Читать книгу Mountaineering in the Moroccan High Atlas - Des Clark - Страница 10

PREFACE

The term ‘mountaineering’ can conjure up many things to different people – roped climbing; exploration; technically easy but remote peaks; lack of reliable mapping; different cultures; mixed snow and rock routes; 4000m summits; and pack-animal support, as might be used on an expedition in the Greater Ranges. The Moroccan High Atlas has all of these.

In spite of increasingly easy access from Europe, this is a mountain range with rarely traversed ridges which can take days to complete, countless winter gullies with never a footprint recorded, and valleys where you may be the only visitor. Whatever your concept of mountaineering, and whatever massif you visit, you can be sure that the High Atlas will offer you a variety of scenery, culture and terrain that is unmatched anywhere – and all within a few hours' flight time from Europe.

Many commercial trekking parties visit the two popular massifs (Jbel Toubkal and Ighil Mgoun) in the spring and autumn. However, in winter the peaks in these regions are transformed into worthy mountaineering objectives. In addition, many of the intervening ridges between the high summits are rarely traversed – in any season. This is not so much because of their technical difficulty, but because of lack of information about access, the unavailability of adequate maps, the remoteness of the areas and the lack of (English-language) guidebooks covering the entire range.

The 50 routes in this guidebook cover all the 4000m peaks in the range, as well as a number of prominent peaks (30 summits). While some readers may wish there were more difficult routes in the book, the selection reflects my abilities, an interest in exploration and a belief that, once in a particular area, readers will themselves pick out routes that will entice them to return. Although all the routes described in the guide can be undertaken in spring and autumn, the majority have been described specifically with a winter ascent in mind, as in my view this is the most rewarding season for mountaineering in the High Atlas.

Mountain guidebooks of any description risk opening up hitherto lonely areas to mass usage and over-development. However, the fact that the routes in this book may entail winter camping, remote access and self-sufficiency are just as likely to turn many away. Those who find themselves, particularly in winter, on ridges and summits described in this guide will deserve to be there.

The guide is aimed at – and will be most useful to – those who have a background of winter walking, climbing and scrambling, and who are looking to expand their horizons in a mountain range brimming with adventure possibilities.

Des Clark

Southern Morocco, 2010

Nearing the top of the Tadat Couloir before the traverse across the north cwm of Biguinoussene (Route 10)