[Image]Lynn Evans
Regular readers will remember that The View From Fez was supporting the sponsored trek to the summit of Jebel Toubkal to raise finds for the Fez Dhar el Mehraz (click for story). Now we can bring you are follow up from the intrepid Lynn Evans. Here is her report:[Image]The first glimpse

Looking at the photograph of our first glimpse of Jebel Toubkal - a snow covered peak unveiled through morning mists and parting clouds - I just remember being so stunned by its proximity; its silent, enormous presence and permanence and its breath-taking beauty that words would barely come out, only a sort of croaked : “Look!”

It’s still hard to believe that I made it to the top but there is a photograph which says that I did. It was hard. But we were truly blessed with perfect conditions and a touch of magic…

… A day or two after the climb, when I had returned to England and opened my emails, I discovered that the children of the bidonville Association Fes Dhar El Mehraz, accompanied by their gifted music teacher, Driss Bouabid, had been holding a kind of choral vigil for me at exactly the time when the going got really tough. Three or four times I nearly gave up and then found that I just couldn’t. It was harder to give up than to carry on! Could it have had something to do with the spirit of Fes Dhar El Mehraz?

IMLIL

In Imlil, our starting point, we were breathing pure springtime - rushing waters, delicate cherry blossom …pink and white canopies beneath which clusters of purple-blue irises bloomed amid rich dewy-green grasses. The village of Imlil straggles rivers and streams and meanders down the valley. Mules loaded with sheaves of grass, piles of wooden crates, gas canisters and rucksacks pick their way through the sloping streets of little shops, cafes and displays of babouches, long cotton scarves, and brightly coloured hangings of Berber rugs. The women, faces open and smiling, work hard on the land, as do the red-cheeked children. Locals, walkers and climbers mingle easily. Imlil is relaxed and friendly, shaken up from time to time by a young mule rider - yelling at everyone to get out of the way – as he gallops full pelt through the town, hanging on precariouslyto his frisky unloaded steed.

IMLIL TO TOUBKAL REFUGE

Early Saturday our mule set off, in the morning mists, for the Toubkal refuge at 3,200 metres, carrying rucksacks and spare gear. We soon followed. The trek led us through orchards of cherry and apple blossom, a copse of walnut trees then a vast flat expanse of rocks and rivers to be crossed. The path grew steeper, threading between boulder-strewn slopes, waterfalls, mountain slopes and clouds. As the sun dissolved the mists so Toubkal appeared.

[Image]Mule Transport

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After 7 hours of trekking we saw ahead the black silhouette of the refuge, cradled between vast snowy slopes. Within minutes of arriving and removing boots, Hassan and Houcine (great guides!) had brought a tray of tea and already started chopping vegetables for soup and a tajine. A little revived we found a mattress each for the night then ate hungrily. It was delicious and the atmosphere at the lodge was buzzingly friendly. Everyone there shared the same daunting but exhilarating objective.

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Food was followed by sleep, ready for the 5 am start, rows of downy sleeping cocoons – whispers, snores, the glow of a head lamp here and there. Then darkness and silence in the refuge: tiny at the heart of the giant circle of shadowy black rock and moon-silvered snow.

TOUBKAL REFUGE TO TOUBKAL SUMMIT

Sunday morning, icily early we prepared for the climb to the summit – 1,100 metres of intimidatingly steep snowfields. My first mountain - and my first experience of crampons and sticks.

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From the start breathing at that altitude was difficult for me – something else I’d never experienced before – I had to stop frequently to catch my breath and allow my heart rate to slow down. But this at least gave me a chance to look around. The sky was a perfect blue and the crunchy crystalline snow captured the sparkling light. Everything was exquisitely beautiful in the pure air and strong sunshine.

[Image]Lahoucine - our guiding light

It became gradually steeper and more precarious, zigzagging up towards the col with steep snow slopes of hundreds of metres to one side and an equally steep climb to other side of the narrow icy trail. On reaching the col it seemed impossible to go further, I was exhausted and it was dangerous - a lot of concentration was needed on the crest which rose to the summit. Step by step I made it – thanks to support from fellow trekkers; from Hassan and Houcine; and from the singing of faraway children full of the Spirit of Fes Dhar El Mehraz.

[Image]The summit

SUMMIT AND DESCENT

From the peak it felt like the whole of Morocco was spread out below – chains of mountains, the green of woods, valleys and plains, the ochres and pinks and golds of distant desert. But we still had a lot of work to do, not just down to the refuge but, after a quick lunch, it was back on the trail for the descent all the way to Imlil, where a taxi for Marrakech was waiting. And from Imlil a last view of Toubkal washed pink by the setting sun, a full moon above in a twilight sky.

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT…THERE’S STILL TIME TO HELP

I just want to thank some very lovely and generous people who sponsored me on this amazing trek in order to raise funds for the amazing work done by the people and the Spirit of Association Fes Dhar El Mehraz.

If you would like to give something towards their music and theatre project and would like to know how, please contact me at lynnevans80@hotmail.com or see me in Fes during the Festival in June.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news