7 The Cathedral (Mastfrane)
11 Ouaougoulzat
12 Adar n’ Ouchane, Jbel Anzig, Jbel Amezrika and Imejdag
13 Jbel Tigounatine
14 Tizi Mkorn
15 Ighil Mgoun (Oumsoud)
16 Jbel-n-Nig (Oumassine) and Jbel Tazoult-n-Ouguerd (Aslad)
17 Jbel Aklim
18 Jbel Tizoula
19 Jbel Rhat and Tignousti
20 Jbel Anghomer
21 Tissili n’ Warg
22 Jbel Tastwiyt group
23 Adrar Tircht (Jbel bou Ourioul)
24 Adrar Yagour
25 Adrar Meltzen
26 Kik Plateau edge
27 Jbel Toubkal
28 The Ouanoukrims
29 Aksouâl
30 Adrar n’ Inghemar
31 Angour
32 Taska n’ Zat
33 Tazaghart
34 Jbel Gourza
35 Jbel Erdouz
36 Igdat
37 Adrar-n-Oumzra
38 Jbel Tabgourt
39 Jbel Ikkis
40 Amendach
41 Takoucht
42 Flillis
43 Moulay Ali
44 Imaradene (Tassiwt)
45 Ras Moulay Ali
46 Mtdadene
47 Jbel Awlim and Jbel Tinergwet
48 Azegza
THE SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN RANGES
Appendix A Glossary
Appendix B Texts, books and maps
Appendix C What to take
Appendix D The highest summits
Appendix E Contacts
Skiing on Jbel Oukaïmeden, with Angour behind (Route 31)
An Afensou threshing floor, with Moulay Ali in the distance (Route 45)
INTRODUCTION
Morocco’s Atlas Mountains form an extensive series of ranges across the north-west corner of Africa – very much a barrier against the interior desert, yet influenced by Atlantic and Mediterranean weather. At Heathrow airport I once had quite a job convincing the girl at the check-in desk that I did want my skis flown to Marrakech. The glory of that red city, with its ramparts and palms, is the seasonal view south to glittering snow-covered mountains that stretch and dip beyond the horizons east and west. When Sir Francis Drake gathered his ships off the Moroccan coast before his round-the-world voyage he saw snowy mountains inland; he wasn’t believed either.
The Western Atlas from Marrakech (Route 35)
The snows are vital to the Atlas and neighbouring plains. Marrakech is built at a specific distance from the mountains – at the point to which water will run along irrigation channels by gravity. The mountains may be a geological wreckage, but the valleys are highly populated by Berber tribes, the indigenous people who have been there for thousands of years. (The Arabs arrived only in the seventh century.) The closest country in Africa to Europe, Morocco was the last to be taken over by a European imperial power, in 1912. (The carve-up arrangement was that France got Morocco and Britain got Egypt.) Like many fiercely independent people the Berbers are tough but marvellously hospitable, and wanderings in the Atlas gains immeasurably from this background.
I originally went to Morocco to climb, but even in the early years discovered the greatest pleasure was wandering off, pack on back, and exploring on and on, seeing an alluring distant summit, heading for it, and from its summit seeing others, on and on … The ultimate experience of this came in 1995 when a quartet of us trekked from one end of the Atlas to the other over 96 days. (The route, nicknamed GTAM95 (Great Traverse of the Atlas Mountains 1995) is described in my book The Mountains Look on Marrakech (see Appendix B), referred to as ‘HB’ in this book). And that simply showed us dozens of new possible trips, making the subsequent years the best of all. We also, early on in our exploration of the Atlas, discovered that mules were available to hire and carry rucksacks, food and camping gear. This lifts trekking in the Atlas to a unique level of pleasure.
