Well done to all of the 17 dofe students who completed their Gold expedition to the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco this Feb half term.  The expedition visited the Ait Bougamez region of the Atlas mountains some 7 hours from Marrakesh and climbed around the outstanding scenery of the Happiness Valley from Tabant to Rbat then making a return via the high ridges between the valleys.  This is a remote area of great beauty where Berbers farm green agricultural land in cultivated irrigated valleys beneath the brown and yellow snowy peaks near Mt M’Goun, the second highest peak in the Atlas mts.  The weather was cold during the night and, after some brisk winds that brought Saharan dust early in the week, snow fell at night on two occasions before days brightened up to the more familiar Moroccan azure blue skies that dominated the end of our visit.  Day time temps mostly reached the high teens but night time temps fell well below freezing throughout our stay.  Wet sleeping bags on one night precipitated a decision to move the entire crew to a nearby Gite, which was probably colder for some than their tents!

The visit included a couple of nights in Marrakesh which is always a vibrant and stimulating experience.

The students were fantastic throughout the trip and a pleasure to take away.  From touching down in Marrakesh, they were wonderfully interested, sensitive, observant and curious about where they were travelling.  They were delighted to talk to our wonderful guide Mohammed, and our amazingly talented cook, Omar, was a particular hit with many!

Thanks to Far Frontiers for launching the trip, Carol Davidson our wonderful FF leader and also special thanks to the crew at MTT for their outstanding professional care for us during our stay.  Mohammed, in particular, was an excellent guide and made the right decisions regarding safety throughout our trek.

Great video of our trip here by Claudia

More on the weather we had here