Moroccan High Atlas Mountains News

Freezing level set to drop

2010-01-03T15:49:00.001Z

It's getting colder in the High Atlas Mountains....!

Current snow levels

2010-01-03T15:33:00.004Z

Following the huge rainfalls of recent weeks in the south and particularly in the Western High Atlas, we've now been able to get out into the mountains after some road and bridge repairs!

Slopes with north facing aspects have snow down to around 3000m whilst south facing slopes is much higher at around 3500m or higher in some areas. Although there was a huge rainfall the temperatures at the time were very mild which resulted in only some snow - but a complete filling of all the reservoirs!

The photo below was taken yesterday from high up the Tizi n'Test road and shows the Tazaghart plateau with villages near Ijoukak region in the foreground.

First rain and snow

2009-12-13T13:05:00.004Z

At last! The first rains (and snow on the tops) of the winter season in the Moroccan High Atlas mountains. Although not very heavy - it's a start! The forecast for the coming week is unsettled, light snow showers in the mountains and a continuing SW airflow.

Weather Forecasts

2009-10-20T12:35:00.006Z

There is no mountain specific forecast for the Moroccan High Atlas mountains. The nearest one gets to this is a snow forecast for the Oukiameden ski resort area. The stats for this forecast are compiled by the Uk company Snow Forecast.com Ltd who also operate weather-forecast.com; surf-forecast.com and tide-forecast.com

Last year on our ToubkalMountainGuides blog we issued a Toubkal specific forecast once a week which was based on data collected from the official MarocMeteo, Oukaimeden ski-resort, Weather Undergound websites and local knowledge gatherered on the ground from our guides operating in the region. They were an educated feel for what weather would be like over the stated dates and in the absence of any "proper" mountain forecasts for the Toubkal region were "better than nothing"!.

However as our forthcoming guidebook will demonstrate, there is more to the High Atlas mountains than Toubkal! So for the coming winter season we will create a direct feed from the snow forecast for "Ouki" and add our own comments to this as required. This will mean that during the days we are actually in the hills and unable to publish a blog, you the reader will at least have a forecast generated for an area that's popular and roughly in the centre of the entire range.

In relation to snow forecasts it has to be said that neither us or snow-forecast.com make any attempt to state the avalanche risk or comment on the stability of the snowpack.

Ramadan and trekking

2009-08-22T11:40:00.004Z

Ramadan started here in Morocco last night and will continue until in or around the 19th / 20th September when the new moon will be sighted, signalling the end. The reason as to the uncertainty of the exact finishing date is because Morocco is one of the last countries in the world that relies on an actual sighting rather than a moon calendar. And if it isn't seen, then the fast goes one for another day.
The celebration at the end of Ramadan is called Eid el-Fitr, and is the second biggest event of the Islamic calendar (after Eid el-Kbir). Eid el-Fitr lasts three days and shops, banks and offices are closed.

We're often asked about the effects of Ramadan in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains and whether it is wise to go trekking / climbing at this time. So here are some thoughts:-

If you are trekking with a large commercially organised party, then the effects of Ramadan on your trip will probably be very little. You may be aware of the local staff getting up early (before sunrise) to eat and drink and then all gathering together with other Moroccans at sunset (presently around 7 pm) to drink askif or harira (soup) and eat dates and some bread. Aside from that you'll observe them not eating, drinking or smoking during the day.
Again if you're with a commercial group, your in-country travel will be pre-organised and minibuses will be there for you at the appointed time.

Moving onto DIY trekking - this will be a different experience. There are a number of factors to consider:-
a) are you trekking long routes that will exhaust local staff unable to drink during the day?
b) who is going to prepare your lunch?
c) are you prepared to be flexible as regards transport availability?
d) how much interaction do you anticipate having with locals in the mountains? Can you adjust to their timescale?
e) are you prepared to travel in public transport without drinking or smoking?
f) if you're hiring a car and driving around the country, be prepared for all cafes / restaurants in non-tourist areas to be closed.

Some other pointers in random order:-

Regardless of whether you are trekking with commercial group or doing it yourself, you should out of respect for Moroccans, avoid eating, smoking or drinking in public during the day.

Be aware of banks and the like opening an hour later in the morning and closing mid-afternoon.

