We slept surprisingly well the night before the summit part of our expedition. I guess that the 10 km walk and 1400 meter ascent the before contributed a bit.
The summit day started early. I got up just before 6 AM in order to prepare the last part of my day pack and to decide what to wear. Most of us had done as much as possible the evening before. We had expected pitch blackness in the morning, but luckily the generator at the refuge was turned on in the morning so head torches were not needed. also we had expected to need them when leaving the refuge, but the sky shifted quite early from dark to fresh, morning blue.
Breakfast was bread with cheese, marmalade, hot water for our porridge portions and finally I got to try out my coffee bags. The refuge only had Nescafe which I cannot stand, and the Peter Larsen coffee I had with me was just perfect for this morning. I also found that the coffee bag could be reused. It is strong enough.
We were ready to head off just after 7 AM. Our group started the trek first of all, but we were soon passed by another group as we scrambled up a slope of scree. We tried maintaining a very calm and gentle pace, as we were planning on keeping it up for about 4 hours. Somewhere along the way our group name changed from pit vipers to apples!! Whyyy?? We went from super cool to ... apples... well... what to do, what to do...
Our ascent began at an altitude of 3200 m and the goal was 4167 m. At the beginning of the trek we were quite uncertain as to weather or not the full ascent was doable. It had been snowing during the night also, which further lowered our expectations. Nigel, our group leader, had made it crystal clear that if the path became too dangerous and our safety was compromised, he would turn us back. WMT Barry didn't go to the summit, but stayed behind at the refuge and looked after our things. He later told us that he almost expected us to return by noon, due to the weather.
Before reaching the midpoint of our trek we crossed the ice line which soon turned into the snow line and our pace got very slow. Some passages were a bit tricky and slippery. Nigel, was really keen on keeping everybody safe and naturally, having decades of experience, he was extremely professional about it. Along the way he would give us comments and insights into the way of thinking a leader has to have, mixed with anecdotes from he's life and experiences.
At one point I realized the tempo was so slow that I couldn't keep my temperature up. My toes were getting colder and actually beginning to turn a bit painful. I was wearing all my layers so the only solution would've been a higher pace. That was not possible, however, since not all in the group could keep up. Some were in no way used to snow (at least not like a northerner who has spent half a lifetime rolling in snowpacks, digging holes, falling over, sliding, gliding, skiing, and just reveling in it). To my great surprise I found that I had a sliver of frustration in the back of my head. Frustration due to the pace and having to stand still in the snow with increasingly aching feet. Well, at least I had the time to take loads of pictures.
I'm usually a very patient person, infuriatingly so, but not right now, not in that situation. So, I find that I learn new things about myself during this trip. Knowing that I actually get frustrated by having to slow down and wait is a great insight and will be easier to work with now that I know.
To keep the group together and to adapt to the slowest person is a key aspect of being a leader.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1p3SZ5hHsQfF1kHSf6JNFlqL2YN1QJmkW
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1G9XGzFp7BGYX46McFNjXJPKPBCsLIXAy
As we reached the crest of the slope it finally started to look like we would actually reach the top. The snow was fresh and soft as powder goose down and thus easy to walk in. There were no icy, slippery bits higher up. At the crest we had a fabulous view back the way we had come. It was cloudy on the other side of the crest, but apparently you can see the Sahara desert on clear days.
We had another 20-30 minutes to go in order to reach the summit. As we got closer our group gathered and we had our most tired member lead, so that all of us would reach the summit together.
When we finally reached our goal the view was breathtaking.
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We had a kind of a victory milling about, taking pictures, laughing and smiling and having something to eat.
The scenery was absolutely fantastic, snow capped mountains around us, lowlands visible in a brown haze below, brilliant sunshine reflecting off the snow. We had covered us up with loads of sunscreen. Nigel of course had an anecdote with sunscreen and snow. During an ascent and breathing heavily in the hypoxic air, facing the snow, he had once burned his tongue on the slopes of Everest. The snow reflects so much of the sunlight! Well, I burned my lips, even though I kept putting on more and more sunscreen...
I was surprised to feel so strong throughout the ascent. If you've read my pre-Morocco posts you know I did a lot of step training the month before the trip. I can tell you, it really works. I felt GREAT! And just generally happy and content.
What goes up, must come down. At one point we had to turn back in order to make it back to the refuge in good time.
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The descent was very messy. People were falling over, sliding in the snow, not trusting the snow and not daring to walk briskly. Running down a snowy slope is actually very much fun, especially since you are more or less incapable of getting hurt, whatever you do. There is always a soft cover to dampen your tumble, no matter how you attempt to somersault your way down. Anyhow, we ended up spending as much time heading down as going up and my frustration bubbled up even more. Even so, we kept our group together, just as we were supposed to. Nigel was extra cautions going down, as the groups who had gone before us had walked and tumbled the path very slippery. We ended up going down the untouched slopes beside the path at many places, instead of risking the icier areas on the path.
