UKC

Hi does any body have any advice or experience regards a 2 day trek to the summit of Mount Toubkal in Morroco ??

£Any tips?
£A good tour company ?
£Do you you of any groups going in last week of Sept 2016 ?
£any decent budget hotels in Marrakech?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Mike

In reply to dm10012:

Cheap hotels in Marrakech abound but our experience was cockroaches and general squalor. This didn't bother us as it was one night and only a stop over on the way to the mountains. Other people might have recommendations but I can't really help with that.

Unless you have limited mountain experience then don't bother with a guide or tour company - the route is very obvious from hut to summit as is the path up to the hut. We just booked the hut and made our own way from the village at the bottom. One thing I would say - negotiate a mule in the village to take your gear! There's no prizes for carrying it all on the slog up there.

The biggest problem you will encounter is acclimatisation - effectively you go from Marrakech (about 450m) to 3300m in one go. If you can mange two days up there it'll give you more of a chance.

One word of warning - the maps you can get hold of are really, really basic and don't show most of the tracks. Fine for the summit push as that's a main track. However, if you wander off for an acclimitisation walk on day 1 check your location regularly; if in doubt turn back. We failed to do this and ended up sleeping in an emergency shelter at 3800m for the night. It's bloody cold! The guy at the hut told us this happens quite regularly...

Have fun

In reply to dm10012:

if u want a package try exedus

if u still want a package but using in-country operator which will be cheaper pm me and I will search out who we went with in 2011.

Davey

In reply to GargoyleFeet:

Thanks for the info , I'm a solo traveller so I'd be very cautious about not having a guide but I will look more into this .....routes etc etc

If znybody can get lost on a mountain it's me !

Thanks Mike

In reply to Mountain Llama:

Hi mate yeah I've heard of Exedus, however I have booked flights which don't match with there schedule. ..

I have booked a decent looking hotel ... (I hope )

And the hotel has quoted my 200€ for a two day trek including mule and over night accommodation.

Any further information or tips or contacts would be greatly appreciated

Thanks Mike

In reply to dm10012:

Hi Mike

2 day round trip to / from imlil is not straightforward. If you arrive am at Imlil you've come from 300m to 1700m, then you walk to 3200m on the same day. The next day you summit 4200m and trek back to Imlil.

Please forgive me if you have been at altitude before and you know you can handle this schedule.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to tag along on a weeks trip with my club in Feb. We overnighted at arund 45 mins walk from Imlil, next day to the hut and climbed toubkal the next day. 20% of the people were too ill due to the altitude to make the start for the summit.

HTH Davey

In reply to Mountain Llama:
Thanks for the advice ..it's greatly appreciated I may look into the 3 day trek ... it's dell based around time v flights however the altitude sickness thing does concern me ...

Need to research alittle however unless I give it a go I'll never know ...

Mike

In reply to Mountain Llama:

Davey

Did you do the 2 day trek ? Which month did you do it ? I wondering about the type if clothing and which type of sleeping bag I would need ?

Did you witness many people struggling with altitude sickness ...

Ta

In reply to dm10012:
Went last May on my own, booked one way flight and took it from there. A night in Marrakesh, a night in Imlil and a night in the refuge worked for me but it felt like I was pushing the envelope the whole way up from the refuge. Bus from airport to central square (40 I think). South of central square down road left of orange building with Moroccan flag then turn left at sign for Central Palace then corner right for Hotel d'Afriquia (70 per night). Walked out of Bab Rob gate for a mile to (second, third?) roundabout for grand taxi to Imlil (200, alone) but reckon you could just get in any grand taxi. Stayed at Dar Adrar (140 per night I think), boot hire shop near top of Imlil arranged donkey for luggage up to Dar Adrar in one of the hill villages above Imlil. Next day walked up to refuge 6 hours (no donkey). There are two refuges, very close together. First and larger is Mouflons, second and smaller is new CAF refuge (the tiny old CAF refuge is opposite). Route to south cwm normal route is up through yard of CAF refuge to a stream crossing a little way beyond (snow bridge when I did it, no idea what lay beneath). No guide needed. Some people continued on down to Imlil the same day. I had another night in the refuge then set off at 6am below freezing, got grand taxi in Imlil (300, shared) after collecting luggage from Dar Adrar and was in Marrakesh around 11am at something like 45 degrees! Only one set of clothes, synthetic summer alpine stuff, but wasn't as bad as you might think. Cap and neck covering are absolutely essential though. Just about every traveller I met said I should get the coach from Marrakesh to the seaside in Essaouira and I can only agree... goats in trees, etc

In reply to mysterion:

Great helpful info , great stuff cheers