Isn’t it strange that to get to the roof of Africa, one needs to travel to Europe and back into the African continent. The effects of colonialism is still felt today. Infrastructure built by the colonialists essentially linked the areas rich in resources to the coast, to move Africa’s natural wealth, to Europe. Links between African countries are limited to non-existent.

Anyway, my flight to Marrakech takes me from Johannesburg to Paris, from where there an abundance of flights to the various French Protectorates in North Africa, including Morocco.

I’ve been in Marrakech in 2009 when I attended a banking conference here. The little that I saw intrigued me enough to come back here for another stint. But of course, the mountain is the main reason for me traveling back to Marrakech.

The story behind Mt Atlas is that Heracles and Atlas who were Titans according to Greek mythology, rebelled against Zeus and as punishment he made Atlas hold up the world for eternity. In the days of the ancient Greeks, their world’s was contained to the Mediterranean Sea and surrounds, hence they associated the Atlas Mountains with the legend of Atlas, the Titan. If you consider images of Atlas, he is depicted squatting on one knee and holding the globe on his shoulder, balancing it against his neck. Poor Old Atlas.

Check out Wikipedia’s piece on the Atlas Mountains for the history of this mountain. It is quite amazing to learn that the current day Appalachians in North America was originally part of a Himalaya’s rivaling mountain range in Africa.

The next few days will be spent in Marrakech and further south where I start my summit attempt of Mt Toubkal at 4167m (amsl). In comparison, Mt Kilimanjaro’s base camp is at 4500m (amsl), a little higher than highest point in the Atlas Mountains.

The hike in the mountains is spread over 3 days.

Day 1 will be spent driving from Marrakech to the town of Imlil, acclimatising to 2400m in the foothills of the Atlas, descending to 1700m and sleeping overnight at this altitude. (PS. Johannesburg is around 1700m).

Day 2, we walk from our overnight spot to the Alpine Ski Club cabin, where we spend our 1st and only night on the mountain.

Day 3, we awake early and make our way to the summit and return to the Alpine Ski Club, collect our gear and head back down to 1700m, pick up the rest of our gear and head back to Marrakech.

That was the plan, here is how it played out.

Day -2 (April 1st 2017)

Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport was a mess. The sheer number of passengers overwhelmed the airport officials and passengers and flights were delayed. In a country where unemployment is so high, this should not happen. Also, these ports of entry and exist are the first and last ports that our visitors see which shapes their impression of the country as a whole. We have a lot to do here, if we want to be seen as the gateway to Africa. The flight out of Jhb was on an Air France, Airbus A380, the largest plane in the skies. The ride is smooth and everything’s works as planned. I meet up with Maria and Carlo Ribiero, who also signed up for this expedition to the Atlas Mountains. Maria and I both worked for the same banking institution in SA. Although she was in the bank for a little while, she only came in to take over the technology team who supported my business, as I was leaving in 2015. That is a pity as I would have really liked to work with her.

Maria describes our first meeting as me (the old hat) telling her (the newbie) what works and what does not work and then dropping the bombshell that I was leaving the bank, just as she was describing her work style.

Day -1 (April 2nd 2017)

Airport Charles de Gaul is reached at the scheduled time and we found our way to our connecting flight to Marrakech. CDG, like most European main airports work extremely efficiently and moves hundreds of thousands of passengers everyday. Our airport would collapse if we saw these numbers and applied our current system of moving people through the airport.

On the flight to Marrakech, I switched seats with 2 friends who wanted to sit together and found myself seated with 2 Chinese ladies. As things go, I struck up a conversation and met Mabel and Sharon who confirmed that they were from Hong Kong and not mainland China. They were on route to Marrakech for a 6 day tour. The Chinese are traveling a lot these days and can be seen across the Arabic lands as well. This was confirmed by many locals in Marrakech as to the rise in the number of Chinese visitors. [shout out to Mabel and Sharon – hope you enjoyed Marrakech].

Landing at Marrakech Menara International Airport, Sean Disney (Adventure Dynamics International) was on hand to guide us to the transfer vehicle and to our hotel.

