Kasbah du toubkal - mountain training programme: january 9th to 20th 2024I've been providing training to Moroccan Mountain Guides at the Kasbah du Toubkal for five years or more now. This training is delivered through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) whereby the training is delivered free of charge but our expenses are covered by the parent company, Discover Ltd. Last year I was accompanied by Helen Menhinick (ML) of Bryn Walking and Helen is with me for this year's Training Programme at the Kasbah du Toubkal for:
January 8th: Travel to LHR t2 - hilton garden inn hotelTravel to LHR T2 and the Hilton Garden Inn for overnight accommodation and dinner due to an early TAP Air Portugal flight departure on Tuesday. I picked Helen up at the M4 Magor Services where James had driven her from Newtown. A long section of the M4 was closed from an incident the night before but we never found out why. january 9th: fly tap via lisbon to marrakech - drive to imlil and walk up to the kasbah du toubkalTAP to Marrakech via Lisbon and the road transfer to Kasbah du Toubkal, I’d chosen TAP Air Portugal as BA flights would have been out of LHR but back into LGW which was very inconvenient. Checking into TAP was effortless at 0600 and we were soon through formalities and into the lounge area which was quiet and quite comfortable and operated by Lufthansa as a Star Alliance lounge for member airlines which TAP belong too. The flights to Marrakech via Lisbon, with a 2hr transit, were enjoyable with good service on both sectors. On arrival into Marrakech, passage through formalities and money changing went well but we were asked by a senior customs officer where we were going with so much luggage. He was happy that we were going to be training Moroccan Mountain Guides on a voluntary basis and wished us well. After an hour and a half we arrived at the Kasbah du Toubkal office in Lower Imlil where three mules were waiting to transport our luggage up to the Kasbah du Toubkal, a twenty minute walk up through Imlil and then on the trail towards Aremd. We had been allocated two adjacent en-suite rooms in the main house and these were both nice rooms where Mike McHugo one of the main owners lives whilst there. It was late by the time we’d enjoyed dinner in the Garden Room which is above the Conference Room which we’d be using for our two week training visit. After our long day it was good to turn into beds warmed by nightly hot water bottles and after a Shackleton nightcap. We’d not known what to expect after the September earthquake but were surprised at how much had been achieved with a new sun terrace which was very pleasant and overlooked Imlil. Damage was far less than we’d expected and none of the bedrooms had been affected. The kitchen was more or less as before so the only rooms no longer available were two Berber Dormitories, the old traditional Dining Room and the tower roof terrace. A new terrace had already been built above the kitchen. Building works were in progress on the Imlil side of the complex but were well screened off with no sound disturbance at all experienced during our stay there. january 10th: PREPARATION DAYPrep day – Helen and I spent the morning setting up the Conference Room ready for the training courses we were to deliver. We had expected to deliver a REC Life Saver 4hr First Aid course for a group of House Mothers from the Education for All project down in Imlil which was established by the Kasbah du Toubkal but this didn’t materialize as they were simply too busy to attend. After lunch we went for a circular walk down the main trail into Imlil to visit some shops which Helen had previously used before we returned up through terraced fields and walnut groves to the Kasbah du Toubkal. It was in the terraced fields where we met Hussain who had recently retired from the Kasbah du Toubkal to spend more time at his home and looking after his sheep. It was good to see him and we chatted for quite a while and, next day during the “Call to Prayer” we were told that it was his voice resonating out across Imlil. Having previously worked with Latifa Asselouf over the last five years ago, I invited her to add her comments to this blog. On the nights that Mike was there, Helen, Latifa and I dined with Mike who was very open and informative about his plans for restoration and re-building after the earthquake. JANUARY 11TH: RGS OFF SITE SAFETY MANAGEMENT (OSSM) - DAy 1Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Off Site Safety Management (OSSM) Course Day 1 (0900 to 1700) – The four participants were the Senior Management Team from the Kasbah du Toubkal and included:
The course venue was in the Conference Room with Helen Menhinick observing and assisting. Latifa: “It’s a good opportunity to meet administration staff during the course through Alan, assisted by Helen who explained how to plan , how to manage and how to review our work activities when we have trekking clients with us”. JANUARY 12TH: RGS OFF SITE SAFETY MANAGEMENT (OSSM) - DAY 2RGS Day 2 (0900 to 1700) – The course continued as scheduled with course completion administration taking half an hour after the course and this was then submitted to RGS in London. Latifa: “It’s worthwhile to attend the course because I have got more information that I need to improve my administration work and make it easy and clear so it does not seem hard to answer my clients and make them to get my response quickly with good details in order to feel safe and accept my trek." january 13th: uiaa mountain HIKING skills - day 1UIAA Mountain Hiking Skills Day 1 attended by seven local Moroccan Mountain Guides and assisted by Latifa Asselouf who completed the course last year:
These Mountain Guides are of the Amazigh (Berber) peoples who are the indigenous peoples of North Africa and primarily speak Tamazight. The 2016 census in Morocco estimated the number of Tamazight speakers to be 28% of the population, or roughly ten million speakers.
