Hi @Wrangeld - thanks for this post 😁. I'm super excited to get started so hopefully my vehicle and I will be able to join. Let me answer you questions here:
Vehicle: 2011, 5-door Mitsubishi Pajero, automatic transmission, not modified as far as I know but I am not the first owner and wouldn't know what to look for in terms of modification. I've had it for five years, though, so I'd probably have noticed something out of the ordinary. I know there are the normal gears of 2WD, 4WD, 4LLC and 4HLC, centre diff lock. I'm sorry, I don't know the clearance and I've not checked the tow hooks 🤔 ; I'm not really sure what to look for. Perhaps you can help me look when I arrive for the drive or I can send you pics ahead of time if that will help.
Experience: I'm quite comfortable driving in rocky wadi areas and more worn desert roads and do so often. I've driven off road in the desert many times in such tracks, even if they were fairly sandy, using 4WD. I've done this in Al Qudra desert, UAQ desert (near Fulaj al Muallah) and in Rub al Khali. I've not tried to drive up dunes but I have near the bottoms. I've been stuck three times; twice needed help getting out when I knew absolutely nothing, but got myself unstuck this past weekend in Al Qudra, though I'm sure I didn't do it correctly since I still don't know much 😂..
What is it I want to be able to do: I'm not sure that I plan on climbing Moreeb any time soon, though perhaps one day! I would for now like to be able to have more confidence driving in deeper desert areas and helping myself and/or others getting recovered. I am an avid hobbyist photographer and enjoy exploring and camping in UAE's natural world and photographing the wildlife, particularly the desert. I'd like to extend my off-road driving skills to enjoy the country even more in this way. Since I got stuck that first time I've done a lot of reading and whatnot about off-roading and I've gotten some equipment to keep in the car including a compressor (attach to battery kind), a tire deflation kit, a recovery strap (not tow rope), soft shackles and hard rubber tracks to lay under stuck tires. I would also like to learn how to use these items safely.
So there you have it. Let me know if you need any other information from me.