Mount Toubkal Summit

Yesterday I summitted North Africa's highest mountain at 4167 metres or 13,670 feet. 

I left the Kasbah Toukbal at 9 am and returned at 7 pm the next day. That included breaks and an overnight stay at the refuge Mouflons at base camp. So all in all after 34 hours, I had trekked 50 kilometres and ascended and descended 4800 metres (15478 feet) to get to the summit and back. That must be the most tiring day and and a half I have ever experienced!

Taking a break to base camp. I had food poisoning and hadn't eaten in two days prior.

Refuge Mouflons. Definitely better than the other hut but could be cleaner. This was my living dining room and it had an ensuite. They told me it was their "special" room.  The kasbah organised when they realised I was a demanding client.

View from base camp. That isn't Toubkal but it is enroute. You start the ascent from here.

The terrain is mostly scree so downhill is very tough. Either way it is difficult to tell which rocks will hold with every step and obviously there were a few stumbles and

many expletives were used.  Combine the scree with frozen snow and you are sliding straight to the rocks! You need to fall sideways so you don't crash into them. I didn't use crampons.

Finally the summit!  The guide advises only a maximum ten minute stay because we haven't acclimatised properly and could get altitude sickness.  Breathing was a bit laborious scrambling near the top.

It's not exactly Everest Base Camp but it still was quite tiring for me. Thank God I felt fine the next day. Maybe this is easy for the young folk? Or maybe I did the circuit too quickly (they recommend 3 days) when I was feeling poorly?  Nevertheless the box has been ticked! It was fun!

What next?