21-28 May
In 2017 Gill attempted and didn’t summit Mt Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. This was due to lack of acclimatisation on an organised trip. Gill decided to put a strong team together and try again with lots of moral support. Early in 2024 discussions began and Gill researched a company who offered a longer itinerary with more suitable acclimatisation hikes on the way up. She found and booked Lakeland Mountain Guides, for whom her friend Felicity works as a guide.
The MKMC team was made up of Gill, Loz, Alan, Keith, DaveC, Greg, Mary and AlexT. They all took their training seriously and were prepared and ready when the time came. They were joined by Shirley, Sharon and Caroline from another walking group, mum and daughter Linda and Rachel, and Felicity our guide. Most of the team managed to meet for a day hike (Moel Siabod) a month before leaving so they could all get to know each other.
Day One
Departure day arrived and the MK group all met at Luton airport. The flight was straightforward and everyone changed their money on arrival in Marrakech.
Felicity met everyone at the airport with a minibus and we met the other two team members, Linda and Rachel. The team was driven to Imlil, at 2,000m, dropped off, and then it was a short hike of about three miles with 300m elevation gain up to the hotel in Aroumd where we would spend two nights. Aroumd is built on the side of a mountain, it’s spectacular, and the streets are so narrow, cars have to be parked at the bottom of the hill and you walk up the rocky paths between the buildings. Donkeys are used to carry loads and they brought our bags up to the hotel (riad). On arrival we were offered sweet black tea, popcorn and biscuits. Once we had settled in dinner was typical delicious Moroccan food, tagine, salad, rice, followed by sweet mint tea. Some of the group went exploring the village, others rested.
Day Two
The group had breakfast and assembled on the patio ready to hike. Today was a nine mile round trip acclimatisation hike with 1,000m elevation gain up to Tassgimout Summit at 2,680m. Everyone was strong, only one slight headache in the group, no other altitude issues. The pace was gentle and steady. Everyone learned quite early to step aside (on the uphill side!) for the donkeys carrying big loads, they barge past with no attempt to avoid an unaware mountaineer and you could end up being pushed off the trail! Two donkeys passed us carrying our lunch up the hill, we all thought this was a nice touch and would like our own trip organisers to consider doing this for us on club trips. We arrived at the col to find a makeshift café selling bottled fizzy drinks, water and freshly squeezed orange juice. How refreshing! We continued up to the summit, took photos of the views and were instructed to sit for 30 minutes at the top to allow time to adjust to higher altitudes and build red blood cells, every little helps. Gill and Loz were delighted to bag another small summit back at the col, Tizi n’Mzik 2,480m. On the way down we came across our Moroccan guides and a wonderful picnic was set up in a shady spot (note for our trip organisers). The guides / cooks had actually cooked a tagine under the trees and served it to us on mats and rugs. It felt very Moroccan and relaxing.
Day Three
This was the push to Base Camp, the refuge at the base of Mt Toubkal. The hike was so scenic, the weather was beautiful, there were pools and waterfalls, small villages and cafes, trail-side orange juice stands and a lot of donkeys on the route. Morocco has now introduced a visitor in/out system for the Mt Toubkal National Park and passports now have to be logged on the way in and out. The hike to base camp was 7 miles with 1,350m elevation gain, to a height of 2,250m. Refuge Azib Tamsoult is large and right at the base of the summit trail to the top. Everyone settled in and we were offered the usual tea, popcorn and biscuits afternoon snack followed by dinner, another lovely tagine with salad, rice, pasta, with fruit for dessert.
Day Four
After breakfast we had another acclimatisation day and the group hiked up to the South Col. The trail follows the river and again there were spectacular views with waterfalls and pools. It was chilly at first but once the sun was high enough everyone warmed up and shed layers. As always the pace was steady and gentle, acclimatisation pace, not a race. At the top was a rocky platform and a small ice field to play in, with spectacular views across to the Sahara desert. Again the goal was to sit for thirty minutes to grow red blood cells, but some of the group decided to go up a little bit further just because. The name of the col is Tizi n’Ougane, at 3,750m, the distance hiked was 4.6 miles, elevation gain 600m. An excellent choice and a fun day out. For quite a few in the group this was their new altitude high, something to be proud of. Thirty minutes achieved and it was time to hike back down to the refuge. There was a unanimous decision to stop and have a paddle in one of the rock pools. There were also some enticing boulders at the side of the trail, of course they had to be climbed! It was a glorious day.