Alcohol is not available in the supermarkets and off-licences are closed from three days before Ramadan until three days after the Eid (celebrations at the end of Ramadan). It is available to foreigners in licensed restaurants, but sometimes the bar or restaurant might run out of some drinks.

The dJemma-el-Fna in Marrakech really comes alive after sundown and everyone will be out and about eating and enjoying themselves.

It will be next to impossible to get a taxi after 5 pm or thereabouts until after f'tour (the breaking of the fast meal at sundown) as everyone will be rushing to get home.

The sticky cakes on sale such as shpekia should not be missed!

During f'tour unless you are eating in a cafe / restaurant / dJemma-el-Fna, it is best not to be walking about generally in the streets at this time. Anyone else walking around when they should be home eating are probably up to no good and as generally there is always someone watching what everyone else is doing (and thereby self-policing), during f'tour there will be no-one about doing this! For this reason it's best not to let your kids go out of your sight during this time if you are travelling with children.

In summary, if you are prepared to adapt, be really sensitive to local culture (and particularly in the conservative countryside) and be flexible as regards things like transport times, then this can be a very rewarding time to visit.
Whilst large commercially driven companies do offer trips at this time, we at NomadicMorocco.com and ToubkalMountainGuides.com don't. One reason is that all our guides are out of the country in September anyway! More seriously though, at this time of year the weather is still hot and we generally don't offer (m)any trips until mid September. The main reason however is that we really feel for the local staff having to walk all day in the mountains without being able to drink as they run a much greater health risk of severe dehydration and depletion of body salts etc than they would otherwise.

September is a great month for harvesting walnuts however. More on this later....

Guidebook research trips and routes

2009-05-14T10:41:00.005Z

We have a number of trips / routes we wish to do for our forthcoming guidebook on Mountaineering in the High Atlas.

The majority of these routes will be in winter (conditions) and so whilst we will be organising the logistics etc, these research trips are not in any way a guided trip. Rather they should be treated as self-supported mountaineering trips and as such any person that wishes to accompany us on these trips should be a proficient mountaineer in their own right.

To reflect that these trips are not guided per se but nevertheless all the planning, logistics, transport, food and accommodation will be organised and covered by us, the daily rate we would see as appropriate for these trips would be € 50 per person / per day.

The trip length can be as little as 2 days and up to a week or more and will cover the entire spread of the High Atlas range.

If you would like to join us on this basis, then please follow this link and give us a brief resume of your mountaineering experience; the time of year you are available / would like to join us; how many days you are available for; anything else that you think may be important!

Lammergeier alive and well in Oukaimeden

2009-05-13T12:17:00.008Z

We've written about this fabulous bird before in various blogs. So it is great to receive an email from a Spanish ornithologist who spotted them recently in the ski resort area of Oukaimeden in the Moroccan High Atlas mountains - not a million miles away from the Toubkal massif.

Some great photos on Teo's blog (like the one above!)

Take a look on this link.

Thanks Teo for your photos and email.

Refuge below Mgoun 4068m

2009-05-13T10:55:00.009Z

The mountain refuge situated on the Tessaout plateau on the south side of the Tarkeddit ridge is a good base for tackling the north side of Mgoun 4068m, the highest peak in the Moroccan High Atlas outside of the Toubkal massif. This area which is prone to large snowfalls in the winter, creates its own weather patterns regardless of the time of year and temperatures others are experiencing in different areas of the country.

I well remember the time one August when I was experiencing daily (cold!) hail storms that were producing impressive flash floods in the Mgoun region whilst my family on the southern side of the mountains were wishing they owned a swimming pool such was the heat!

The Terkeddit Refuge is privately owned by a Marrakech based company and has been built beside the sight of an old refuge which is now only evidenced by some low stone broken down walls. Whilst the new (5 years or so) refuge is comfy, it is bearing the brunt of the cold and damp climate and its flat roof has allowed significant damp discolouration and peeling of paint etc on most of the internal ceilings. It's still better than a tent though!

The warden of the refuge has now been issued with a Thuraya satellite phone which unless you have your own satellite phone with you (we always carry one to this region) is the only communication to the outside world. Technically therefore it is possible to phone the refuge direct - the company's website suggests between the hours of 9-10 in the morning and 4-5 in the afternoon (local time).
The satellite number is:- 00 88 216 51073576 and again as per the company's website it is "Il est gardé toute l’année"

All that by way of introduction to a recent story we received by email from an independent mountaineer:-

We had a great trip, v intense for just 6 days ; found a great gites in Agouti recommended by a mountain guide we met on the bus from Marrakesh.

