May 2008
This article was published in 'NZ Adventure Magazine, May 2010 Issue' My 1st ever ! :)
For seven years I had dreamt of exploring and climbing in Morocco. When it happened last year, the trip not only met my expectations of generous friendly people, amazing cuisine, vibrant and colourful streets, barren landscapes and a climber’s paradise, but so much more.
I flew into Marrakech from London for only 10 pounds on Ryan Air with a good climbing friend Marco, from Austria. Not only was I stoked with the incredibly cheap airfare, but also with the two weeks that awaited us exploring the climbing scene in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco! I knew a lot of trees were going to be planted in exchange for this trip.
As we flew into Marrakech, excitement pumped through me, as the dream was finally becoming a reality! I could see the clay houses beneath me with miles of dry barren desert stretching out before the Atlas Mountains in the far distance. On a very tight budget and a pack laden with heavy climbing gear, our mission was to climb as much as possible in the Todra Gorge and then to hike up Mt Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak.
Arriving into Marrakech town is just as you would imagine… stinking hot, dusty and overcrowded! The noisy polluted streets were full of locals trying to persuade you to buy their latest tourist trinkets. It was an incredible atmosphere to experience with the richness of different French, Arabic and African cultures colliding together, a real fusion between North and South, East and West. A magical place of cappuccinos, legendary magic carpets, prayers to Allah, couscous, hookah pipes, croissants and sweet mint tea all in one!
We spent the night in Marrakech and braved the crazy night markets before we met up with another good friend Laura Clayton, whom I had met through my Outdoor Education degree at Christchurch Polytechnic.
It wasn’t long before we were on the road, as we had met a local Moroccan man who generously offered to take us part of the way to the Todra Gorge in his car. After six hours of driving through the desert on a dusty road over the Tichka pass, he left us to get on a taxi to the next nearest town of Tinerhir, the gateway to the Todra Gorge. We spent the night on a rooftop of a hostel, gazing up into the clear Moroccan sky with a belly full of Moroccan tangiene and sweet mint tea.
I awaited the next day eagerly with a huge smile as the moon shone down on my face. As soon as the sun came up, our bags were packed and we jumped into a taxi that took us to the mighty Todra Gorge a half an hour away. As we entered into the Gorge and the taxi came to a stand still, the raw beauty that surrounded me was stunning! The pictures I had seen just could not do this area justice.
Entrance to the Gorge - a climbers dream away from the crowds!
The contrast of colours between the piercing blue sky, the earthy brown limestone rock that rose up to 300m, and the lush green palm groves next to the snow melt river, was breath-taking. The potential for climbing was huge. No matter where you looked, beautiful rock surrounded you in every direction. And with five other climbers in the gorge that week, we had 6km of gorge to explore and climb to our hearts’ content!
After finding a local climbing hostel, we grabbed our climbing gear and walked into the gorge amongst the goats, in search of a relatively cool place to climb. It wasn’t long before we found some amazing sport routes that we could climb in the shade, completely by ourselves, with only a local hand drawn climbing sketch to guide us!
There are apparently over 400 climbing routes throughout the Gorge, but the potential for further development is huge. You can spend your days climbing multi or single pitch, sport or trad with grades ranging from 5a to 7c plus. And when the intensity of the Moroccan sun becomes too much, you can cool off in the river that runs through the gorge and lap up the quiet serenity!
It was an incredible week of climbing, eating yummy fresh salads, relaxing in the sunshine and getting amongst the local culture of drumming and dancing in the evenings!
Mount Toubkal - 4167m
Our next mission, though, was to climb Mount Toubkal and with only a week left, we had to leave this truly special place. On board a local bus back to Marrakech, we once again braved the hustle and bustle before taking the 63km road south to Imlil, the base of Mt Toubkal. Jbel Toubkal, also known as the roof of North Africa, stands at 4167m and is a very non-technical and easy route to do in summer. As it was May, it was a great time to visit Morocco, not only for the cooler days to climb in the gorge but also as an accessible mountain hike up Toubkal with the limited gear that we had.
Waking up the next morning, I wasn’t feeling the best after the spicy cumin coriander flavoured egg dinner eaten the night before, but we packed up ready to go. Again I was completely blown away by the view that surrounded me as we walked up through the fertile green land and the Berber Villages with the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
We followed the river plain up the gorge to the base of the mule track where the ascent of Toubkal began. It wasn’t long before my head was spinning, the intense heat had got to me and I was pretty sick from the cumin egg! Two charcoal tablets later and with the help of team Marco and Laura carrying my pack, we slowly hiked up passing the Berber sherpas carrying western tourists’ possessions.
We arrived at the new Refuge du Toubkal at 3,207m just before dark. I collapsed into bed and spent a pretty rough 15 hours being sick, while Laura and Marco enjoyed a night of hearing other travellers’ tales with the local Berber guides and porters. They summited Toubkal by 8am the next morning, involving a few hours of scrambling and hiking through snow to see a 360 degree view of the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert!
Laura Stoked to be at the top !
They returned in high spirits to find me curled up in foetal position with a big army pot beside me! The base camp warden, Mohammed, or as we liked to call him ‘Mo-Mo’, had been trying to feed me an ancient herbal concoction of cumin broth that didn’t seem to stay down! A few hours later, we started to make our way down leaving the snow-capped peaks, a waving Mohammed and the donkeys and porters in the distance.
They returned in high spirits to find me curled up in foetal position with a big army pot beside me! The base camp warden, Mohammed, or as we liked to call him ‘Mo-Mo’, had been trying to feed me an ancient herbal concoction of cumin broth that didn’t seem to stay down! A few hours later, we started to make our way down leaving the snow-capped peaks, a waving Mohammed and the donkeys and porters in the distance.
While walking down, I dreamt of returning in winter with touring skis as it looked like some pretty fun terrain to explore. I had heard that from December through to March, a substantial amount of snow fell on Jbel Toubkal. With a few 4000m peaks in the area and two ski field’s, I was definitely up for another adventure back to this beautiful region! Before we knew it, we were back down on the river plain that we had walked along 24 hours beforehand. Massive smiles covered each of our faces as the sun turned the sky into a bright orange vermilion.
Words cannot fully describe the generous hospitality of the Moroccan people we met, the climbers’ paradise found in the Todra gorge with its contrasting colours, or the panoramic views from Mount Toubkal. Added to this: the amazing sunsets, the fresh local food, the melting pot of cultures and history in Marrakech were second to none!
And even though I had cash stolen, got extremely sick and will never eat cumin egg again, Morocco will leave a lasting impression on me for years to come. It is a beautiful rich culture, has stunning landscapes and is truly a mecca for the outdoor enthusiast!
Dressing up as BerBer Locals at the Todra Gorge! Maro, me, Momo, and Nora
*Enjoy living and being in the moment*
*Enjoy living and being in the moment*
