Paris in the Spring?…….Nah Morocco

[Mark Ward]

Morning all,
Anyone fancy some early season sun and warm weather climbing? Aileen has generously volunteered to lead a meet to Morocco probably late March/early April when the weather is warming up but before it gets too hot. Aileen has been 4 or 5 times now and thinks it would make an excellent venue for a club meet, if fact she enjoys it so much she leaves for another week there this Friday

The climbing in the Anti-Atlas mountains is all trad, on quartzite rock. Routes range from single pitch stuff to really really long multi-pitch. On the tors and crags in the desert there is a mix of trad and bolted routes. There’s the full range of grades available – plenty of easy things to go at Scrambles/VD/S, a lot of classic VS/HVS stuff, all the way up to silly hard E grades.

Examples include things like Labyrinth Ridge, an 800m VS, or Tower Ridge (MVS). Pink Lady (VS) and White Tower (HVS) are very popular. And at easier grades, Dragon Ridge (S), Donkey Serenades (VD), Prophet Peak (S). Millenium Ridge is a whole 1500m of HVD! Kzar Rock is a popular cragging destination, as is Lower Eagle, there is some great short multipitch stuff up at Adrar Umlil. A long link-up of easy routes and scrambling up Jebel-el-Kest (the highest mountain in the range) is also an excellent day out. There are loads more, and also some classic hard things for anyone who wants E-silly grades.

Some of the climbing is on UKC, but there is loads more info on this website: https://www.climb-tafraout.com/

No fixed dates or duration yet, these will be worked out by the group
Plan would be to fly Manchester to Agadir, current price for Easy Jet approx £200 return pp
Car hire provides flexibility to/from the airport and gives access to the greatest number of climbing areas, currently about 20 euros per day. Drive time from Agadir to Tafraout approximately 2 hours
Will be based in Tafraout, which has a good range of accommodation and restaurants, and provides good access to both the Anti-Atlas mountains and the tors and outcrops in the desert. Accommodation costs will vary depending on type from £30 per night for a twin room in a good hotel down to shared apartment for £20 per night sleeping 7-10. options will be dependent on group size and personal preference but overall not expensive.

At this stage we need to gauge the level of interest so if you need more information or you would like to join Aileen on this trip please contact Aileen directly by email to aileen.robertson@gmail.com . DO NOT USE THE “REPLY” function at the top of this page as it does not work.

We look forward to hearing from you shortly
Cheers
Mark

[Author]

Posts