It took us about 11 hrs to get the hut, just as it was falling dark , with a howling wind, only to find out that there was no warden there and the doors firmly locked (despite assurances we'd been given at the gite, and the huts web site!). This was a disappointment I can tell you. My partner was all for breaking the door down but we did have a small tent and stove etc and were fairly comfortable apart from a bit of a battering from the wind.

Next day we felt a bit alone and exposed and still had the pass to get back over so instead of tackling MGoun we hightailed it out. Once down in the Arous valley we asked a Berber farmer to give us a roof over our head for the night and were treated like visiting royalty, quite an experience: lovely people admiring our expensive kit, slept over the goat herd in the barn, great bread , argan oil ; mint tea, lamb tagine and scrambled eggs for breakfast! Next day wandered back to Agouti, and flagged a taxi down for a wild ride back to Azilal.

Feel free to give the hut people feedback!

So there you have it - make sure (somehow!) that the guardian is at the refuge before you head off.

Or bring a tent!.....

John Evans

2009-05-09T21:08:00.006Z

John David Evans, an experienced mountain rescue team member died tragically in a fall whilst climbing in Snowdonia, North Wales. The accident took place 2 weeks ago at Clogwyn Y Grochan in the Llanberis Pass.

John aged 54, was a member of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team. He was out enjoying a social climb with his partner Lynne when the accident happened. They had just climbed the route Nea, when John fell a considerable distance whilst descending a gully. Fellow rescue team members rushed to his aid but were unable to save his life. North Wales police are currently working with the Mountain Rescue Team to establish the exact cause of the accident.

John lived in Capel Curig and was an accomplished and experienced climber, having spent time as a mountain guide in Alaska as well as being a knowledgeable instructor in technical rescue rope work.

He was largely responsible for encouraging the writer, Des Clark to gain the Wilderness EMT award last year in Glenmore Lodge, Scotland.

More information and photos can be seen on the following blog post:-

2009 Mountaineering Season: John Evans

Building styles in Morocco

2009-03-05T12:31:00.003Z

Traditional style village house in the Western High Atlas

High winds on Tinergwet

2009-03-05T12:05:00.003Z

No it's not a photo of the Himalaya! Jebel Tinergwet west ridge at over 3000m (north of Taroudant in the Moroccan Western High Atlas) is just one of the peaks that is being subjected to strong N/NW winds at the moment. The weather is to remain unsettled, cloudy and light snow falls up high and fresh to strong N winds until the weekend.....

Coffee shop (if only!) weather indeed.

Information on Morocco

2009-02-22T11:40:00.003Z

The difficulty with the internet now is that there is so much information "out there" that is possible to spend hours trawling through various websites to find exactly what you're looking for!

Morocco for example. Well stop looking! If it's mountains or trekking related our 2 websites should suffice:-

ToubkalMountainGuides.com (for Toubkal area obviously) and NomadicMorocco.com (for the Western High Atlas and Mgoun regions).

If it's culture, news, information, observations, articles, Fes, Fes festivals, U2 (our old class mates - yes it is true - look at the "U2 by U2" book to see a photo of Des Clark standing beside David Evans, aka The Edge!) - whatever you need to know of Morocco on the internet can be pretty much found on the Riad Zany blog "The View from Fez".

Check it out, learn lots and save yourself grief and time!

North Atlantic oscillation and the Moroccan High Atlas

2009-02-18T08:57:00.005Z

A recent client of ours on a ToubkalMountainGuides trip where we endured fresh deep snow (yes we are talking about the Moroccan High Atlas!), reminded us of the North Atlantic oscillation. Of course!

So here's the Wikipedia link for some light reading. Certainly it would appear from the winter of 2008/9 that the NAO index is low. Westerlies are suppressed and cold winters and storms track southerly toward the Mediterranean Sea. This brings increased storm activity and rainfall to southern Europe and North Africa.

Oh yes!

Have we turned a corner?

2009-02-11T15:30:00.005Z

After last week's (record) rainfall in Morocco and snowfall in the High Atlas mountains including Mgoun, Tinergwet and Toubkal, there is at last sunshine and warmer temperatures!

