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Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Day 1 - Arrival

With our clients arriving late last night, today was their first opportunity to see the Atlas Mountains and the towering 4000m peaks surrounding our village. This week I was joined by Jawad who would be guiding the trek with me, it's now law to have a local guide with you on treks and Jawad has great local knowledge of the area. We ate a tasty breakfast and after a morning briefing, we headed out for a walk up the Tizi Tamatert Pass where a juice seller offered hot and cold drinks overlooking the rural village of Tachdirt. After a break at the pass, we headed down to Imlil where I bumped into lots of old friends like my first muleteer Lhassan who is now too old to work in the mountains, Rachid who runs the local shop and Khalid who manages a hotel at the side of the river. We drank more coffee and headed back to Armed to prepare our bags and our host made us a stunning chicken tagine. 

Day 2 - Trek Begins

The Riad was busy with several groups getting ready to start their treks, our team were looking very keen to head off, especially as the sky was blue and there was not a cloud in sight, the heat would be punishing this low down so I was keen to head out as soon as possible. Omar our cook arrived and it was great to catch up with him again, we've been on several treks together over the years and his food is amazing especially given it's all cooked in tents with a stove.

We headed up the trail and before long we were getting close to our high point of the day the Tizi Mzik Pass. At around 2600m it's high enough to get some of our clients feeling a bit out of breath and soon we were descending down the mountainside past Juniper to our home for the night the Tamsoult Refuge.

The Tamsoult Refuge was damaged by last year's earthquake and I was amazed to see that not only had it been repaired, but it was also much bigger and had lots of extra rooms. Khalid our host showed us to our room, we relaxed for the afternoon on the patio in the sun before Omar cooked us a tasty beef tagine. 

Day 3 - The Zig Zags

This day is a big one and anybody who has been on our treks will remember the "Zig Zags of Agulezim" and the relentless back and forth across a steep couloir towards the summit of Tizi Agulezim. At 3600m the pass offers a good opportunity to acclimatise before heading down to 3300m to the Toubkal Refuge.

Arriving at the refuge late lunch everybody was in great spirits and the terrace out the front is always a popular place to hang out, especially when a group of Dutch trekkers had a huge hip flask filled with schnapps that they were happy to hand around. Our evening meal of beef tagine was very welcome and after some drinks and dessert, we got our heads down for the night as an early start beckoned. 

Day 4 - Summit Day

Our summit day began at 4 am -mainly to avoid any thunderstorms and after breakfast, everybody was packed and ready to go for the summit push. Walking outside you couldn't help but notice the number of stars visible in the sky - the line of head torches moving up the trail signalling a busy day on the mountains.

Leaving the refuge the terrain gets more complex with a short rocky section to cross the river and some boulders and large rocks to negotiate that form the first 30 minutes of the trail. Passing the tricky rocky sections we were soon into the main trail that leads to the shoulder near the summit, a member of another trek was unwell and being turned around, 24-hour attempts on Toubkal are sadly a popular option but many fail to reach the summit due to the lack of acclimatisation - our team were breathing deeply but they were all well acclimatised and moving well.

As we approached the col, the sun was beginning to rise. If you haven't seen the sunrise from 4000m, it's one of those experiences you remember for a lifetime. The hue of purples, oranges, and yellow lifted from the horizon in a magical display of colour and light. We took some pictures, had a bit of food, and then headed up to the last section of the ridge to the summit. 

Our first team arrived at the summit just after sunrise and the views were breathtaking. I've stood on this summit many times but the views and feeling you experience are always special to me. 
By 9 am our Moroccan Guide Jawad joined us and all of our clients were on the summit. 

All of our team were back at the refuge for lunch, Omar made us some strong coffee and we celebrated with a tasty meal with salad, tagine and homemade breads. In the evening we celebrated the trek's success and got our heads down for a well-deserved sleep.

Day 5 - Sidi Chamharouch

The walk down from the Toubkal Refuge is pretty easy going with a constant flow of mules carrying loads up to the refuge and other walkers excited for their chance to reach the summit. We stopped in the small village of Sidi Chamharouch for drinks and to escape the heat - it was only lunchtime but the temperatures were already starting to rise. 
Arriving back in Imlil, Omar and his team prepared a final meal by the riverside and we relaxed and celebrated the success of the trek. We arrived back in Marrakech late afternoon and our clients were left to relax in our boutique riad on the outskirts of the Medina. 

Day 6 - Marrakech

Marrakech holds a special place in my heart and despite the chaos and busy streets, it's still a unique place, if you know where to look you can find some really interesting places to visit. I gave a tour of the Medina, the souks are quite special and entertaining, the old days of pushy street traders are slowly fading out and you can mostly look around market stalls without getting harassed too much. 
In the evening we ate at our favourite restaurant in the Medina to celebrate our success before everybody departed the next day. As the sunset, we started to eat our food with the call to prayer in the background. A great end to a magical week in Morocco. 

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