At the point where it leads out of the hollow, the ravine is about eight yards wide and six yards deep.

The terrain here isn't a desert - I think I mentioned furze bushes, stunted trees etc. on the way up, and that's still what your surroundings look like. The bottom of the ravine is maybe a bit rockier + more overshadowed than than the surrounding hillside, so vegetation down there would be sparse but not completely absent.

The wind's in the west, which would be blowing from the hollow down the ravine if you didn't have the high peaks up behind as a windbreak. Not much wind therefore at the height you're at.

I think it's pretty common knowledge that greenskins are fractious and squabble-y.