Taroudant mid-day to-day recorded 36 degrees with some 12 degrees lower in the shade. The forecast is for predominantly settled weather although some clouds Monday may bring some light rain to places.

Last weeks snow fell as low as 1600m on south facing aspects and 1200m on the northside. Temperatures this week though have meant a lot of this lower snow has melted and the snowlines have receded on both sides by around 800m.

Olive trees and snowy mountains

2009-01-18T20:06:00.003Z

The last few days have brought fresh snow to the High Atlas mountains - with even some snow on the lower south facing slopes!

The photo taken this afternoon shows the highest most western summits of the Moroccan High Atlas - (left) Jebel Tinergwet 3551m and (right) Awlim 3482m as seen from Taroudant in the Souss valley.

The forecast for the week is clear, mainly settled weather with temperatures rising at the end of the week.

Enjoy the High Atlas with NomadicMorocco!

Current weather / snow for the High Atlas

2009-01-12T11:03:00.002Z

Warmer southerly winds on the 30th and 31st December which raised the snowline to around 2700m on N & NE facing slopes released about half a metre of new snow above 3250m. This has now stabilised and the current spell of cold northerly winds and blue skies seems set to continue until the end of the week.

Wrap up well....!

The official Maroc Meteo daily bulletin in French is available on this link.

More snow forecast for the High Atlas

2008-12-27T20:41:00.003Z

As we write this, it is raining heavily outside in our patio!.... which means snow up high on Toubkal, Mgoun and other High Atlas peaks! Given the current temps at the moment the snow is likely to be falling above 2500m on all slope aspects.

The forecast for the coming week is mixed - some sun (not much!) with heavy snow showers Tuesday evening / night with wind direction SSW.

The daily Moroccan meteo (in French) is available on-line at http://www.marocmeteo.ma/meteo/bulletin.asp

Stay safe....

2009 winter trips & prices - Christmas offer!

2008-12-15T18:17:00.009Z

Hello everyone. Maybe some of you have been keeping an eye out on weather forecasts for the Moroccan High Atlas, Toubkal or Mgoun areas?! Well in case you missed out - there is certainly ample snow around already for our winter Toubkal ascents and snowshoeing trips in the Mgoun region with some record falls in early November.

The current economic woes and falling level in the GBP rate against the Euro (and also the Moroccan dirham) have made things difficult for our UK clients and whilst our trips are (we believe!) costed competitively against other operators given our low client to guide ratio and that we do not out-source our trips to anyone else, often it seems that it is the bottom line figure that is the decider rather than what services etc are offered before and during a particular trip.

So to help those in the GBP sterling zone, we are prepared to discount our prices by €40 per trip for all new individual bookings and €100 per trip for all joint bookings (2 persons) received by the end of the Christmas period (i.e. midnight on the 5th January 2009).
This offer applies purely to people resident in the UK and is valid from now on the trips specified below for which there are (at the time of writing) 2 or more places available on the trip in question. To get an up-to-date availability status, go to our TMG blog entry which is updated daily.

Jan 26 - 30 Toubkal Winter ascent IFNI
Feb 16 - 20 Toubkal Winter ascent LEPINEY
March 14 - 22 Mgoun 4068m Winter ascent
March 15 - 22 Winter / Expedition course
April 6 - 9 Toubkal Winter ascent IMLIL
April 13 - 17 Toubkal Winter ascent LEPINEY

Details of the Toubkal trips are available on this pdf link.
Details of the Mgoun Winter ascent trip is available on this pdf link.
Details of the Winter / Exped training course is available on this pdf link.

Stay safe in the mountains over the holiday period wherever you go. Remember to avail of weather and avalanche information services where they exist and to heed them. Enjoy!

Happy Christmas!

International Mountain Day

2008-12-11T15:56:00.004Z

Today is International Mountain Day as designated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN. This year the theme is of food security in mountains.

It is an apt occasion to reflect on how hard it is for mountain people to consistently get adequate and nutritious food to lead healthy and active lives. Priorities for improving food security in mountains include promoting and expanding traditional mountain crops; safeguarding indigenous land use practices; improving breeding programmes of mountain-adapted livestock; better market access; and mountain-specific public policy, developed with the participation of mountain people.

More specific information can be had at http://www.fao.org/mnts/intl_mountain_day_en.asp

Through the work of the AMAN Trust, we at NomadicMorocco are trying to play some small part in the sustainabiity of remote Berber communities far away from the touristic scenes of Imlil, Toubkal, Mgoun etc.