Latifa: “As human beings , we take something small for granted like a RAB group shelter, it looks small but worth to have with us . It saves lives and gives more confidence to our clients. It means such a lot to us” january 14th: uiaa mountain HIKING skills - day 2UIAA Mountain Hiking Skills Day 2 – Participants arrived for a 0930 start and some theory with two new Mountain Guides replacing three no shows from yesterday. The two new Mountain Guides received an introduction to the course from Helen and an introduction to topics missed yesterday. We left the Kasbah du Toubkal at 1000 and walked up to the Aremd road where Helen demonstrated pacing which was a new experience for the participants. Throughout the day individual Mountain Guides would take turns at leading the group. At the westernmost hairpin bend we joined the path which leads up to the Tizi n’Mzik (2479m) and over the next two and a half hours up to the Tizi (mountain pass or col/saddle), various compass skills were demonstrated by Helen and practiced. Arriving at the Tizi by about 1300, our carpeted dining area was ready and Mint Tea was soon served after, of course, our hands were ritually washed. Lunch, when it arrived, was simply quite amazing, prepared by Chef Mohammed and his muleteer assistant. Our luggage and other equipment was transported by two mules and would be with us for these three days. After lunch there was the long descent to Tizi Oussem village but on this occasion we chose a more southerly and gentle ascent to arrive there from the south passing between traditional houses which had suffered earthquake damage and the new earthquake relief tents. One of the guides, Med, took Latifa and Helen further south to a viewing point overlooking the end of the valley where there were sheep folds at a summer grazing village and the lower lodge at Azib Tamsoult. On the way into the village we came across a group of young children of which the youngest needed some minor first aid treatment having been pushed over by his older brother. BoHo, one of the Mountain Guides dealt with this very well - Helen and I were suitably impressed! Earthquake damage was considerable in the village. We stopped at a local shop to buy a huge box of biscuits that would be shared with the guides enroute for the next couple of days. Latifa had arranged for a local minibus to take us over to Ait Aissa and the Azzenden Trekking Lodge for two nights. Latifa: “The course made everyone delighted because it made us meet each other and share information that every guide has including the ones Helen and Alan were teaching us about the orientations through a compass on the map, how to read a map as we have a lack of this. Here we know our mountains because we have sun most of the time so it’s easy for us to get the direction but Helen and Alan showed us how to know the directions, durations and calculate distances at any obstacle weather difficulties . They informed us when and how to make a decision on the right time and circumstances. Thank you .” JANUARY 15TH: UIAA MOUNTAIN HIKING SKILLS - DAY 3UIAA Mountain Hiking Skills Day 3 – In the Azzenden Valley. This middle day of the Kasbah’s “Trekking in Style” 3-day itinerary we changed so as not to visit the waterfall but to enjoy a walk through the surrounding villages which made for a very interesting and educationally informative day. After a good breakfast and catching up on some skills theory we left at around 1000 for our 6 hr cultural walk and exploration of the surrounding villages. We’d done exactly the same walk last year with the first batch of Moroccan Mountain Guides but it was still an incredibly interesting day. Before reaching the base of the valley we stopped for a break by a small patch of barley. A women passed a load of apples through the hedge to Mohamed (Med) for us to share. We were privileged to watch a women make bread in a traditional oven and then enjoy some mint tea in her home, which had been quite badly damaged by the earthquake. That night we enjoyed a special steamed lamb dish (a gift from the mountain guides to Helen and me) after a day into night navigation walk up to a nearby reservoir perched on a small ridge above our lodge. After dinner, Helen and I joined the others with a traditional song and dance routine in which we were both dressed up in traditional robes and shuffled around the room to the local music as best we could. Latifa: “ That day is mixture of cultures exchange and orientation walk through traditional villages, meeting children, women, men both working in their terrace cultivation. It showed how all the communities get involved in life. We walked up higher to the village each guide