Our hotel was a 2 star dwelling (Ryad) in the Medina which was very comfortable. As with everything in Marrakech, negotiations are a part of daily life and visitors are not precluded from the practice. The word is that when presented with a price, you chop off 50% and then start negotiating. Once you agree on a price, there is no going back on your word or theirs. Transferring our luggage from the vehicle to the hotel was negotiated and our luggage was safely brought to the Ryad. The Ryad is essentially an open core with rooms around it. The open core is typically filled with a pool or water feature and the design allows for air to flow easily over the pool which keeps the entire Ryad cool. Today we unpack our luggage, separate our mountain gear into duffel bags to be carried to the mountain and our civilian clothes that we store at the hotel.

Day 0 (April 3rd 2017)

Starting out early today, we sort out our gear, dress in our hiking clothes and make our way to breakfast. Post breakfast, into the transfer vehicle and off to the mountains. The drive to the mountains is littered with passes, valleys and spectacular sites of habitation in the most extreme locations.

On reaching the town of Imlil, we start our acclimatisation walk to a pass about 10kms away. The start is steep as we ascend from the town towards our high-point. The group breaks up into 3 differently paced sub-groups as we make our way up and down the slopes to the pass. the scenery is dry and arid with goats gleefully skipping on the rocks and running up slopes as if they are on flat land. here, goats even climb the trees and shrubs in search of the sweetest, most tender shoots.

Reaching the pass summit at 13h00 and realising that we are only half way through our walk today is sobering. the walk down is always the longest and hardest as the dry underfoot conditions makes it easy to slide and fall. With the rocky terrain, one should avoid falling as it could put pay to the next days to come.

We quickly descend and walk away from the town of Imlil to our overnight spot, a dwelling built into the rock in a little village in the foothills of the mountain, overlooking a river that flows directly from the mountains. The dwelling is comfortable and practical. We are tired and find sleep easily. Tomorrow is our first full day in the mountains towards our goal, Mt Toubkal.

Day 1 (April 4th 2017)

Rising early, re-arranging our duffel bags, changing into our hiking clothes, we take off after breakfast by following the river to the path into the mountains. The path rises steeply and cut around the first outcrop to reveal our morning stop at the Shrine. The history of the Shrine is centered around fertility and and it was widely believed that the power of the mountain and river afforded the pious a chance to bear children. En-route, we needed to watch for the Mules, as they transferred families, mountain gear and food to the various points on the mountain.

We took a good break here to rest our legs for the rest of the climb to our overnight spot. Moving on from the Shrine, up and over the extremely steep rocky outcrop, we make our way to the lunch point in the distance. I am struggling to keep the pace set by the guide and find my own pace. Reaching the lunch point and dispensing with lunch, I take a few pictures of the adjacent peaks and the snowline. From here onward, we will be in the colder climate as we breach the snowline.

The walk from the lunch point to the overnight spot is good with decent flat sections that allow for the straining muscles to recover. We reach the French Alpine Ski Club cabin in the afternoon and re-connect with our duffel bags. Our sleeping quarter is a single room with 8 bunked beds. This is not the surprise however; the surprise is the amount of snow on the peaks. This was not expected and need to use crampons to ascend the slope tonight. So , its off to practice with the crampons as we will be leaving in the early hours of the night and one does not want to be putting on crampons for the first time then.

The snow is thick and our feet go right through the pack. It is disconcerting when that happens as the instinct is to try to move the weight to the other foot which also sinks, causing some panic. Once you get used to this feeling, it ain’t that bad. having practiced putting on the crampons and walking around with them, it is off to dinner, shower and bed.

With just 5 hours to sleep, my anxiety and some snoring (lets not mention names) get the better of me and sleep is scarce. I am up throughout the 5 hours; listening to the racket at the cabin and the rise and fall of the “snorting” in the room.

Day 2 (April 5th 2017)

It is 01h00 on the 5th and I get up, switch on the light and get everybody up. We each find space in the cabin to change into our summit gear and make our way to a very early breakfast. Belly’s filled (or what you can muster this early), gear on, crampons fitted and secured, we make out way out of the cabin and onto the slopes. It is cold and the wind is challenging, even at this lower altitude. The slopes are extremely steep and a patch of switchbacks is the only way to climb out of the camp to the saddle. Breaks are evenly spread throughout the journey but I take strain with the sheer steepness. My calves are crying out for a break and the going is tough. After a dose of medication, I feel better and manage to set a pace that I am comfortable with.

We reach the saddle around 05h00 and take a well earned rest. The summit is to our left with sheer cliffs and precipices about. One needs to be very careful here. Also, there are sections here where the winds are so strong that the snow blows off completely. Our boots are shod with crampons and walking on dry hard basalt rock is not the easiest with crampons. These are made for snow and ice and become scary on hard rock, where it cannot pierce through.

