On October 10, Barry, Jon, and I set out to climb Jbel Toubkal, the highest peak in Morocco. The climb starts in an idyllic mountain town called Imlil (5,710 feet), which takes about 90 minutes by car from Marrakech. Ibrahim picked us up at 3:30am at Riad Ariha, and made the drive while we all slept. Except for Jon, he has difficulty sleeping in cars.
At 5am, we started hiking…The trail up Toubkal, leaves Imlil and meanders it’s way up cozy mountain corridors.
Along the way, the hiking trail passes a Holy site, Sidi Chammharouch (7,710 ft). It is a nice spot to take a quick rest as it is about halfway from Imlil to the Neltner Hut.
From this point, it starts getting a bit steeper, and the trail becomes a bit more rocky. The next 3,000 feet of gain is encountered in about the same distance as the first 2,000 feet of gain. It is a strenuous, but not sloggy hike as the trail is still quite rocky.
Normal people will spend the night upon reaching the Neltner Hut (10,522 ft). Since we were going for the summit in one day (quite an accomplishment), we just stopped there for tea & a snack.
There was a marathon trail running event hosted by a Spanish running organization, that happened to be taking place that same day. As a result, we were being passed by the runners, who were wearing a red colored parka very similar to my own.
At several of the checkpoints, I was asked, in spanish, what my number was…I responded that I was not competing which drew some sighs of relief. A few of the runners thought they were competing against me. Since we left an hour before them, the lead women were psyched to know they were in the lead (and not me!). When I stepped aside and let them by, they were confused at first, and then extremely happy. I even told a few of them how far ahead their nearest competetor was, or gave them some advice about what place they were in…these were some very serious athletes.
One nice thing about the marathon event, was that we got to sample some of the fresh fruit and goodies for the runners-the local Marocs didn’t mind if we snagged some, too!
The Spaniards, I must say, were in extreme fitness. They muscled their way up the trail, clawing and digging into the ground with prowess. I later found out the source of their motivation, a 30,000 Euro prize for first place!
But, I digress, we made it to the Neltner Hut at around 10:45am, after 5 hours 45 minutes of hiking, with nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain. Pretty decent time considering our few stops, and the cheering of Marathoners.
After our short break at the Hut, we set out for the summit. The terrain gets much steeper, and the climb becomes more advanced.
From Neltner Hut to the summit is just over 3,000 ft of gain, in just about 1.25 miles! Looking back at the Neltner Hut, I had a feeling we would be in for some adventure!
The temperature dropped dramatically as we rose to 12,000 feet, and it started snowing. Barry was wearing 3/4 length pants, and with the desire to stay warm, he took off. Jon & I hiked with Omar for awhile, and then Jon decided he was happy with his progress. He had set a high point for himself, and wanted be safe by waiting for us, instead of treading along at a slow pace. I made sure that he was comfortable, and told Omar to stay with Jon, as I would be heading for the summit.
At this point, I was hiking alongside some of the marathon runners. In particular a woman, with what appeared to be her husband. We took turns in the lead, as the snow became thicker, and the conditions deteriorated. Thank goodness for the marathon flags. The blue flags along the way, really helped us to determine the proper approach.
The last 500 feet of the climb was a traverse along a ridge that was fairly exposed, a bad footing or a wrong turn could have been disastrous. The rocks and the scree was starting to freeze over, and I became slightly worried about Barry in his sneakers & capri’s. He’s a mountain man, but it was probably only 20 degrees outside (my Nalgene bottle was frozen through).
Finally, about 100 feet below the summit, I saw Barry. I was so relieved and happy, I almost started crying. The altitude was getting to me, and I could tell he was getting cold. I gave him a handwarmer…even though they don’t work well at high altitudes…hoping that the extra heat might help his hands. He had lent his warm wool gloves to Jon, so even his poor fingers were exposed.
Barry climbed back up to the summit with me, and we got a few shots of the summit. It was about 12:30pm (so it took about 7.5 hours to reach the summit from Imlil).
Then we bailed. I was practically flailing myself down the boulder ridge, with Barry sliding behind me. Occasionally, I’d stop and shout, because the visibility had deteriorated to nearly whiteout. I could just barely see Barry, and I was happy he was wearing orange pants.
At about 13,000 feet, we spotted our guide Omar. He was worried about us and had left Jon to make sure we were safe. I was a little miffed that he left Jon, but Omar meant well.
After about 40 minutes, we made it back to Jon, and Barry got his gloves back.
We started making the long trek back to Imlil. The snow let up as we dropped in elevation. Back at the Neltner hut, our cook had prepared for us a nice meal.
I was a little nervous about stopping to eat, as the weather was so unstable. But, Jon & Barry calmed me down and convinced me to eat. I was suffering from a bad headache, so I drank whatever fluid was not frozen in my Nalgene, and ate some of the hot egg & cheese & veggies they had prepared for us. We sat by the raging fire, and I dried out some of my layers.
Meanwhile outside, the weather we experience up at the summit was catching up with us. By the time we got back to hiking, it was snowing again furiously.
Our feet were quickly getting saturated, and the cold was starting to hit us, but we knew it would just be a couple more hours and we would be back in town. Omar was happy, and he stopped several times to chat with fellow tour guides. When we got back to Sidi Chammarouch, I could not take much more of the slow pace and walking behind the donkey…so I made a move and got out in front.
Barry & I got in a little tiff about the tip for Omar (I think I was grouchy from the altitude and exhaustion). So, I just decided to walk the rest of the way by myself. I didn’t want to end the hike on a bad note, so I ran the last 2 miles back to town. It was neat to see the start of the hike in daylight, and running over a rocky riverbed was quite the challenge with tired ankles.
Finally, I spotted another tourguide with a donkey, and I caught up to him. He walked with me the rest of the way back to the village. I jogged at a nice pace next to the donkey, even though he asked me several times if I wanted a ride.
In town, I met up with Ibrahim, and he was so happy to see me. I think he was surprised because I came back first, and without Jon & Barry. (They arrived about 20 minutes after me, just as darkness descended). So, I made it from Imlil to the summit of Jbel Toubkal and back in just about 13 hours. Jon told me it was about 22 miles roundtrip, so I was very happy with my time.
If you are thinking to do this hike, I would highly recommend purchasing the “Toubkal & Marrakech” map made by cordee. It’s a waterproof material, with Jbel Toubkal topo on one side and Marrakech on the other. This topo is very clear, and if you have any experience mountaineering, you would probably not need a guide. (I don’t think it’s necessary on this trek, because there is a clear trail all the way, and there is a lot of traffic).
Ibrahim drove us back to Marrakech. He was nice enough to call ahead for dinner, so we had a second night of wonderful pasta & salad. The owner of the Riad Ariha was excited about our adventure and peppered us with questions as we ate dinner. He was thrilled we had an adventure, and lived vicariously through our excitement. We went to bed around 9pm, after having been up for 18 hours.
Tags: Jbel Toubkal, Morocco, Mountaineering