talked about something different but instructive for all of us and Helen and Alan also, during our walk , we met children going to school asking about pens . They noticed Helen and it made me happy because the children remember her when we visited the school last time . We had tea stop in a Berber house . A woman who now is our friend, showing us how to bake bread in traditional way, she served it with olive oil nuts , we enjoyed it all. Back down to lunch in the side of the river to meet our happy nice chef who cooked very delicious meal and the mule man who took all what we would need for food , water and all the equipments for our trek. Thank you”. JANUARY 16TH: UIAA MOUNTAIN HIKING SKILLS - DAY 4UIAA Mountain Hiking Skills Day 4 – Trek back to the Kasbah du Toubkal. The Tizi Oudite (2221m) to cross today wasn’t as high as our outward Tizi n'Mzik (2479m) on Day 1 of the 3-day trek. Throughout the walk back to the Kasbah du Toubkal the group were eager to continue with skills practice and learn from Helen and I. It was much windier today and a snow cloud was quickly forming on the mountain tops just south of us. The group was eager to reach the Tizi Oudite and continue on to the lunch stop. On reaching the lunch stop, on the spur, it certainly was extremely windy and had started to rain. It hadn’t rained here since June and was much needed so in a way we were very happy for them. (NB. Since the earthquake the valleys had had a lot more water in the streams even without having had snow, bedrock had somehow moved and allowed new springs to appear.). We descended into Imlil for a debriefing with mint tea before everyone headed for home. Latifa: “We continued our course for navigation features and how to manage and combine them with duration and distance during our walk in order to give estimation times to our guests and make them comfortable to reach the destination we want to reach. We had another lunch on an exposed spur but had to manage bit bad weather but we sorted out as a team (the chef, mule man, Helen, Alan, all the guides). We got of back to Kasbah." JANUARY 17TH: UIAA MOUNTAIN HIKING SKILLS - DAY 5 REC TREKKING FIRST AID (8HRS)REC Trekking First Aid (8hrs) for the UIAA participants. Today’s REC Trekking First Aid course was a unique syllabus which I’d recently developed and had approved by REC to use for the first time here in Morocco. Briefly the 8hr syllabus consists of:
The course went well with Latifa assisting us when necessary with translating some of the more advanced elements of the course. On completion of the REC Trekking First Aid course we decided to bring forward, from tomorrow, the UIAA Online assessment and certification process. The UIAA assessment and online certification process went well, assisted by Lahcen from Reception. They were all extremely pleased to receive their online certificates from UIAA and had worked hard to receive this qualification. Latifa: “ I really appreciated the first aid training. Every time I get new skills I can take my guests safely on any reasonable trek - thank you so much to UIAA and REC.” JANUARY 18TH:With the morning spent completing the various administration requirements for the Training Programme, we then delivered the REC Life Saver (4hr) First Aid course to five of the hotel staff. Having completed our objectives for the trip, Helen and I decided we’d head into Marrakech the next morning and I suggested we crossed the Tizi-n-Tamatert (2279m) via the mountain road by 4WD (a Toyota Landcruiser) into the Iminane Valley. Helen had a henna tattoo after dinner which was quite pretty. january 19th:After staying good bye to the staff, we walked down into Imlil for a morning coffee and some wonderful pancakes, cooked especially for us, before one final visit to Ibrahim’s shop for Helen to make a few last purchases. We walked past the school which had been badly damaged in the earthquake. Our luggage had been transported down to the office and Latifa nipped down to get the 4WD and met us at Ibrahim’s shop. We then drove up to the Tizi-n-Tamatert (2299m) for a photographic opportunity before continuing into the Imanane Valley where we made several stops at significant viewpoints. The highest villages were at about 2500m where we saw hundreds of goats in all the small and colourful villages we passed through. Towards the lower end of the valley we saw villages that had suffered earthquake damage with an abundance of temporary tented accommodation alongside ruined properties. On the way into Asni for lunch, we looked across the valley at the ruined Kasbah Tamadot which remains closed. Kasbah Tamadot is part of the Richard Branson portfolio of global luxury resorts. The