Morocco Expedition Skills Course
Overview
| Time of year: | 2nd – 9th Oct 2023 |
| Duration: | 8 days (incl. travel), 6 days on mountain |
| Grade: | Moderate – difficult |
| Max group size: | 12 participants approx |
| Fees: | €1,490pp/£1,350pp approx |
| Additional costs: | Flights + travel insurance (Ryanair fly direct from Dublin & London) |
Highlights
- Experience the Berber culture
- Explore the Atlas Mountains
- Climb Mount Toubkal: 4,167m
- Comprehensive curriculum
- Workshops woven into each day
- 20% discount on purchases in our store in advance
What`s included
- All in-country fees
- Pre-departure training in advance of the trip
- All specialist equipment hire: skis/sleeping bags etc
- All meals
- Internal transfers
- Accommodation
- Expert tuition & guidance with highly qualified & experienced guides
Morocco Expedition Skills COurse
A weeklong course in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains culminating in a climb to the summit of Djebel Toubkal 4,167m. Expedition Skills Course Morocco.
We will be hosting a Zoom presentation on this course for anyone interested in attending. This is a unique course that will equip you with the skills to begin planning your own adventures to wild and remote areas. It will also help you understand the logistics and background involved, enabling you to make informed decisions regarding the quality of services being offered by providers.
A €200 deposit secures your place on this course. Balance of fees payable in installments at any time up to the end of August.
You’ll have the opportunity to tap into our vast experience to give you the skills to undertake your own adventures in as safe and enjoyable a way as possible.
A sample of what we cover on our Expedition Skills Course:
- Acclimatization
- Wilderness First Aid
- Rescue & Emergency Procedures
- Navigation/Maps
- Scrambling/Steep Ground
- Huts & Refuges
- Weather
- Camp craft
- Food & Water
The High Atlas Mountains in Morocco are an ideal location for our Expedition Course; 4,000m+ peaks, no mountain rescue teams, food & water concerns, diverse weather, language barriers and loads more!
Our first night is spent in Marrakesh as the group congregates for their first briefing. The next day an early pickup brings us by coach to the mountain village of Imlil. That afternoon we start the acclimatisation process with a short hike into the surrounding hills.
expedition skills course morocco
With Mount Toubkal towering over the entire Atlas mountain range, it takes a day of trekking to reach our high camp beside the Mouflons mountain refuge. Learning is integrated along the journey up to where we’ll spend the next 3 nights camping at the head of the valley.
Workshops are seamlessly interwoven throughout each day by your instructors, giving you the opportunity to practise new skills and acclimatise adequately on the nearby peaks. Summit day is an early start, aiming to reach the summit by lunch-time before making our descent to high-camp and a well-earned dinner!
Anyone, no matter how experienced they are, cannot climb Djebel Toubkal without a local guide to accompany them. While this is an obligation, it certainly doesn’t feel that way as we can and have developed our relationship with the local community. Having a local guide on our team brings an added cultural dimension to our trek, so do make sure ask about the locale.The group will be led and instructed however by highly qualified and experienced International Mountain Leaders who love to share their passion for the mountains.
Expedition Skills COurse Morocco: Who’s it for?
Fit outdoors people who love the sense of adventure, who are keen to learn self-sufficiency. Fitness is important as we’ll be spending 6 days in the high mountains.
We also include a training day in Wicklow for all participants in advance along with ongoing support and assistance.
There are no hidden extras – all specialist equipment hire is included: technical kit, in-country transport, camping equipment etc.
Morocco Expedition Skills Training: Accommodation
Our first night will be spent in a hotel in Marrakesh. We then transfer to Imlil for a night in a traditional mountain homestay gite. In the high mountains, we camp (this is 3 person tents with 2 people per tent). Our final night in Marrakesh is spent in a traditional Riad.
We will provide you with all the specialist equipment as follows:
- Sleeping bag liner for use in the huts
- Camping equipment
- Rental of technical equipment
We’ll provide you with a full kit list. All participants receive a 15% discount on purchases in our store in advance of departure.
Expedition Skills Course FAQs
This expedition is 8 Days in duration. This gives us 2 days of traveling and 6 days in the mountains.
No, but they do need a good level of fitness. The five days in the mountains are hard and sometimes long. Expedition Skills Course.
We’ll provide a full kit list in advance. Each participant will need boots, rainwear, warm jacket, gloves, hat etc. We’ll provide the technical kit.
We have space for 12 participants on our Expedition Course.
The expedition fees are €1,490pp/£1,350pp. This includes:
> All in-country transport
> Accommodation
> Catering
> Any technical equipment
> Local tips and mule hire
> PL insurance
> Expert guiding and highly skilled & qualified guides
> All fees are approximate and depend on final numbers.
As we’ll be climbing high, to over 4,000m, it will be cool and exposed to the wind at times. Participants will need to be equipped for this and we’ll cover this in our training briefing. Nighttime temperatures can be cold. We sometimes get snow on the summit.
Yes, it certainly is and we plan our trips accordingly. We also take other preventative measures like keeping hydrated, climbing high/sleep low and other steps. There is no need for the use of preventative medications. Even with all the steps above some people still feel the effects but these generally wear off after a couple of days. You’ll learn all there is to know about acclimatisation and how to do it right.
No, we may be passing some snow patches but the mountains are generally clear of snow at this time of year. In winter months Toubkal gets significant amounts of snow but we’ll be avoiding that time of year.
Highcamp will be located next to a high mountain refuge where we have access to basic toilet and shower facilities. We will be in a sheltered valley but the nights will still be cool.
Flights, you can arrange these yourself, or we can have our travel partner assist you. Flights with Ryanair to Marrakesh cost between €250 and €300 return at present. Bear in mind that travel with a low-cost airline is not handled by travel agents and any risk is borne by you. Ensure your travel insurance is adequate.
The extra kit as per the kit list. If you’re missing anything we can advise on how to best purchase, any extra tours etc. Any extra tours that participants choose to take outside of the Expedition Skills Course.
It is essential that all participants take out additional travel insurance for the trip. This should cover repatriation to UK/Ireland and rescue fees. Your insurance must list Morocco as a destination and have trekking as an activity. Let us know if you need details on insurance companies. Although you are outside of the EU we also advise that you apply for your EHIC (formally E11).