The group becomes weary of where the summit actually is. We wind our way up and down. It is nearly 07h00 in the morning and the illusive summit is still not in sight. There are a few hand hold scrambles past rocks and then we are on the snow again winding our way to the summit.

At last we see it, a conical structure in the distance signifying the top of the highest point in the Atlas Mountains, Mt Toubkal. At 4,167 m amsl (accepted mean sea level), this mountain does not present any breathing challenges but my muscles are crying out and the winds make the top precarious. The temperature drops to around -7 degrees Celsius. We take our pictures of the rising sun and us at the summit point and then make our way down the mountain again. Sun has risen by the time we find ourselves at the saddle. Now we can visualise the track and the mountain around us. The steepness is confirmed and the various danger points are laid bare. I am glad we walked past these in the dark. Knowing what lies beneath would probably add the fear factor to the equation which may tip the scales in favour of quitting.

The descent is hard due to the steepness and the fact that we need to go off the path at times to accommodate hikers going up the paths. Off the path is dangerous as the snow is not hardened and one can break through quite easily. We follow an “Indian File” down the mountain and reach the French Alpine Ski Club cabin around 10h00.

The plan is to rest a little, take lunch and then walk out of the mountains back to the little village close to Imlil and find our transfer vehicle back to Marrakech. All this in one day after our summit effort of 8 hours. In hindsight, the plan to descend and return to Marrakech in a single day is a good one. The next day, our muscles tighten up and if we were to descend today, we would be in real trouble.

I am excited to get off the mountain as I struggled to go up this one. Going down, for once, proved to be less of an effort. I previous struggled on Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Elbrus. I must be getting better at this because I did not feel the descent as much as I thought I would.

We reach the village around 14h00. Our duffel bags are already here. We arrange a transfer vehicle from the village back to the town of Imlil where our transfer vehicle is waiting for us for our trip back to Marrakech. Our vehicle is a truck with benches at the back. Our luggage is tossed up on the racks and we are bundled into the dusty truck for the short trip to Imlil. Climbing on board our transfer vehicle to Marrakech, we start to relax and finally realise that our mountain odyssey is almost over. The trip to Marrakech is a silent one, with nodding heads and sleepy eyes.

Back in Marrakech

We are checked in at another Ryad in Marrakech, the Ryad Aladdin which is around the corner from the Royal Palace. Our stored luggage finally arrives and were re-connect with the world as our mobile devices find the free wi-fi zone.  Hello world and hello loved ones are dispensed with and we start recanting our stories as we share photographs from various moments on the mountain. We find our way back to our favourite watering hole called Kozy Bar which is minutes from our Ryad. Western style food and good atmosphere are guaranteed here.

The team prepare for our excursion to Essaouria (pronounced “es-wa-ria”), the city on the Atlantic ocean. Essaouria is the fabled “Slavers Bay” location from Game of Thrones. We walk the fish market and the pier, peer across to the islands, take in the sights, smells and sounds of a sea-side city and leave back for Marrakech.

I now prepare for a photographic tour across the mountains to the south-east of Morocco. I will be close to the Algerian border on my 2-day photo tour. Expecting a stay in a Kasbah down in the Valley of Roses beyond Ouzazarate. For now, my muscles are in dire need of a rub down and I excuse myself from the town excursion and sign-up for a body massage. Oh, What a Feeling !!! Relaxed and rejuvenated from the massage, I am back on my feet and feeling strong.

Next stop – Roses Valley and the road to Ouzazarate – if you want to hear more about this leg of my tour, please leave a comment requesting more info.

My thanks and appreciation to the following:

• Sean Disney  – Adventure Dynamics International – for your guidance and experience  and for all the arrangements for the trip. You are a superstar.
• Tracey Kojetin – TTS Travel – for arranging the flights and travel insurance.
• The Team: Maria & Carlos Ribiero; Marisa Meyer & Valter Adao; Sonia Killik; Andre van Wyk and Correne Erasmus-Coetzer: Thank you for your counsel, encouragement and company on the trip. Lets keep in touch. I am deeply appreciative of your role in my successful summit.
• Anisha, Dane and Geneva – for believing in me and for your unwavering support to live my dream while I still can.
• All my friends and family – for your well wishes on this journey and for keeping me in your thoughts.