Kasbah du Toubkal Duty Manager wasn’t able to satisfactorily arrange our two nights’ accommodation in Marrakech so Latifa took us the Riad Omar which was very close to the Place Jemaa el Fna, the famous square which is the central hub of the Marrakech Medina area. Helen and I agreed to share a suite type room where we had our own sleeping areas but it was a little basic. Dinner for Helen and I was at a local restaurant close to our Riad Omar which Latifa had recommended. Our plans for the next day were to visit the coastal fortified city of Essaouira, some three hours away. Latifia organized our transport which turned out to be the same 4WD and driver from our drive into Marrakech from Imlil. As the price seemed to be cost effective we agreed to do this. january 20th0730 and we were on the road to Essaouira with Latifa. I think Helen and I slept for considerable parts of the journey, and on the way back to Marrakech later that afternoon. “Essaouira, known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014. The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of the Moroccan 'Alawid sultan Mohammed bin Abdallah, who made an original experiment by entrusting it to several renowned architects in 1760, in particular Théodore Cornut and Ahmed al-Inglizi, who designed the city using French captives from the failed French expedition to Larache in 1765, and with the mission of building a city adapted to the needs of foreign merchants. Once built, it continued to grow and experienced a golden age and exceptional development, becoming the country's most important commercial port but also its diplomatic capital between the end of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century." This was my third visit to this fascinating city (a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001) and after arrival we spent the first hour or so in the fort and harbour area before exploring the medina area and enjoying a simple light seafood lunch in the old fish market. Wandering through the narrow and colourful streets we finished up on the fortified city sea walls which look out to sea and which were a location for parts of the Game of Thrones series and one of my favourite films, Kingdom of Heaven. We were back in Marrakech by early evening, had a light meal at a nearby café before an early night. january 21st:We were up early for breakfast and ready for our 0900 transfer to Marrakech International Airport. On arrival there were no delays getting into the terminal via security and by the time we’d had a coffee and snack our TAP check in desk was open.
Passing through formalities was easy enough and we found a quiet place to sit and relax for a while before visiting a café for a sandwich. I think the flight boarded on time and the flight to Lisbon was good with us being well looked after by our cabin crew. Lunch was a prawn cocktail and then steak which was quite rare and to Helen’s liking. We each had a fabulous TAP gin and tonic and I also had a small glass of Douro red wine with my steak. The Cabin Services Officer was pleasant to talk to and gave us each a disembarkation gift of two miniatures to take home. Our transit in Lisbon was about 2hrs but there was a delay due to a last minute crew change. I suspect that with Storm Isha waiting for us at LHR that a more senior captain might have been allocated to our aircraft. The flight over the Bay of Biscay and France was smooth but after beginning our descent we were in a holding pattern at about 10000ft over South London. Eventually we heard the undercarriage go down and we landed after what I can only describe as the scariest landing I’d ever experienced. We later found out that some flights were being diverted up to 500 miles away so well done to our TAP flight crew! Luggage came through quickly and we collected my car at the T2 Short Stay Car Park before a challenging M4 drive to drop Helen off at Maghor M4 Services where James was waiting and I continued on to Cardiff and home.
2 Comments
Helen
28/1/2024 15:47:01
This is such a fantastic opportunity and an experience and memory that I will always cherish. Lovely people, lovely culture, lovely food, so much to learn and see about in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
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Wendy
28/1/2024 17:55:54
Great write up Alan. Cracking to see so many photos of the trip and the guides clearly enjoying this training opportunity. Well done for doing this on a CSR basis.
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2021 OnwardsFollowing on from retirement, more time will be available for hill and mountain walking on a personal basis with friends. Categories |