At one point a member of the group had the symptom of some unfortunate food intake present itself. If you gotta go, you gotta go. Well, we all knew this could happen. Just a bit unlucky spot, though. To me it seemed as Nigel had experienced this before (what has he not seen or heard of already? I mean seriously...) so no worries, we waited patiently again for a very long while and just as Nigel started taking small steps up the slope again our final member showed up. Still alive then.
Luckily the rest of the way down went more or less smoothly for us all, including our member who had gotten ill, which did worry me a tad (and probably all the other doctors as well - D&V can really be a bitch).
When we fiiinally arrived back at the refuge the sun was high overhead and we were welcomed with warm sweet tea. I felt I needed to wash up and attempted to shower, but I failed horribly. I swear the shower spewed out icicles. Even attempting to wet my hair gave me brain freeze and nearly a stroke. After some feeble splashing about with small droplets of ice I had to give up washing my hair and keep on having it feel as fresh as a rats fur in a sewer.
Later we had some lessons and discussions on female health during expeditions, which was quite interesting. I have never really thought about it as a "thing" as its kind of private, but of course it should be seen as a "thing". I learned some interesting facts such as birth weight decreasing by 100 grams per km higher altitude of living. I think I'll write some more about this topic at a later time.
Next we had a fabulous dinner (everything is tasty after a mountain summit above 4km). I got a super tasty chicken tajine, the others couscous with chicken. I sat next to Chris and Peichii. Peichii and I had a discussion on religion (even though we weren't drunk at all - no alcohol at the refuge ;) ). Chris told me about his interest in Caucasia, a place that I must admit, I know nearly nothing (read absolutely nothing) about. I told him a bit of life on the Faroe Islands (I've lived there for a year) and my silly attempt of driving over the mountains in a snowstorm with a pocket size Suzuki Alto without winter wheels. Silly, as in really stupid. Chris has a knack for story telling and relayed a story of a trip to Armenia and a visit to a family's home. It was a single mother and grandmother and the English speaking son, if I remember correctly. He and his travel buddy had noticed a painting on the wall in a different style than all other artwork in the house. It depicted a man being attacked by a mountain lion, I think, and a woman protecting the man with an axe. It turns out it was a true story. The grandmother in the family had actually done that, and it was her in the painting, killing a lion. Fascinating.
The final lesson came after our dinner. This time the topic was heuristic bias, such as your own experiences affecting your judgement and what decisions you make when assessing risk for example. Another one is the kind of lemming-effect, you see someone do something and because they do it successfully you believe you can too and assume that the conditions are staying the same. The next topic was mountain leader education programs. Only UK based of course. I would have loved to know more of international educational programs.
The night ended with a quiz about all we had been taught - A competition ! YAY! - and my group ended next to last haha. We got 23 out of 25 correct answers and the questions were such as what is the prophylactic dosage of Diamox for mountain sickness, or at what temperature does live tissue freeze, the steps of frost bite, when not to do CPR in a hypothermic person and such. It was fun :-)
We all won some chocolate. I was completely wrung out and had a pounding headache as I went to bed at 22 PM. Some of the others still had energy enough for socializing, which I would've liked doing, but I simply could not at that point.
My final Saturday in Morocco began kind of half spontaneously. The night before I had a bit of inactivity-anxiety. I had though about what one of the guys had talked about the day before. He told me about places worth seeing in relatively close vicinity to Marrakesh and I figured, what the smeck, why not. When will I be back in Africa again? No idea. So I googled it a bit and booked a day trip starting the next morning. I booked it so late, close to midnight, that I wasn't sure it would go through as pickup time was 7:30.
We were swiftly outside of the city and I soon fell into an observer mode and completely drank in the fantastic, red scenery. At one point I was very surprised to see something that seemed to be a female lion, lounging in a dry river bed with its back to the road, somewhere in between Marrakesh and the mountains. I was so stunned that I didn't get a pic of it. A lion? So far from the mountains? Maybe I was imagining it.... A huge dog maybe? But it looked just right for a lion. I don't know.
Our first stop was in the mountains on a col of a sort and offered the chance for me to grab my first coffee of the day. Really good coffee at that. Two espressos, yummie.
I started noticing my skipped breakfast at midday. Luckily I had a single slice of bread (totally crumbled by now) left in my pack. That became the energy source of the first half of the day.
After a little chit-chat and a couple of hugs and farewells we went our separate ways and I kept smiling the rest of the day.
I got back to Marrakesh, feeling completely at ease. I spent my evening at the riad and began preparing for my journey back home.
This trip has really given me a feeling of needing more travel and to focus on what is important. I suspect, however, that the feeling is based on the people I've met and spoken to during this week. Some I'd really love to meet again. I also want to meet more people, new ones, as well as these ones in their own habitat. I mean, we know that we have some interests in common, that is why we've met in the first place, but how different are we in our everyday lives? How alike or unlike each other are we really? During this week some have been peppery and quick, others silent and unobtrusive, some functioned as older siblings, hearing and taking care that no one was left outside, and some took the lead and set the pace and made sure that everyone kept hydrated and fed. All in all I guess the people in the groups completed each other.
