Part 3 - Winter climbing in the High Atlas through the Broke Traveller's lens - Ep 14
This is the final part of the journal of my winter ascent of Mount Toubkal (4167 m) in Morocco at the end of February. In case you missed the other two parts, you can find Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.
After spending the night in our sleeping bags inside the hut, at Refuge Les Mouflons (3200 m), we woke up around 5 AM to pack out summit bags and have breakfast and coffee at the hut before setting off to the summit of Mount Toubkal, which, at 4167 m, is the highest peak in the High Atlas mountain range.
We eventually set off to climb the almost 1000 m difference, from the hut just before sunrise. It was quite cold outside, around -15 Celsius but despite the cold, the weather was looking nice. Not a cloud on the sky and no fog.
Since we just arrived from sea level the day before, we were expecting to feel some of the effects of altitude sickness. It wasn't really that bad since we only had a bit of a headache and we struggled a little bit with the "thin" air near the summit. Not that I wanted to run up wearing crampons but if I hurried along I would get quite dizzy so I had to take it slow.
I think it took about 3.5-4 hours to reach the summit. But that was at a slow and steady pace with lots of photo breaks.
There were very few other people on the mountain that day so me and my mate Yeh Yeau felt like we had the place for ourselves. At most we saw about 6 other people out there that day. Going in November had really payed off since we both hated bumping into hoards of tourists or queuing in line with 250-300 other people to climb to a summit like they do on just about every day of the season on Mont Blanc if the weather is decent.
Having lots of people on a mountain makes the climb more dangerous as someone above you can trigger an avalanche (in certain conditions) or set off a rock fall or even one rock. A rock the size of a tennis ball can easily kill you without a helmet... Not to mention the ones the size of a microwave oven or a fridge.
This is me at the final bit before the peak.
My nose was becoming like Rudolph's since the Sun really burns up there. I had sunscreen on but not enough so I had to use my Buff to cover up.
The route was the classic route that goes up from the hut and it was easy to follow. The snow wasn't very deep and the crampons and the ice axe weren't that needed until we reached a portion below the summit where we had to do a traverse and if you slipped there you wound't be able to stop yourself without an ice axe (and knowledge & experience of how to use it).
This is the metal pyramid you can find on the summit of Mount Toubkal.
My Suunto Core watch being just a little bit off the true value which is 4167 m. It measures it based on barometric pressure but it is generally quite accurate.
All the shots in this post were taken using my old Nikon D40, and the kit Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II lens. I will also be making a post with a nice panorama (multiple images stitched together) set from the summit of Mount Toubkal, that I will be posting shortly.
What an amazing accomplishment. You've done something that few people ever will!!
Thanks! but...I know many people go there. Especially in the warmer season it can get quite crowded but I guess "few" is relative. For me, I would have to be within the first 10 or so that climbed it to really consider myself one of the "few". Better would be to do the first ascent and maybe get to name a peak...
Don't think of it as a competition.........who gets there first, how high they climb etc. Think of it in terms of completing a check list of things to do in life - a bucket list in other words. As you age you will slow down, and competition becomes less important. Experiencing life is what it is really all about......and that is exactly what you are doing!
You are right. When you go up in the mountains, you should care very little about records or what others or the outside world might think of your actions. It all should revolve around your own reasons for doing what you are doing. As long as you are out there basically exploring yourself and enjoying overcoming the challenges you line up to face, all is good.
Absolutely!!