Morocco’s Anti Atlas is a wild and huge area of quarzite mountains. Explored since the 60’s by many British Climbers it has developed into a world class Adventure climbing area. The trad ethic suits the climbing in the area as the rock is very solid and provides excellent cracks which allows nuts and cams to be placed with ease. It can be a wonderful place to learn to climb on the bigger faces. Most of the multi pitch climbing is of the highest quality and the short approaches allows lots of climbing with less time walking.
The Climbing
Jebel el Kest and Taskra area of the Anti Atlas. All the climbing lies within a short drive from the Kasbar. The endless valleys that make up the area have dirt roads of various quality. Many roads have hard surfaces with easy travel some are rough and require 4×4. You head off to a valley and there will be dozons of well developed crags to choice plus plenty of undeveloped climbing areas if you want real adventure. The quality of the quartzite rock is fantastic. Its very easy to protect with a standard trad kit. There are no bolts here , you don’t need them. Its akin to a climbing holiday in North Wales but the weathers perfect and the rock totally clean. Climbing stretches for many miles and further! There are 3 guide books to the Anti Atlas the best being Morocco Rock. Buy the guidebook on line here Morocco Rock
Venue: The Kasbar-our ancient base
The weather is perfect in the Autumn , winter and Spring. October to March. The area is generally very dry and you can climb in a t shirt of light fleece. The area is full of very old Kasbars (castles) from a long lost period. Most climbers stay is an incredible Citadel structure perched on a hill top, Kasbar Tizourgane. It has almost 200 steps to reach the main entrance. In the past almost 300 families lived on this hill top fort but now the last owners Jamal and Malika has painfully restored a huge part of the Kasbar to its former glory. The Kasbar has been turned into a fine Hotel for travellers and climbers. Food is excellent. In the evening you can take mint tea on the roof top balcony while surveying a huge vista of the Anti Atlas.
Experience required
The trip suits rock climbers of all experience but in particular folk wanting to climb trad routes in a beautiful setting. All climbs are trad climbs and generally multi pitch. Some experience is required and even just indoor climbing is fine. Most climbs are Severe grade to E1. Its possible to push grads to E5 if required. If you wanttoclimb first as ents this is possibly one of the best places in the world. Generally Twid climbsat leat 1 or 2 new routes each day.
Cultural:
The area has a characteristic Berber way of life. Where the culture hasn’t changed in many centurys. Everybody speaks Berber but you can easily talk to many folk in French or even English. There are markets and traditional shops where your bartering skills can play a major role. Its an experience to stay in this historic area never mind climb and enjoy great local food.
Programme
Generally you fly into Agadir but its possible to fly to Marakesh and take the excellent new motorway between the two Cities. Once in the area its easy to find the crags with the help of the new Guide book ‘Morocco Climbs’ by Paul Donithorne and Emma Alsford. You can split your day between areas and its common to climb a number of routes each day. If its long climbs you are after its possible to climb many routes between 300-700m.
General outline of week stay:
Day1 Fly to Agadir or Marrakesh and journey by hire car to Kasbar
Day2 -7 Climb on a single and multi pitch crags
Day 8 Return to airport and fly home.
Rack Kit List
Getting there
It is best to fly to Agadir and hire a car from the airport – Ida Ougnidif and the climbing areas are 1 1/2 hrs drive from Agadir. The best deals (from the UK) are currently from Manchester and Gatwick via Easyjet and Thomsonfly.
