

KAUST Scientific Illustrator Ivan Gromicho has recruited a team of enthusiastic rock climbers from Jeddah and KAUST to explore the country's many climbing areas. Photo courtesy of Ivan Gromicho.

Gromicho believes that there is great potential in Saudi Arabia for rock climbing at the highest level and feels that many Saudis would like to follow in the footsteps of the country's most famous climbers.

"The sport is at its very beginning here, but it's happening very fast. Soon it will be possible to practice and evolve at the highest level. It's great to be a part of this increasingly popular sport. There is so much potential here in the mountains—this country is beautiful and I'm nicely surprised every time we go outdoors to explore new areas. I believe in the future, famous climbers will come to open new routes and climb on Saudi walls," he concluded.


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