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peakchaser
May 8, 2012, 7:27 PM
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Registered: Aug 5, 2007
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I'm in Morocco for a while, at present living in an amazing mountain village called Tafraout (a few hours southeast of Agadir - there are direct,cheap flights from the UK). If anyone happens upon this region, it would be great to meet up. At the moment, I don't have any gear save the basics but I may my rack and rope sent to me here. There is endless climbing in the Anti-Atlas and Atlas mountains...trad and bouldering. Good rock and bad rock. Choose your drug. :)
Contact me if interested or just interested in getting info.
Christine
(This post was edited by peakchaser on May 10, 2012, 12:35 PM)
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dman58
Mar 10, 2013, 10:36 PM
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Registered: Mar 21, 2012
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Greetings,
We are headed to Morocco in June 2013. Do you know of any shops that rent gear?
Thanks,
dreez
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peakchaser
Mar 13, 2013, 1:24 AM
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You can contact Mostafa, he runs the Argana Hotel there in town and knows many climbers and someone who may possibly rent out his gear. His number is:
+212 0660332445
Tell him Christine passed on his mobile to you.
Enjoy!
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dman58
Mar 13, 2013, 12:31 PM
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Registered: Mar 21, 2012
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Perfect ! Thanks.
Tell me more about your village experience. Should we go there?
We are looking for 1/2 nature/local experience and 1/2 climbing/trekking.
Anything to avoid?
dreez
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peakchaser
Mar 13, 2013, 2:39 PM
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My experience exploring there for a couple months was amazing and incomparable to any other trips I've taken. You should go; although expect it to be incredibly hot in June because you're basically on the outskirts of the Sahara desert. I was there April/May and a little into June. In Tafraout, for the most part, the residents are incredibly affable; they love to meet new people. If you extend your friendliness first and speak a few words of Berber greetings/thank you, you will get a ton of points and more respect than if you choose to use words in Darija (Moroccan Arabic). The Berber are super proud of their culture and heritage and it's fascinating to learn about.
This might help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_languages
Although I see slight variations (probably due to geographics) because "goodnight" was "Timiciwin" (Timmy-see-ween) when I was there.
The food is super tasty and fresh (tajines, moroccan omelet, couscous, etc) depending on where you go. Mostafa (the number I gave you) and his friends are actually chefs for wedding/holiday banquets and I ate at their place consistently...I was truly spoiled). Costs are cheap there and you can and should negotiate prices because ultimately, you still won't be paying the local price. :) Because it's not a huge city, the residents there are actually more conservative and live traditionally. If you are female or have ladies in your party, I recommend dressing a bit more covered (no need for abaaya, just t-shirt/conservative shorts/jeans) just for the sake of not getting oggled over all day but also to have respect for their traditions. In Agadir, it's like LA. I would wear my tank tops, etc when I hiked/bouldered out remotely in Tafraout.
If you read Spanish, here is a very detailed report of our day on rock in Anergui by my climbing partner. Anergui is a tiny, awesome, little mountain village posted up higher than Tafraout.
http://mountaingang.com/...adas-marruecos-2012/
You definitely need a car to get to Anergui...although it's only one of many climbing areas and is all traditional climbing, I believe. It's amazing to visit though; they have a bus that simply drops you off at the main road; miles of uphill hiking to the town itself. We were going to camp there but ended up doing a homestay with a man named Muhammed and his family. Muhammed was formerly a futbol/soccer star. It helps to speak at least French!
If you stay in Tafraout and have off-days from climbing, you have options to hike up Jebel el-Kest, rent bicycles for the day to visit neighboring villages (very reasonable prices; I recommend the German man's bike shop next door to the carpet shop called Maison Truc). His wife is local Berber and they both speak English. You can bike/walk to neighboring villages Aday (rich village with beautiful Berber architecture), Tazzekah, Agard Oudad (there is a rock feature there called Napoleon's Hat...and I found so many great boulders/scrambles too).
http://cdn3.vtourist.com/...ns_Hat_Tafraoute.jpg
Climbing guides may be purchased at the carpet shop run by Mohammed and my dear friend of many years, Hassan. You will never meet anyone like Hassan! He is one of Morocco's best resource. Please tell him I send my regards when you go.
Here is another website that might be helpful for your climbing endeavors as well:
http://www.climb-tafraoute.webs.com/
And additional photos I shot in Morocco; many on Tafraout and climbing there (and of the names I mention) and in Todra Gorge: http://www.facebook.com/...602003763&type=3
Safe journeys and have a wonderful time in Morocco!
Christine
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dman58
Mar 13, 2013, 2:49 PM
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Registered: Mar 21, 2012
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Great writeup. I have chills. I am so excited I can't wait to visit your friends. Will send regards.
We love the outback, hate the cities. This is just SOOO perfect.
Will keep you updated,
dreez
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peakchaser
Mar 13, 2013, 2:50 PM
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Registered: Aug 5, 2007
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Awesome! I had the same excitement. You're going to have a great time! If you have any issues or more questions, don't hesitate to PM me. I hope you post your photos/trip report too!
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