Back at the refuge the guides served a late lunch and then everyone packed their summit packs ready for an early start. Resting was the order for the rest of the afternoon, followed by dinner which was a meat and bean tagine, pasta and melon for dessert.
Packs packed, all rested, properly acclimatised and feeling strong, the team all had an early night with alarms set for 2am. Up at 2, breakfast at 3, leave at 4 was the plan.
However, things didn’t quite go to plan. Half of the team were poorly in the night, too poorly to get up early and do any hiking. (Believe me you don’t want to know any more details!) Sadly only half of the team made it to the top.
Day Five – Summit Day
After waiting to see if the poorly ones could recover themselves, the summit team (Mary, Keith, Dave, AlexT, Sharon, Felicity and two Moroccan guides) left the refuge in the dark at around 4:30am. Caroline bravely set off with them but returned also feeling ill. It was a long steep hike up a rocky trail with a short scree section towards the saddle, then only another 100m or so to the top. Felicity said it would take four hours but our guys were awesome and made it up in three and a half hours! There wasn’t much of view but summit photos were taken to celebrate a truly amazing achievement! The ones left behind were all very proud and happy to hear that the summit team had made it to the highest peak in North Africa.
On the way down a couple more of the team started having tummy problems however it was all downhill and they made it back to the refuge in time for lunch and then to hike down. Mary was quite ill and rode down on a donkey.
Meanwhile the afflicted group (Gill, Loz, Greg, AlanW, Shirley, Caroline, Linda and Rachel) slept for a few more hours and then packed up ready for the long slow hike downhill back to Aroumd, escorted by Abdul. It was seven miles and should have taken two hours but no one had any energy at all. With lots of breaks and bottles of full-fat coke, we finally made it to our riad in Aroumd seven and a half hours later! That last short uphill section through the village was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life!
By the evening we all started to feel a bit better but only AlexT managed dinner. Alan managed only half a bowl of soup. Whatever it was that got us wiped us out completely.
Day Six
By the morning after a good night’s sleep everyone in the group was brighter and feeling a lot better. We managed to eat some breakfast, pancakes, butter, jam, soft cheese, boiled eggs and orange juice, similar to all the other Moroccan breakfasts served. We hiked back to Imlil with an orange juice stop at the waterfall café – interesting bridges in/out! We met the minibus and finally returned to Marrakech. Once checked into Faouzi Hotel, we all had a walk in to the main square and found a nice restaurant, where most of us managed chicken, chips and a beer.
Day Seven
This was the reward, and it was all about exploring Marrakech. Still with small appetites and low on energy Gill and Loz decided to walk to Starbucks and back via a beautiful garden area and past the Koutoubia Mosque. It was hot but cloudy. Others went into the Souks, a labyrinth of little streets leading off the centre square, all enclosed, lively and colourful, and Le Jardin Secret which is a lovely oasis. Greg and Rachel decided to go climbing and climbed at the Atlas Elevation climbing wall, Linda went with them to watch. In the evening the whole team went out for dinner, more chicken and chips and a couple of gently spiced tagines, and then we went to the Sky Bar for final drinks together and to enjoy the views of distant mountains from where we had returned.
Day Eight
And finally, the flight home.
What a fantastic trip this was. We all made lovely new lifelong friends, some made the summit, others made their all-time altitude high. What was great about the trip was the way the team gelled and all looked after each other. I feel very proud of what we all did.
Many thanks to Lakeland Mountain Guides for a superb and well organised itinerary with excellent acclimatisation, and huge thanks to Felicity our English guide, and Abdul and Ibrahim our Moroccan guides and cooks.
Great trip and some quality climbs. And some extensive abseil practise!