Winter ascent of Jebel Toubkal

Hi there!

Darren here,

Climbing to the summit of Jebel Toubkal in Morocco is on many peoples bucket list. Morocco is only a short 3-hour flight from the UK and the Atlas Mountains can be reached in around an 80-minute drive from Marrakesh. It’s ideal for a long weekend, or perfect if you want to extend your trip and visit cultural sites, historic monuments or simply get away from it all by extending your trek in the Atlas Mountains. Further options in Morocco include a camel ride in the Sahara Desert, a trip to the historic city of Fez or an excursion to the quaint coastal resort of Essaouira. Our trip this time focused on climbing the most popular mountain, trekking to the summit of North Africa’s highest peak, Jebel Toubkal in a long weekend.  

Here’s a question before we jump into the blog…

What happens when your plan doesn’t…well…go to plan? In adventures, as in business and life, you fall back onto plan b, plan c, plan d…

It was on this weekend, we had to implement plan b during our winter ascent to reach the summit of the highest mountain in North Africa, Jebel Toubkal (4167m/13,671ft).

The team headed out to Marrakesh on Friday, arriving on different flights under the Moroccan sun. The first group, Mel, Jay, Rich and myself arrived just before lunch and checked into our hotel, Riad Omar. We met Chris who had arrived the day early from Manchester airport and after a traditional Moroccan tagine lunch, we headed to the secret garden, which featured on a BBC programme, Gardener’s World hosted by Monty Don. This is a super hidden oasis deep inside the souks of the old walled city. The peace and tranquillity is certainly a far cry from the hustle of the narrow streets and passageways, no jumping out of the way of on-coming motorbikes here!

The remaining members of the team arrived later in the evening, Dec and Adam arriving from Belfast via Gatwick, and Paul, Paul, Phil and Kevin arriving from Luton.

It’s a quick twenty-minute transfer to the Riad Omar and before long we had a delicious evening meal fit for a king! As with every dish served in Morocco, the food is fresh, no processed rubbish here… although the local mint tea can be very sweet and the Moroccans love the sweet pastries.

An early morning rise, we met for breakfast at 7 am and then headed into the Atlas Mountains and to the trailhead village of Imlil, our starting point. The journey was uneventful passing through small towns and villages, on winding roads getting higher and higher into the mountains. We passed Sir Richard Branson’s Kazbar, with its impressive walls and lovely secluded views into the mountains.

Spring has arrived in Imlil. Fresh mountain air greeted us as we met our two guides, the cook and our muleteers, who would transfer all of our kit to the refuge high above.

The first part of the walk gets the lungs working with a steep climb to the Berber village of Aroumd, leaving the apple blossomed trees far below. The village is perched on a rocky ridge and has commanding views over to Toubkal.

The terrain is rockier now, but the track is well worn by locals and trekkers alike. We reached the national park boundary for the obligatory group photo. As we got slightly higher, the gentle patter of rain started. Stopping for a break, we had a freshly prepared lunch by our team in small building in a mountain settlement. The last two and half hours to the Mouflon Refuge was a little wet. This turned to snow the closer we got to the shelter of the refuge (a sign as what was to come!).

We checked into our shared, communal bunk beds and tried to find the communal area with the lovely wood burner. The refuge was busy and everybody; guides and clients were all cozy in one of the warm dining rooms.

An early night beckoned as we would be leaving the safety of the refuge at 5am in the morning for our summit bid.

The team sorted their kit before bedtime to avoid waking the other occupants of the refuge early in the morning when we awoke.

After catching what only felt like a few minutes sleep, we started to ready ourselves for the mountain at night. I had managed to download a weather report the night before. Unfortunately, the conditions didn’t look good. After putting my boots and gaiters, on I ventured outside to check the weather conditions for myself…

Yes, strong gusting winds and swirling snow, with a whiteout at times…a no go!

We had breakfast and I suggested I would check the weather again at 6am. The team relaxed in the dining room, some catching a few more winks of sleep.

6am came and went…the weather hadn’t improved any, in fact it appeared to have gotten worse!

The summit was now un-achievable due to the conditions and with the time constraints. Damn! Maybe we could practice ice axe and crampon techniques at first light… nope! The weather was still not good with snow falling heavily all around. A decision was taken to head down. We packed and repacked our kit, as it was uncertain the mules would be able to ascend to the refuge to be able to carry our bags down. The team managed to pack all the kit into duffle bags and a rucksack to carry down, very slowly. Thankfully, it was confirmed that the mules were on their way, so we just had to pack our day sacks in the end.

The descent was in blizzard conditions with our Moroccan guides breaking trail through the freshly fallen snow, that was knee deep in places.

This was for many of the team, the first time they had experienced poor conditions like this. They were happy of the experience; a fun mini adventure so all was not lost in the aborted summit attempt.

We only have to look and we will find great experiences in every situation!

As we descended, the snow turned to rain, then out came the sun as we reached Aroumd. When we reached Imlil, we met my good friend Mohamed, our partner in Morocco. The team enjoyed the hospitality and even more food in the Refuge Imlil,  before the mules arrived with our kit. It was all loaded onto the bus for our journey back to Marrakesh.

I think we all fell asleep during the drive after the early start. We arrived back in Marrakesh, where the tranquility of the Atlas Mountains was replaced with the hustle and bustle of the city.

After checking into our rooms, it was a quick shower before we headed to the Sky Bar; one of the few places where alcohol is served.

At 7.30pm, it was time for our last meal together…Mother Nature may not have let us climb Toubkal this time, but she presented us with a stunning sunset behind the Minaret.