Large image map of the Moroccan High Atlas

2008-12-10T09:18:00.007Z

We're often asked where such and such a peak is relative to Toubkal - where is the only other 4000m peak Ighil Mgoun for example? Are there any mountains near Taroudant?

Well, in a couple of CAF refuges, there exists a picture montage which is an excellent visual portrayal of the entire Moroccan High Atlas range. Unfortunately it is impossible to get hold of nowadays and so at the risk of breaching copyright, I took a number of photos of the montage a while back, did some digital editing of my own and ended up with a large file (3mb and 3868x532 pixels)!

So if you would like to get a feel for the entire High Atlas and start dreaming of your next mountain exploration, then just follow this link through to where we have the image stored on our own server.

If anyone knows per-chance where it is possible (and we have searched!) to find a copy of this montage to buy, let us know please!

Mountain Rescue in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains

2008-12-01T09:43:00.007Z

Further to our previous blogs on this subject ("Planning your trip to the Moroccan High Atlas" 230408 and "Is insurance really necessary for trekking in the High Altas mountains?" 021008), a few of us (western ex-pat mountain guides resident in Morocco) attended a "full-on" intensive 6 day Wildeness Emergency Medical Technicians course in Scotland's National Outdoor centre Glenmore Lodge, Scotland at the beginnning of November.

The next stage in the plan to have some sort of medical cover in the Moroccan High Atlas mountains is to attract funding to purchase mountain stretchers and full medical kits to be stationed at the various refuges and key posts in the mountains - from Mgoun to Toubkal! Thereafter to train local "guides" and refuge personnell into basic casualty care and trauma treatment including the transportation of casualties out to a suitable roadhead for onward evacuation to a hospital etc.

Anyone interested in this whole area and possibly partnering with us, please contact us for more info.

Mgoun winter ascent - change of dates

2008-11-19T11:20:00.006Z

We've had to change the dates for our proposed Winter Ascent trip of Irhil Mgoun in the Central High Atlas of Morocco from the first week of March to the 14-22 March inclusive. This enables us to tie in with our Winter Mountaineering and Exped training course also over in the Mgoun region.

Irhil (or Ighil) Mgoun at 4068m is the 4th highest peak in the Moroccan High Atlas and winter ascents are for experienced winter walkers / mountaineers who are looking to expand their horizons.

There is availability on both trips / courses.

Petzl Myo headlamps

2008-10-24T14:28:00.003Z

Whether it’s for late night reading in a Berber village house in the High Atlas mountains or a pre-dawn start on Toubkal, headtorches are used the world over.

One of the most common names in headtorches is Petzl. They have just issued a press release on their Myo model.

Due to advances in the performance characteristics of AA/LR6 rechargeable batteries (especially their higher output during discharge), they can in certain cases of intensive use, cause quality and safety problems with MYO-series headlamps. When the headlamp is used with AA/LR6 rechargeable batteries, if a short-circuit appears in the cable connecting the battery case to the lamp, the cable can spark, melt, or catch fire. This poses a burn hazard to the user.
Click here to read more....

Walnuts in the High Atlas mountains

2008-10-20T14:53:00.003Z

We've written about walnuts before in a previous blog. Every year is different and unfortunately for this year, it seems the walnut harvest was not hectic - certainly in the Western part of the Moroccan High Atlas mountains.
Strong winds and frost damage last April when the blooms were flowering, caused enough damage to reduce the harvest this year to about half of last years crop - which will mean (like most other foodstuffs) a price increase this year for Moroccan walnuts.....

Don't take everything at face value!

2008-10-12T13:35:00.004Z

Our friends who live in our neighbouring High Atlas mountain villages, reckon this is going to be a "proper" winter! Already we've had some good rain (2 weeks ago) and more fell on Friday and yesterday resulting in snow above 2600m on Toubkal and other High Atlas peaks.

We were guiding on Toubkal on Friday (see photos) and our TMG blog article posted today.

So why the blog title "Don't take everything at face value!"? Well these photos are ours unlike one shown on a blog posted today by a Scottish outfit - Morocco Tour and Trek. The photo they have on their blog is actually one of ours from a blog we posted back last November!

At least they're using photos from a professional mountain guiding company....