Mercian Mountaineering Club

Hello Mercians,

Fancy going somewhere completely different in 2019? A few club members are interested in an excursion to Morocco in late September/early October to scale North Africa's highest peak, Toubkal (4167m). It looks pretty spectacular and is a non-technical ascent, so suitable for climbers and walkers alike. It requires two days for the actual hike, plus a night in the town of Imlil beforehand to acclimatise to the altitude. More information on how to go about it here:
https://charlieontravel.com/climb-mount-toubkal/

UPDATE!!!!

The doodle poll has spoken and the most popular date to depart looks to be Sat 21st Sept.

Approximate flight costs (without luggage etc) are currently:

Ryanair, London Luton to Marrakesh:

Sat 21st Sept 8am - 1.35pm £60.17

Return - various options depending how long you want to stay for:

Thu 26th Sept - 10.45-14.20 £50.99
Sat 28th Sept - 12.00- 15.35 £83.63
Tue 1st Oct - 10.45-14.20 £50.99

Itinerary:

I've opted for a three day variant of the Toubkal hike as this allows for more time spent in the high mountains and more time to acclimatise to the altitude. Description of 3 Day route here:
https://www.atlastrekshop.com/3-day-mt- ... -trek.html

You could of course extend this even further by staying another night in the Toubkal refuge and targeting one of the other 4000m peaks in the area. But here's the plan for three days:

Sat 21st - arrive Marrakech. Transfer from the airport to Imlil (this can be booked via accommodation) and stay overnight at Riad Oussagou, approx £10 pppn:
https://www.booking.com/hotel/ma/riad-o ... en-gb.html

Sun 22nd - hike to Tamssoult refuge (2250m), via the Azzadene valley, 5hrs walking
https://www.refugetamsoult.com/ approx £10 for a dorm. £30 for a double, £10 for breakfast and dinner.

Mon 23rd - hike to Toubkal 'Les Mouflons' refuge via Ighouliden waterfalls and Aguelzim Pass (3560m)
http://www.refugetoubkal.com/uk/index.php approx £22 for a dorm and half board (breakfast and dinner)

Tue 24th - summit Toubkal and return via the direct route to Imlil. Full day of hiking. Return to stay at Riad Oussagou.

Wed 25th - we then seem to have a variety of thoughts on what to do next. The one thing I have learnt about Morocco is that everything is a really long drive! So it may be that the group splits at this stage depending on preferred activity. Options include:

1. Spend a wild night in Marrakech then fly home on the Thursday

2. Travel to Essaouira/somewhere else coastal for surfing. This is approx 3 hr drive from Imlil/Marrakech.

3. Find some climbing - there are a few popular areas (Todra Gorge sounds like the best) but they are all at least a full day of driving from Imlil/Marrakech, so potentially a long way to travel if you are only staying one week. I've not been able to find any info on climbing local to Imlil, which would obviously be most convenient. If you know otherwise please post any tips below.

4. Hit the desert! Again, it's a long way to travel if you are only staying one week. But you do get to ride a camel and see the Sahara. Erg Chebbi is the desert we want (proper sand dunes) and a 3 day tour is recommended to make it enjoyable and not just driving all the time. See the following: http://annaeverywhere.com/desert-tour-m ... vs-zagora/
https://www.marrakech-day-trips.com/mor ... rzouga.php

My preference would be to stay until Tues 1st Oct to get a bit of Marrakech and desert action. But please post your thoughts below!

Vicky

1. Vic H
2. Sarah L - flying home Sun 29th
3. Huw
4. Beth
5. Fabian
6. Harry
7. Malcolm
8. Anta - flying home Sat 28th

Interested but tbc:

Vijay - 3-4 days only
Becky
Stew
Ruth

Yes please would be keen for the hike and a few days at the cost for some surf maybe. And a camel trek/sandboarding would be pretty fun!

Just for info:

Amongst our adventurous group we have a few members who have already climbed Toubkal so can share their wisdom with us! Geoff, Sandy, Alan and Karl? I believe have all been there and done that.

Geoff can lend a map and recommend a place to stay in Imlil. Sandy knows a guide in the area, Yousef, who speaks perfect English and could maybe help with accommodation and the use of hammans! For those interested in climbing other routes, Sandy has another contact who might be handy who is in the Moroccan army unit based in Oukaimden which is the next valley over from Imlil. Again he speaks perfect English and knows the area well so could advise on places to climb

Obviously it's early days with regards to planning but these people might be good to speak to

It's not what you know but who you know!

(On another note, Huw and I are up for 10 days rather than a week, so if anyone else fancies a slightly longer jaunt bear that in mind )

Beth

I'm keen to do a week - I'd prefer to rock climb, and a secondary objective would be Toubkal. But in the grand scale of things I'm easy going.

Hi All
Add me to the list, however, probably 3-4 days max.

Vijay

And me. Definitely Toubkal.
Malc

I am up for this trip, and would do extra days.

If there was a group who wanted to do something other than toubkal (either a different mountain or rock climbing) I would be keen!

Hey,
I'm in! Sounds great. Toubkal would be on the list, alongside climbing and possibly some surfing if that fits on the agenda. Would probably look at 1 week?

Thank you for doing the research Vicky. In the interest of being amongst my friends for the week, and given what you've said about the long drives I think Toubkal followed by Marakesh (a couple of nights) might suit me. Happy to go with the flow, but will probably not take more than 5 working days holiday.

The Toubkal plan sounds great.

I would vote for desert & camels.

Also this:

Fabian wrote:The Toubkal plan sounds great.

I would vote for desert & camels.

Also this:

Yep that's what I'm going to look like

I would be between desert or coast. Coast is closer and less driving but desert is cool...
Less fussed about marrakesh as have been told its abit busy and hectic but a night would be cool just to see some things.

Thanks for the research Vicki! Climbing definitely sounds way out of the way. Tempted by Marrakesh for a night or two after Toubkal... and currently slightly more tempted by coast I think rather than desert...

10 days sounds great. Easy on desert vs coast. I guess desert is different. Depends how good the surf spot is, and surf conditions could be pants during the short window that we're there. Thanks for all your hard work!

Huw wrote:.............. Depends how good the surf spot is, and surf conditions could be pants during the short window that we're there. ..................

Surf season for Morocco is typically winter, Jan/Feb/Mar. Looking at the charts for September, it shows groundswell 35% of the time (vs 90% for J/F/M). You'd have better luck with windsurfing I think, at Essourira.