When someone asks you, “Up to
much this weekend?” they probably
aren’t expecting you to reply, “Oh,
you know — just going to climb the
tallest peak in north Africa.” The
Atlas mountain range spans 2,500km
across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia,
and it’s highest point is Mount Toubkal.
At 4,167m, it’s a full 2,000m higher
than Kosciuszko, but even though
it’s winter and the upper shelf is
packed with fresh snow, it’s not an
overly technical climb.
That’s why it’s not being overly
ambitious to suggest it can be done
in two days despite the fact the ice gets
very slippery near the top. In fact, an
Egyptian women slid to her death while
taking photos on the summit in 2014.
(Memo to self: no self-congratulatory
selfies if I make it to the top!)
Fortunately, I will be assisted in my
ascent by personal trainer and outdoor
enthusiast Laurence Dawson — plus
a bunch of fellow travellers. He’s set
up Short Haul Adventure, a company
that enables guys like me to sidle
up to some of the world’s great
geographical features in the time-
friendly frame of a weekend.
He says the prospect of this kind of
challenge has a powerful and obvious
effect on his clients. “There’s nothing
like a deadline to get you motivated,”
he says. “Especially when you’re
travelling as part of a small group that’s
undertaking an arduous physicaladventure.” No-one wants to let the
team down, after all. Least of all us
when we take on the Toubkal challenge.HEAD FOR HEIGHTSOur flight arrives in the Moroccan city
of Marrakech, just 65km from Toubkal,
at 7pm. Rather than heading for the
colourful chaos of the city centre, we pile
into a car and drive to the small town of
Imlil at the foot of the Atlas mountain
range. After a tagine feast [meat and
vegetable stew cooked in an earthenware
pot] at Hotel Dar Imlil we organise our kit
and get our heads down for the night.
We leave the hotel at 8am and meet a
guide at the appropriately named Bureaudes Guides. You can do the trip
unescorted, but their local knowledge
will make your trip smoother and safer.
We make our way out of Imlil and on to
the stony inclines of Toubkal.
The first section of the route is pretty
easy and we zigzag up a hillside before
crossing a dry riverbed where coarse
bushes give way to mixed terrain and
then barren rock. As we move onwards
the incline increases and the terrain gets
more challenging. I’m glad I followed
Dawson’s pre-trip training plan (see the
box on page 80). I’m breathing harder
than I would be at sea level and as we
pass 2,500m I calculate that my heart
rate is over 160bpm.
At about 2,600m above sea level we
reach the snow line. We debate the need78 MEN’S FITNESS JUNE 2017
Time to chill:Climbers set up
base in the town of Imlil at the
foot of the Atlas Mountains.